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Teams & Riders Tadej Pogačar discussion thread

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Which stage in 2021 TdF was it that Pogacar rode away from everyone with ease - seated? This was before Ventoux. Was that the day Vingegaard has his mechanical? Nobody expected Ventoux. Just like nobody expected Granon in 2022.

Sadly with his crash and interrupted prep this year nobody is expecting Pog to challenge a Vingegaard walk over in July. But knowing what he is capable of we can’t rule him out yet.
 
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"Which stage in 2021 TdF was it that Pogacar rode away from everyone with ease - seated?" Stage 8 2021 Tour I assume you mean.
The Ventoux stage was stage 11 of 2021. Pogacar cracked on that stage thanks to Ineos riding hard all the way up for the second ascent in the heat, which leads to Grannon 2022 when Jumbo did a more nuanced version, again in the heat.
If it's hot this year, expect something similar to be tried if Pogacar is 100% fit.
 
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Which stage in 2021 TdF was it that Pogacar rode away from everyone with ease - seated? This was before Ventoux. Was that the day Vingegaard has his mechanical? Nobody expected Ventoux. Just like nobody expected Granon in 2022.

Sadly with his crash and interrupted prep this year nobody is expecting Pog to challenge a Vingegaard walk over in July. But knowing what he is capable of we can’t rule him out yet.
There were two stages he rode away from everyone in 2021: stage 8 over the Romme-Colombiere when he gained almost 3 and a half minutes and stage 9 to Tignes when he gained around 30 seconds. Vingegaard crashed on stage 8.

Let's see how Pogacar recovers from the injury. Obviously, he should not be underestimated.
 
Which stage in 2021 TdF was it that Pogacar rode away from everyone with ease - seated? This was before Ventoux. Was that the day Vingegaard has his mechanical? Nobody expected Ventoux. Just like nobody expected Granon in 2022.

Sadly with his crash and interrupted prep this year nobody is expecting Pog to challenge a Vingegaard walk over in July. But knowing what he is capable of we can’t rule him out yet.
The Tour starts hard from the go and even "easy" stages are dangerous and demanding. Tadej's been good at avoiding issues by strong positioning in the past which could be his first big challenge. Unless he's doing this for form it's as much of an unknown as Primoz's Giro; except there deeper competition. Never a dull moment this year.
 
Which stage in 2021 TdF was it that Pogacar rode away from everyone with ease - seated? This was before Ventoux. Was that the day Vingegaard has his mechanical? Nobody expected Ventoux. Just like nobody expected Granon in 2022.

Sadly with his crash and interrupted prep this year nobody is expecting Pog to challenge a Vingegaard walk over in July. But knowing what he is capable of we can’t rule him out yet.
I’m not too worried about him, I doubt his crash will affect his Tour in any meaningful way. That Tourmalet stage comes early though and I expect Vingegaard to gain time especially if he can get Wout up the road, but the crash may be blamed by some of that happens.
 
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I think something that is over looked is that last year Pogacar was undermined by losing 2 team mates + an other sick team mate : Majka.

This year, the UAE team seems stronger, so if they also avoid losing team members, they'll be stronger than last year.
It might be super helpful against the tactics used last year trying to isolate Tadej, and especially if he's not 100% in the first week.
Will see....
 
I think something that is over looked is that last year Pogacar was undermined by losing 2 team mates + an other sick team mate : Majka.

This year, the UAE team seems stronger, so if they also avoid losing team members, they'll be stronger than last year.
It might be super helpful against the tactics used last year trying to isolate Tadej, and especially if he's not 100% in the first week.
Will see....
Hirschi (who won yesterday) was drafted in late from TdS with suspected covid and Majka first had mild covid then left injured after his chain broke. UAE riders were also changing bikes often.
I think it does not matter who's in the team as Pogacar will attack alone when he thinks there is a chance or will follow wheels then hope his team catches up.
 
From what I read, Pogacar will take it easy for a week (when it comes to outdoor riding at the altitude) and then will have a 2-week proper training block. TBH I'm not sure if it's enough, normally he has a longer preparation. This is far from optimal. I don't doubt that he will bring good watts for the Tour (he does it in most races) but those shortcomings can still affect him at some point of the 3-week race.
 
From what I read, Pogacar will take it easy for a week (when it comes to outdoor riding at the altitude) and then will have a 2-week proper training block. TBH I'm not sure if it's enough, normally he has a longer preparation. This is far from optimal. I don't doubt that he will bring good watts for the Tour (he does it in most races) but those shortcomings can still affect him at some point of the 3-week race.
I don't really understand in this day and age why he needs any riding outside to prepare. It's not like his bike handling skills will disappear and you can ride indoors endlessly now days and do as much targeted training and altitude training as you like.

