Teams & Riders Tadej Pogačar discussion thread

[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.

 

[scribers]

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

Msr is an early season race and not prepping for it leaves open a stronger schedule from middle spring on

 

[scribers]

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.

Valverde

 

[Peyroteo94]

Valverde

I said being the best for 15 years, not a rider at his best.

 

[scribers]

So?

 

[Peyroteo94]

It is hard to see him in 2033 winning GTs

 

[Red Rick]

Roglic can win GTs at 34 but Pog couldnt?

 

[Peyroteo94]

Roglic can win GTs at 34 but Pog couldnt?

Roglic was at his very best when he was 27. Pogacar was 21 years old when he made third in the Vuelta.

 

[xo 1]

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.

I suspect that's right. Given VLB's troubled season and its demonstrated ability to get its top riders ready through training and not racing, I am envisioning that VLB may have Vingo ride even fewer race days before the Tour.

 

[Cookster15]

Roglic was at his very best when he was 27. Pogacar was 21 years old when he made third in the Vuelta.

Roglic came to the sport late having switched from ski jumping. The big exception to longevity was Valverde.

 

[solo80k]

Roglic came to the sport late having switched from ski jumping. The big exception to longevity was Valverde.

Should we expect Pogi switching to ski jumping before 30 just to show Roglic who's the real boss?

 

[stekelegel]

Msr is an early season race and not prepping for it leaves open a stronger schedule from middle spring on

Van Aert even let MSR out this year to be stronger in Flanders (but he never got there...).
But true, not including MSR, Strade, and Paris Nice or Tirreno, makes room later in the season for another GT (Vuelta).
(but I am sure he will want to ride and win paris nice once).

But riding the classics (with or without Roubaix) I think puts less strain on the body and mind then prepping and riding Giro before the Tour. Maybe later in his career, when he has won 5,6 tours he might skip it and for instance in 2028 decide to schedule for the olympics. That again could make room for Giro.

 

[Peyroteo94]

Van Aert even let MSR out this year to be stronger in Flanders (but he never got there...).
But true, not including MSR, Strade, and Paris Nice or Tirreno, makes room later in the season for another GT (Vuelta).
(but I am sure he will want to ride and win paris nice once).

But riding the classics (with or without Roubaix) I think puts less strain on the body and mind then prepping and riding Giro before the Tour. Maybe later in his career, when he has won 5,6 tours he might skip it and for instance in 2028 decide to schedule for the olympics. That again could make room for Giro.

Pogacar won 2023 Paris Nice

 

[Peyroteo94]

Roglic came to the sport late having switched from ski jumping. The big exception to longevity was Valverde.

And I think Roglic is already fading. He is not the same rider in the high mountains.

 

[2WpK]

Impossible to match Merckx's win totals. Will never be done by anyone, ever. Merckx won over 500 races (Almost 30% of all his starts were victories). The level of professional competition was so much less in his day than it is today. Also, the number of crashes and injuries are so much more frequent now. It is just plain harder to win a race.

If anyone is to surpass Merckx as the GOAT, pundits and cycling historians have to take those factors into account.

 

[Red Rick]

Modern medicine and training methods in a sport where riders were always pretty good into their mid 30s.

Seriously it's not even a question Pogacar can be a high level into his mid to late 30s.

 

[Cookster15]

Modern medicine and training methods in a sport where riders were always pretty good into their mid 30s.

Seriously it's not even a question Pogacar can be a high level into his mid to late 30s.

I always think of Andy Schleck in these discussions.

Andy was 22 when he came runner up at the 2007 Giro. So 3 months older than when Pogacar won the 2020 Tour.

Schleck retired in 2014 aged 29.

Roglic is 34 and came to the sport in 2012 - aged 23.

Merckx was 20 when he turned pro and retired aged 32. 13 years as a pro.

Generally riders were good into their mid 30s based upon a bell curve when they turned professional. They stayed good until an older age but turned professional later. The outlier is Valverde as I mentioned. That will be thanks to genetics.

IMO sports medicine and training methods have made incremental rather than quantum leaps since 2007. So I am not sure Pogacar won't start to fade before he turns 30? Being at a high level until his late 30s (winning races) is a low probability IMO. But again genetics means we are guessing until it eventuates.

 

[Berniece]

I think it'll be harder mentally than physically to keep riding at such a high level

 

[Peyroteo94]

Impossible to match Merckx's win totals. Will never be done by anyone, ever. Merckx won over 500 races (Almost 30% of all his starts were victories). The level of professional competition was so much less in his day than it is today. Also, the number of crashes and injuries are so much more frequent now. It is just plain harder to win a race.

If anyone is to surpass Merckx as the GOAT, pundits and cycling historians have to take those factors into account.

Procyclingstats say he won 279 races.

 

[Red Rick]

I always think of Andy Schleck in these discussions.

Andy was 22 when he came runner up at the 2007 Giro. So 3 months older than when Pogacar won the 2020 Tour.

Schleck retired in 2014 aged 29.

Roglic is 34 and came to the sport in 2012 - aged 23.

Merckx was 20 when he turned pro and retired aged 32. 13 years as a pro.

Generally riders were good into their mid 30s based upon a bell curve when they turned professional. They stayed good until an older age but turned professional later. The outlier is Valverde as I mentioned. That will be thanks to genetics.

IMO sports medicine and training methods have made incremental rather than quantum leaps since 2007. So I am not sure Pogacar won't start to fade before he turns 30? Being at a high level until his late 30s (winning races) is a low probability IMO. But again genetics means we are guessing until it eventuates.

There are so many variables that go into this.

And a very big one is riders getting stuck in their ways with training and 'training' and being passed by other guys just training in better ways. Another one is simply motivation.

 

[SHAD0W93]

I always think of Andy Schleck in these discussions.

Andy was 22 when he came runner up at the 2007 Giro. So 3 months older than when Pogacar won the 2020 Tour.

Andy had the bad crash in 2012 though and never recovered from it. Then instead of riding on like Bernal or Froome he called it quits. Also mentally he wasn’t as strong as others, especially Roglic.

 

[Peyroteo94]

I always think of Andy Schleck in these discussions.

Andy was 22 when he came runner up at the 2007 Giro. So 3 months older than when Pogacar won the 2020 Tour.

Schleck retired in 2014 aged 29.

Roglic is 34 and came to the sport in 2012 - aged 23.

Merckx was 20 when he turned pro and retired aged 32. 13 years as a pro.

Generally riders were good into their mid 30s based upon a bell curve when they turned professional. They stayed good until an older age but turned professional later. The outlier is Valverde as I mentioned. That will be thanks to genetics.

IMO sports medicine and training methods have made incremental rather than quantum leaps since 2007. So I am not sure Pogacar won't start to fade before he turns 30? Being at a high level until his late 30s (winning races) is a low probability IMO. But again genetics means we are guessing until it eventuates.

Andy had a nasty crash in Dauphiné. Since there, he never came back because he simply didn't care anymore.

 

[Scarponi]

If he gets the Tour-Veulta double do you think he will ever go for the Giro-Veulta double to get the set? Or will the classics always stand in the way