Teams & Riders Tadej Pogačar discussion thread

[how yes no?]

(Which Roglič could not do, since his team support was limited to sports director coming in "at the last minute" to drive the car and that's it, while team UAE have quite a bit of Slovenians in support team, so they could both practice and execute the bike change.)

 

[JosephK]

He seems to be a little little bit better then Roglic in the mountains right now..
He is still 40 seconds behind Roglic right now and Roglic team is much better then his team.
He still has to gain some time on Roglic before the time trial if he wants to have a chance for the first place.
Because of Roglic much better team it will be very difficult to gain time on him. If he attacks from too far away, Roglic will just let his teammates close the gap while he saves his energy. His only option really seems to be to attack very close to the finish line and gain bonus seconds.. But this will not be enough. And if Jumbo is clever, they will allow the break to escape in the upcoming stages, so that Pogacar cannot gain bonus seconds in the upcoming MTF.

Great point.

 

[Red Rick]

Well stage 16 is a 95% breakaway stage any time.

Letting break win on Col de La Loze is interesting but UAE should aim to control that one.

 

[Rollthedice]

With a Jumbo team around him Pog would have a couple of minutes in front of a Roglic riding for UAE.

 

[ice&fire]

Well stage 16 is a 95% breakaway stage any time.

Letting break win on Col de La Loze is interesting but UAE should aim to control that one.

They'll need their wallet to buy some help for that. One of the last men to be with Pog was De La Cruz, who is still suffering from a hard crash in the first stage.

 

[Earns1985]

Well stage 16 is a 95% breakaway stage any time.

Letting break win on Col de La Loze is interesting but UAE should aim to control that one.

The problem is that they (UAE) don´t have the riders to control a break.

 

[Red Rick]

With a Jumbo team around him Pog would have a couple of minutes in front of a Roglic riding for UAE.

Pog would have yet to attack then.

 

[Rollthedice]

Pog would have yet to attack then.

Even with that train, I think he would have attacked, he's different from Rog, basically a better climber.

 

[hayneplane]

5 stage wins while not even having completed his 2nd Grand Tour would be impressive for a bunch sprinter but for a climber it’s an insanely impressive feat and there could still be a race winning move in his legs.

 

[JosephK]

5 stage wins while not even having completed his 2nd Grand Tour would be impressive for a bunch sprinter but for a climber it’s an insanely impressive feat and there could still be a race winning move in his legs.

He doesn't look too worn out yet, does he? Rog is probably still the favorite to win (having the strongest team by far), but it's not at all a sure thing. If the riders are close in time going into the time trial, then the winner will be determined by the "race of truth."

 

[CyclistAbi]

Congratulations, for the second stage win today, on hard stage 15. Honestly, i don't know what will happen in week 3, hence best to wait and see. Currently it does look like Pogačar can challenge Roglič, for the maillot jaune. Pogačar likely will perform good on MTT. But somehow i feel that this year decision will be made in mountains. Pogačar hence will likely try to attack, if JV lets him, and likely he will try to go for bonus seconds. Mano a mano against Roglič on finishes.

If he succeeds or now i don't' know. I feel that Roglič is still in a better position, as for the rest, that is up to Pogačar to say.

 

[Forever The Best]

Aru and Formolo could have been useful for Pogacar. His team is very weak at the moment.

 

[Oldermanish]

Well stage 16 is a 95% breakaway stage any time.

Letting break win on Col de La Loze is interesting but UAE should aim to control that one.

UAE control a stage? That takes a little more depth.

 

[Oldermanish]

Congratulations, for the second stage win today, on hard stage 15. Honestly, i don't know what will happen in week 3, hence best to wait and see. Currently it does look like Pogačar can challenge Roglič, for the maillot jaune. Pogačar likely will perform good on MTT. But somehow i feel that this year decision will be made in mountains. Pogačar hence will likely try to attack, if JV lets him, and likely he will try to go for bonus seconds. Mano a mano against Roglič on finishes.

If he succeeds or now i don't' know. I feel that Roglič is still in a better position, as for the rest, that is up to Pogačar to say.

Roglic showed some effort at the finish which is understandable since the pace was pretty much had the volume tuned to 11 by Dumo. The fact that once he and Kuss finished their efforts there was a 30+ second time spread of finishers in the last 250 meters is clear evidence this Tour is really hard. Tadej managed the stress and had freshy legs to jump a few meters. Roglic drags back that kind of initiative given a little more distance so he's not likely to give up more than a few seconds and he won't give anyone much leash to get away.
The third week will be the key and Tadej and Primoz did this dance last year at the Vuelta. It appears only a few riders are really prepared to throw down: Richie (yes, he's got nothing to lose), Rigo, Landa and some wild card guys that are farther down but could take a lower GC guy with them and complicate the JV strategy. If that happens and JV starts to blow up a little on the effort Roglic will be on his own. If he handles week 3 like the Vuelta he'll be fine. The Itt should be his.

