Teams & Riders Tadej Pogačar discussion thread

[Krzysztof_O]

Timing wise, Pogacar did better this year than Remco last year, I think around 10s? But in case of Remco it was a much harder race, with a lot of rain, and cold.

I'm not sure about WC, and the form of Evenepoel. It's a huge goal of course, but he has been ill.

Pogacar had a headwind on Redoute and still smashed the record.

Anyway, I do think that Remco is the only rider on the planet capable of giving Pog a run for his money in Liege. He's one of the best hill riders and the best rouler at the same time (capable of overcoming a post-uphill gap to Pog, if it's small enough). A sprint between the duo is a plausible scenario in Liege.

 

[Peyroteo94]

Pogacar had a headwind on Redoute and still smashed the record.

Anyway, I do think that Remco is the only rider on the planet capable of giving Pog a run for his money in Liege. He's one of the best hill riders and the best rouler at the same time (capable of overcoming a post-uphill gap to Pog, if it's small enough). A sprint between the duo is a plausible scenario in Liege.

We almost don't have flat sections after La Redoute. If he lets pogacar goes away (10 seconds gap), he will never catch him again.

 

[Lequack]

Man likes to eat

 

[Didinho]

Eating Soudal T-Rex for breakfast.

 

[Peyroteo94]

Man likes to eat

And he will look sharper than ever in Zurich.

 

[KZD]

Picking up the Worlds this year and ticking that off the bucket list might well be a big help to the big game hunting as he may then switch focus to Tour-Vuelta double attempts with a monument heavy early season and seek to peak enough again for Lombardia at the end of the season.

The biggest what if of the current era is what will happen when peak versions of Remco and Pogi meet at LBL and the answer to that could go a long way to determining how close Pogacar gets to 15+ monuments.

I hope Pogačar focuses more on Worlds than Lombardia in the next seasons. In theory he could even become the first four time road World Champion as the next 4 editions should have suitable routes for him.

I think it makes more sense than trying to reach Merckx's monument tally which is nearly impossible.

 

[Peyroteo94]

I hope Pogačar focuses more on Worlds than Lombardia in the next seasons. In theory he could even become the first four time road World Champion as the next 4 editions should have suitable routes for him.

I think it makes more sense than trying to reach Merckx's monument tally which is nearly impossible.

If he starts targetting monuments seriously, he will win a lot more. He is the best in 3 monuments, he just need to ride them at his peak shape. I can see him winning 5 LBL, 5 Lombardia, 3 WC and 3 Flanders. 13 monuments here at least and the record holder of 4 important races. But first he needs to win the WC and take pressure off his shoulders.

 

[Berniece]

If he starts targetting monuments seriously, he will win a lot more. He is the best in 3 monuments, he just need to ride them at his peak shape. I can see him winning 5 LBL, 5 Lombardia, 3 WC and 3 Flanders. 13 monuments here at least and the record holder of 4 important races. But first he needs to win the WC and take pressure off his shoulders.

Just because he beats MVDP once at Flanders doesn't make him the best at that monument. I doubt he would be able to beat MVDP in the form he's able to reach since WC'22

 

[scribers]

I hope Pogačar focuses more on Worlds than Lombardia in the next seasons. In theory he could even become the first four time road World Champion as the next 4 editions should have suitable routes for him.

I think it makes more sense than trying to reach Merckx's monument tally which is nearly impossible.

I don’t see why he can’t ride both worlds and Lombardia with intent to win them. His attempt at the unassailable 19 monuments probably should be passive until he sees a serious path to challenging it.

 

[ppanther92]

PR is almost impossible for Pogacar just like MSR because he needs to drop everyone in order to win the race. If he can't drop everyone, he will probably lose in a sprint.

Well, MvdP dropped everyone by 3 minutes. So thats far from impossible.

I rather think, while seeing all the great things Pogi can do on cobbles and even dropping MdvP in RdvV, in a flat cobble race, he is still the weaker. So best he can hope is potentially get away with MdvP in a duo and then attack in a good moment.

But ofc strength rankings do change. So maybe I should not overextrapolate 2023 in the future.

 

[hayneplane]

If he starts targetting monuments seriously, he will win a lot more. He is the best in 3 monuments, he just need to ride them at his peak shape. I can see him winning 5 LBL, 5 Lombardia, 3 WC and 3 Flanders. 13 monuments here at least and the record holder of 4 important races. But first he needs to win the WC and take pressure off his shoulders.

5 Lombardia may be an understatement. This can be his mega haul like MSRx7 for Merckx.

 

[Peyroteo94]

5 Lombardia may be an understatement. This can be his mega haul like MSRx7 for Merckx.

Maybe but Lombardia this year is far from ideal to him. Civiglio will not be part in the race so Pogacar will not be a massive favourite there (biggest favourite but not massive).

 

[KZD]

I don’t see why he can’t ride both worlds and Lombardia with intent to win them. His attempt at the unassailable 19 monuments probably should be passive until he sees a serious path to challenging it.

With his current calendar he can, but if he starts riding the Vuelta after the Tour, as he probably will next year, it becomes more difficult because it would require him being close to top shape from early July until early October.

If he starts targetting monuments seriously, he will win a lot more. He is the best in 3 monuments, he just need to ride them at his peak shape. I can see him winning 5 LBL, 5 Lombardia, 3 WC and 3 Flanders. 13 monuments here at least and the record holder of 4 important races. But first he needs to win the WC and take pressure off his shoulders.

Pogačar has been targetting them though but even assuming that he wins Lombardia this year he would need an average of 2 monument wins per season in the next 6 years in order to equal Merckx's record. Not totally impossible but still highly unlikely especially if he continues to rides 2 GT's in the same season as he did this year.

