Teams & Riders Tadej Pogačar discussion thread

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Give the kid a break. He probably dug deeper at the Tour than he ever has. He needs a mental and physical break otherwise he'll burnout and have a shorter career.
He still could've honoured the Vuelta while taking a mental and physical break, see Andy Schleck for reference.
it's not unlikely though that Tirreno-Adriatico will end up being his biggest win this year ....while he could have bagged a fairly easy Vuelta win.
Strade? Also while not a win, second at the Tour is still bigger than T-A and even 3 stage wins at the Tour are potentially bigger.
 
it's not unlikely though that Tirreno-Adriatico will end up being his biggest win this year ....while he could have bagged a fairly easy Vuelta win.

Tied with SB, I think.

Winning three stages and 2nd overall in the Tour is no small feat either, but since he has won two already I guess people dont care.

Season aint over just yet either. Another win in a big one-day race would make it a very good season. Considering he has already showed what he can do in the classics with some impressive performances. He will also probably have learned a lot from some of his experiences this year. We will have to see how it affects him.
 
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A while back i read in an article in local media. Pogi basically said if he wins the Tour that is an indication of great form and he will do Vuelta. In that case who knows maybe he indeed would do Giro next year. This is now likely not going to happen hence 2 GTs per year are out of the picture for now. Rather smart decision if you ask me. Don't see on why he would need to do that just yet. For what exact purpose.
 
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Yeah I'm agreeing with the people thinking this is the right decision.

The one obvious thing is that he really shouldn't overdo it with the amount of races he does in a year. He is so young that he could theoretically still challange for grand tours in 15 years. He has so many chances left to win races like the Vuelta that there is just no need to risk burning out. If he was still feeling perfectly fresh then sure, go for it, but if he doesn't, which is the case I suppose, then there is absolutely no need to force himself into another three week race. If he wins another Lombardia that's still a huge accomplishment and if he actually wins the worlds I think that would completely save his season altogether.

The other smaller and less talked about thing which makes me think skipping the Vuelta might be a good thing is his media perception. I think Pogacar still has his golden boy status and most of the reactions from the media to the Tour result have been "Vingegaard and Jumbo were too strong" and not "Pogacar was too week". If Pogacar goes to the Vuelta unprepared and loses I seriously think people would start do doubt him. Now I guess we can argue about how much the media's and the fans' perception of a rider matter but I honestly think Pog shouldn't want to find himself in a media downward spiral and will want to keep his image of the "next cycling great" alive.
 
A while back i read in an article in local media. Pogi basically said if he wins the Tour that is an indication of great form and he will do Vuelta. In that case who knows maybe he indeed would do Giro next year. This is now likely not going to happen hence 2 GTs per year are out of the picture for now. Rather smart decision if you ask me. Don't see on why he would need to do that just yet. For what exact purpose.
Yeah, if he had won another Tour, why not go for something even bigger? But now that he has lost to Vingegaard his sole focus will lie on the Tour again as he will want that #1 GC rider status back. If he beats Vingegaard next season his goals might shift again.
 
his explosiveness and ability to dominate small group sprints would point to the worlds imo.

i understand those who say he now needs a big win to "salvage" his season. after all he is the Poginator. however, a quick look at his season so far (waaaaay ahead in points and some great wins), not really that much needed to salvage...seems pretty impressive already (for a 23 year old).
 
Just looking at procyclingstats, Pogacar has 45 race days this year. Last year he had 61 race days, so looking at his remaining schedule he's going to be short by about 8 race days versus his 2021 season. The lack of Itzulia in April being the obvious difference.

I still think there was space there to fit another GT in his 2022 season. Also, UAE will absolutely want the Tour de France next year so he won't do the Giro 2023 either.

I think for people like me who prefer Grand Tour champions to race in GT's rather than focus on classics & monuments, this is disappointing. It could have been a fun battle versus Hindley, Carapaz & Evenepoel.
 
Pog also crashed in the last week. Would UAE have had a better team in the Vuelta than in the Tour? Doubtful.

Makes perfect sense to take some time off and rest a bit after probably the hardest race he has ever done for many different reasons.

Hope he continues racing all sorts of races. Winning as many different races as possible. That is a true champion in my book. One that can do it all.
 
I have the same annoyance with the 2nd half of the season. It's Vuelta or nothing for too many riders. I also belive that adding good one day races to the calendar there should be the solution. This should include some really mountanious ones IMO.

Meanwhile, I wonder if for Pog it's mainly mental or physical fatigue.
Championships of Zurich was another post-Tour classic that added a little more umph to the July-Aug calendar. Long gone now though.
 
Pog also crashed in the last week. Would UAE have had a better team in the Vuelta than in the Tour? Doubtful.

Makes perfect sense to take some time off and rest a bit after probably the hardest race he has ever done for many different reasons.

Hope he continues racing all sorts of races. Winning as many different races as possible. That is a true champion in my book. One that can do it all.
Yes, it would be the Tour team plus Almeida, an addition. Pogi should’ve gone to the Vuelta.
 
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In the beginning of the season and before TdF, I really thought he should do the Vuelta...

However, that was the hottest, the fastest and perhaps the toughest riden Tour in a while, maybe ever? And Pog threw a lot in that battle. Better take a break, get some 1 day races under your belt and prepare for next season than suffering In the Spanish heat.
 
his explosiveness and ability to dominate small group sprints would point to the worlds imo.

i understand those who say he now needs a big win to "salvage" his season. after all he is the Poginator. however, a quick look at his season so far (waaaaay ahead in points and some great wins), not really that much needed to salvage...seems pretty impressive already (for a 23 year old).

A 23 year old that gets paid like 6,000,000 a year, allegedly.

I'm not mad, but I do think he's taking the easy way out, kind of. It's the softest GT route we've seen in a while. Perfectly suited to his characteristics. Rogla injured, Vingegaard not racing. Seems like a missed opportunity.

Hope I'm wrong though and he wins the biggest one-day races that are on his schedule. Starting with Donostia ;-)
 
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I think Tadej is mainly just tired and clearly also looks he could use a break,mentally which is understandably.

I am sad not to see him at La Vuelta but I think it would be too much.

I have a big suspicion we will see another kind of Pogacar headline in the 4 weeks he is nor racing…
I think it is almost time to make Urška a Pogačar:cool:

Apparently it is meant to be bad luck if you marry more than one year after engagement in Slovenia and well it is almost that time…