 

[Red Rick]

It was more like 15 seconds as it was Dumoulin who lost 34 seconds.

 

[Oldermanish]

It was more like 15 seconds as it was Dumoulin who lost 34 seconds.

Who I tagged to be very big in week 3. Still...15 seconds in 250 meters when no one else took a pull?

 

[Oldermanish]

The youngster reminded everyone today that he plans to be aggressive. Tomorrow's stage could be the one everyone hopes for no matter who they favor.
I think it will go all the way to the TT, though.

 

[md1975]

PR said that TP is the strongest climber in the race. And mentioned that he could have a 5min lead going into tomorrow (stage 17) and still want more. Later in the article he said it different. I think he is worried he is not far enough ahead but he hopes the ITT will get him back any loss he gets unless it is TP 1+min up the road tomorrow.

 

[Oldermanish]

The youngster reminded everyone today that he plans to be aggressive. Tomorrow's stage could be the one everyone hopes for no matter who they favor.
I think it will go all the way to the TT, though.

Another really hard day with everyone throwing their best at the the Stage 17 final climb. Now....on to tomorrow which will be a little wilder, I think. Lots of climbing and descending to provide separation for guys trying to make a mark. Hopefully no serious players are taken out by technical elements but the descent into Flumet has some tricky turns and the gravel section Glieres could add drama.

 

[LancesLeftBall]

Tadej Pogačar is becoming one of my favorite riders. Dare I say, the last few days I have been rooting for him to overtake Roglic!!!???!!!

I have always had the belief that a Tour winner should be required to win a stage. So you would still have the GC, but even if you were #1 on total time (like Roglic is now) you would be placed down until someone with a stage win became #1 overall.

That would probably wreck havoc and I'm sure none of you would like that and give me a million reasons why it's a bad idea.

But Tadej Pogačar reminds me of my boy Lance. Very, very good at climbing and TT. You need to do both in order to win a GC. I'm just one nut, but I don't like it when a Tour winner has no stage wins to their name.

That's why I'm rooting for Tadej Pogačar right now; he has been more aggressive than Roglic, and he has won stages. If Roglic wins the TT, then I'll be satisfied. But if Roglic goes to Paris in Yellow without a stage win, I'll be deflated. Tadej Pogačar is strong and a great climber! And he's willing to give it that last little bit of effort to win a mountain stage vs. Roglic. I admire that!

 

[RedheadDane]

But if Roglic goes to Paris in Yellow without a stage win, I'll be deflated.

Well, he won't!

Stage 4 result.

 

[Oldermanish]

Tadej Pogačar is becoming one of my favorite riders. Dare I say, the last few days I have been rooting for him to overtake Roglic!!!???!!!

I have always had the belief that a Tour winner should be required to win a stage. So you would still have the GC, but even if you were #1 on total time (like Roglic is now) you would be placed down until someone with a stage win became #1 overall.

That would probably wreck havoc and I'm sure none of you would like that and give me a million reasons why it's a bad idea.

But Tadej Pogačar reminds me of my boy Lance. Very, very good at climbing and TT. You need to do both in order to win a GC. I'm just one nut, but I don't like it when a Tour winner has no stage wins to their name.

That's why I'm rooting for Tadej Pogačar right now; he has been more aggressive than Roglic, and he has won stages. If Roglic wins the TT, then I'll be satisfied. But if Roglic goes to Paris in Yellow without a stage win, I'll be deflated. Tadej Pogačar is strong and a great climber! And he's willing to give it that last little bit of effort to win a mountain stage vs. Roglic. I admire that!

With only one nut you're on the verge of being perpetually deflated. Stand erect and proud! Primoz is worthy but still several days away from an actual win. By the way....the GC first place is a win. Nothing to allow for flaccid support of Primoz if he does it.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Well, he won't!

Stage 4 result.

Yeah, i was starting to wonder if i imagined that.

 

[Red Rick]

Yeah, i was starting to wonder if i imagined that.

There's always the ITT, where probably Tom, Primoz and Wout play rock paper scissors beforehand to see who gets to win.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

There's always the ITT, where probably Tom, Primoz and Wout play rock paper scissors beforehand to see who gets to win.

I hope Wout goes all out, and doesn't save himself for Champs Elysées. I think he has as much, maybe more, chance of winning the ITT as winning the final sprint. Plus he could set a benchmark for Primoz and Tom.