The only limit is not going insane being inside lol.

I think he will be ready and flying.
 
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I had a dream last night that Pogi and Vinge were in a climb going full tempo but still with 3-4 guys following. And then Vinge drops a huge attack and Pogi can't do anything, he stays in the group with those 3-4 guys, and even struggles to maintain a high tempo with the group.

I hope this dream and post will serve as a reverse jinx :tearsofjoy:
 
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I had a dream last night that Pogi and Vinge were in a climb going full tempo but still with 3-4 guys following. And then Vinge drops a huge attack and Pogi can't do anything, he stays in the group with those 3-4 guys, and even struggles to maintain a high tempo with the group.

I hope this dream and post will serve as a reverse jinx :tearsofjoy:
I have never dreamt with procycling, maybe I'm not a real fan :disrelieved:
 
Vingegaard in 2023:

O Gran Camino: 3 stage wins and the overall.
Paris Nice: 1 stage win and 3d on GC.
Itzulia: 3 stage wins and the overall.

He's going to ride Dauphine next week (and will probably win that as well).

It's Pogacar who's the anomaly. Vingegaard has tried the classics but somehow he just can't do it. So now he's decided to focus on stage racing. What is wrong with that? As for being a boring person, some of us don't just look at who smiles at the camera the most to find the most interesting personality.
Vingegaard is a respectfull rider. Let's not forget his class atitude when he waites for pogacar in the descent of spandelles, after being attacked by him in a dangerous descent. He always respects everybody and is always praising his rivals.

He just needs to focus on grand tours, and one week races. That's where he is good and can make himself a legend of cycling.
 
From what I read, Pogacar will take it easy for a week (when it comes to outdoor riding at the altitude) and then will have a 2-week proper training block. TBH I'm not sure if it's enough, normally he has a longer preparation. This is far from optimal. I don't doubt that he will bring good watts for the Tour (he does it in most races) but those shortcomings can still affect him at some point of the 3-week race.
Like one of his coaches said, it's enough. Vingegaard has the ability to put himself in top shape very fast.
 
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Like one of his coaches said, it's enough. Vingegaard has the ability to put himself in top shape very fast.
the circumstances are a little different this year in that, unlike many previous Tours a rider still recovering from some injury or illness knew they could just sit in the bunch the entire 1st week or so. But this year, Stages1&2 seem like places Pogacar could potentially gain some (not a lot) time and he needs to be ready for Stages 5& 6.
 
I love how this time of year, we're just trying to decode quotes like they're puzzles. I have my doubts about Pog's fitness and ability to train for the race with his injury. With that said, who knows. I think one of Pog's great problems is his aggression. Great in one day races, a liability in a 3 week bike racing where accumulated fatigue matters. He raced for a ton of small bonus seconds here and there throughout the first part of last year's Tour, including a stinging move in the cobbled stage which might have made a difference if not for Van Aert. However I do wonder how those little moves and sprints impacted him against a fresher, Ving.

That's a long way of saying, I've worried about the the first 2 or 3 stages of the 2023 for a while. We could all imagine Pog chasing bonus seconds in them while Ving just sits protected with his team guiding him. Instead, I can imagine a scenario where Pog just rides a smart cautious race until we get to the mountains and then is more rested. Of course, even with the injury, watch Pog still attack in those early stages. I hope he's learned his lesson but I am skeptical.

I do hope Pog is 100% fit not just because I am a fan of his but it's hard to imagine the race being interesting without him challening Ving, unless the latter really was a 1 race phenomena.
 
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I don't know. This is starting to feel like one of those cases where before the season we say "Pog needs to be at 100% to bring the fight to Vingegaard" but then small thing after small thing goes wrong and suddenly after every little mishap we tell ourselves "this is not perfect but he can still overcome this". This feels so much like how people talked themselves into thinking Contador would surely beat Froome this year even though there were tons of little bits of evidence against it. I hope to be wrong but I'm starting to fear this Tour might not even end up that close.
 
I don't know. This is starting to feel like one of those cases where before the season we say "Pog needs to be at 100% to bring the fight to Vingegaard" but then small thing after small thing goes wrong and suddenly after every little mishap we tell ourselves "this is not perfect but he can still overcome this". This feels so much like how people talked themselves into thinking Contador would surely beat Froome this year even though there were tons of little bits of evidence against it. I hope to be wrong but I'm starting to fear this Tour might not even end up that close.
It's weird to me how the narrative shifted since the Liege crash, like 100% Pog is rated lower now than before his crash.
 

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