 

[Peyroteo94]

With his current calendar he can, but if he starts riding the Vuelta after the Tour, as he probably will next year, it becomes more difficult because it would require him being close to top shape from early July until early October.



Pogačar has been targetting them though but even assuming that he wins Lombardia this year he would need an average of 2 monument wins per season in the next 6 years in order to equal Merckx's record. Not totally impossible but still highly unlikely especially if he continues to rides 2 GT's in the same season as he did this year.

I don't think he will reach 19 monuments but can see him getting close with 15 wins.

 

[KZD]

I don't think he will reach 19 monuments but can see him getting close with 15 wins.

I agree but only if he rides an average of four monuments per season until he is no longer competitive.

 

[Peyroteo94]

I agree but only if he rides an average of four monuments per season until he is no longer competitive.

If he stays 5/6 years in this level, he will get 15 monuments.

 

[Cookster15]

On riding two GTs a season only Tour / Vuelta makes sense to me. I think Pog got away with Giro / Tour double in 2024 largely because Vingegaard was badly injured in April. He likely would have won anyway with the incredible level he showed but you never know? Vingo was still really quite incredible considering what he had come back from this year.

I don’t see Remco as a genuine threat in GTs against these two if they are healthy.

If Pog rides the Giro again and Vingo stays healthy Pog is rolling the dice on losing the Tour again like 2022 and 2023. Jonas Vingegaard and Visma will be back with a vengeance in 2025. In fact, they will already be planning for that. UAE will want Pogacar to ride the Tour so the much easier Giro / Vuelta option is out.

 

[stekelegel]

He is not going to ride two gt every year. Next year tour and vuelta, and then going back to just the tour. It wil prolong his career and for his legacy the number of Tdf victories will outshine the number of the other two gt.
He wants Msr, he will want Roubaix, Flanders again, worlds, Olympics,…
Not for the monuments record, I genuinely believe he is more motivated by the challenge they each represent, the history, the uniqueness.
Or if vingegaard comes back with a bang and takes his Tdf title, I would expect Pog to strike back even better

 

[Peyroteo94]

On riding two GTs a season only Tour / Vuelta makes sense to me. I think Pog got away with Giro / Tour double in 2024 largely because Vingegaard was badly injured in April. He likely would have won anyway with the incredible level he showed but you never know? Vingo was still really quite incredible considering what he had come back from this year.

I don’t see Remco as a genuine threat in GTs against these two if they are healthy.

If Pog rides the Giro again and Vingo stays healthy Pog is rolling the dice on losing the Tour again like 2022 and 2023. Jonas Vingegaard and Visma will be back with a vengeance in 2025. In fact, they will already be planning for that. UAE will want Pogacar to ride the Tour so the much easier Giro / Vuelta option is out.

Do you think Vingo will race the Giro next year or he will be back to the same boring program?

 

[Peyroteo94]

He is not going to ride two gt every year. Next year tour and vuelta, and then going back to just the tour. It wil prolong his career and for his legacy the number of Tdf victories will outshine the number of the other two gt.
He wants Msr, he will want Roubaix, Flanders again, worlds, Olympics,…
Not for the monuments record, I genuinely believe he is more motivated by the challenge they each represent, the history, the uniqueness.
Or if vingegaard comes back with a bang and takes his Tdf title, I would expect Pog to strike back even better

He can do Tour-Vuelta and still race monuments but I am a little bit worried if he focuses on classics and his Tour preparation gets compromised. He got an all new level this year and I think his preparation totally aligned for GTs was the reason for that.

 

[Cookster15]

Do you think Vingo will race the Giro next year or he will be back to the same boring program?

Good question. IMO same boring program for 2025 aiming for a less risky (trouble free) season with the Tour still being the primary target.

Would be good to see Vingo attempt the Giro in 2026. But I doubt that as his sponsors will want him to ride (and win) the Tour. In this year’s Tour, despite his badly compromised prep, Visma seemed confident right up until the moment Pog dropped Vingegaard on PdB - stage 15. So they will be thinking with a trouble free season let’s try to beat Pog at the Tour again. They won’t want to risk that by attempting the Giro next year.

 

[scribers]

If he stays 5/6 years in this level, he will get 15 monuments.

Roglic is winning the Vuelta, and what is he, like 35?

 

[scribers]

He is not going to ride two gt every year. Next year tour and vuelta, and then going back to just the tour. It wil prolong his career and for his legacy the number of Tdf victories will outshine the number of the other two gt.
He wants Msr, he will want Roubaix, Flanders again, worlds, Olympics,…
Not for the monuments record, I genuinely believe he is more motivated by the challenge they each represent, the history, the uniqueness.
Or if vingegaard comes back with a bang and takes his Tdf title, I would expect Pog to strike back even better

If Pogi can lay this ciciban race MSR to bed, I think it changes his schedule quite a lot, opening the door to more tries at GT wins, and perhaps even this unimaginable GT treble. I can do without the Strade Bianci every year, personally. It's a nice race, but he will find history in monuments and GT attempts.

 

[Peyroteo94]

If Pogi can lay this ciciban race MSR to bed, I think it changes his schedule quite a lot, opening the door to more tries at GT wins, and perhaps even this unimaginable GT treble. I can do without the Strade Bianci every year, personally. It's a nice race, but he will find history in monuments and GT attempts.

MSR doesn't modify his program at all. The problem is PR.

 

[Peyroteo94]

Roglic is winning the Vuelta, and what is he, like 35?

But I don't expect Pogacar to dominate cycling for 13-15 seasons. I can't remember a rider being the best for 15 years.