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Teams & Riders Tadej Pogačar discussion thread

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OK, so what you were saying earlier was not quite true, i.e., that increasing muscle mass thus increasing power output is beneficial for PN.
It has to be an optimal increase. I'm pretty sure Pogacar would be better prepared for PR if he got 2 kilos bulkier (muscle mass) but for sure 10 kilos would not be good at all (it is just an example. It is obvious a rider can't gain 10 kilos of muscle in one season).
 
It has to be an optimal increase. I'm pretty sure Pogacar would be better prepared for PR if he got 2 kilos bulkier (muscle mass) but for sure 10 kilos would not be good at all (it is just an example. It is obvious a rider can't gain 10 kilos of muscle in one season).
It is not that obvious to me that 2kg of muscle would benefit Pog for PR.
 
Season still didn't start and they are already thinking about racing for second.
Van Eetvelt says he will race for second.
For Eetvelt, Peloton in general think they are in grupetto when facing Pogacar and he still remember Jaen classic where Pogacar was laughing hard after seeing UAE ripping the peloton and Pogacar knew he would win with still 120 km to the finish line.

This disbelief is just notorious

It would also be ridiculous if Van Eetvelt went out and said he thought he could beat Pogacar, though, so there's no way to make people happy.
 
It is not about clinic mate. It is a language barrier.
How do I write for example "quanto maior a área de secção transversal do músculo, maior fibras musculares e com isto maior capacidade de produzir força. Claro que existe também uma componente aeróbia associada, o VO2 max implica não só a capacidade de captação, fixação e transporte do O2 mas também a capacidade do músculo em utilizar este mesmo oxigénio para produção de energia". This type of writing is not possible in English (for me).
Sorry guys, I promise I will not write in my native language again.

"The larger the muscle's cross‐sectional area, the larger its muscle fibres and, consequently, its ability to produce force. Of course, there is also an associated aerobic component: VO₂ max involves not only the capacity for oxygen uptake, binding and transport but also the muscle's ability to utilise that same oxygen for energy production."
 

MyFTP5.9w/kg

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After seeing his level last year, I kinda think San Millan was hampering his chances of really showing his dominance. So Pogi with a suboptimal training was still the best in the world. Even Bardet said how useless some riders feel when they race against Pogi.
I would call it total BS. There's nothing to suggest that he was significantly stronger in 2024 than the year before. In 2023 he dominated Andalusia, Paris-Nice, destroyed MvdP in his playground and was the strongest in the Ardennes. The results after the LBL crash are completely irrelevant because, unlike in 2024, his preparation was not perfect for any of the races after that.

He's probably improving a little bit each year and starting to reach his peak performance. Which is perfectly normal. But to claim that he's been training poorly for years is total BS. There is no magic trick in training, everyone does the same thing.
 
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I would call it total BS. There's nothing to suggest that he was significantly stronger in 2024 than the year before. In 2023 he dominated Andalusia, Paris-Nice, destroyed MvdP in his playground and was the strongest in the Ardennes. The results after the LBL crash are completely irrelevant because, unlike in 2024, his preparation was not perfect for any of the races after that.

He's probably improving a little bit each year and starting to reach his peak performance. Which is perfectly normal. But to claim that he's been training poorly for years is total BS. There is no magic trick in training, everyone does the same thing.
He wasn't doing strenght training on and off the bike. He wasn't doing heat training. I'm not saying this because of Mou, I'm saying this according with Sola and/or Pogacar himself.
So no, they don't exactly do the same thing.
 
It would also be ridiculous if Van Eetvelt went out and said he thought he could beat Pogacar, though, so there's no way to make people happy.
I think he should have the typical quote: "I will give everything to win but it will be difficult because we are racing against the best rider in the world. We will try to seize opportunities to make Pogacar's race harder, etc". It is better than saying "I will race for second". Even if you think that, you don't say it. Remco knew in GdL he would race for 2nd and he didn't say he would lose.
 
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As for the muscle mass thing, while you can debate what's optimal, I think it's a very lame excuse to not race Roubaix. Only way to find out what you need is to try to race it, even if you don't specifically bulk up for it.

IMO, spring schedule becoming too hard, risk of crashes and injuries, and even team politics are all better reasons to not race it than "i can only race if I'm heavier"
 
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I would call it total BS. There's nothing to suggest that he was significantly stronger in 2024 than the year before. In 2023 he dominated Andalusia, Paris-Nice, destroyed MvdP in his playground and was the strongest in the Ardennes. The results after the LBL crash are completely irrelevant because, unlike in 2024, his preparation was not perfect for any of the races after that.

He's probably improving a little bit each year and starting to reach his peak performance. Which is perfectly normal. But to claim that he's been training poorly for years is total BS. There is no magic trick in training, everyone does the same thing.
2023 pog was fighting neck and neck with Mas and carapaz in Italian classics while 2024 pog was riding 3:15 minutes ahead of evenepoel in lombardy now its upto you to guess what 2025 pog will do to the field🫠
 
2023 pog was fighting neck and neck with Mas and carapaz in Italian classics while 2024 pog was riding 3:15 minutes ahead of evenepoel in lombardy now its upto you to guess what 2025 pog will do to the field🫠

No he wasn't.
He only lost to Mr San Luca in Emilia and won Lombardia by a minute. Mas was not a factor.
Besides he was comparing his results BEFORE the crash which we are impressive as 2024.
 
I think he should have the typical quote: "I will give everything to win but it will be difficult because we are racing against the best rider in the world. We will try to seize opportunities to make Pogacar's race harder, etc". It is better than saying "I will race for second". Even if you think that, you don't say it. Remco knew in GdL he would race for 2nd and he didn't say he would lose.

Well, some time ago, he said that he was very close to Pog's level and I certainly thought that was being a bit delusional.
 
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