Teams & Riders Tadej Pogačar discussion thread

[Salvarani]

It is only "natural" Vingegaard goes in as the favorite this time, since he won it last time.

That Pog also crashed in Liege and has not had an optimal preparation, just adds to it.

Can Pog still win? Of course, he can!

There is really no point in speculating further until the race is underway.

 

[VayaVayaVaya]

It's weird to me how the narrative shifted since the Liege crash, like 100% Pog is rated lower now than before his crash.

Why is that weird? Pog looked like the big favorite and like he could beat Vinge, but then he broke his wrist and is just now getting back on the road. Seems reasonable that popular opinion would shift in favor of Vingegaard to me.

 

[Red Rick]

Why is that weird? Pog looked like the big favorite and like he could beat Vinge, but then he broke his wrist and is just now getting back on the road. Seems reasonable that popular opinion would shift in favor of Vingegaard to me.

I'm talking about 100% Pog, so assuming the crash didn't matter.

 

[Netserk]

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.

Well, Pogi had his best ever spring. I think he'll be fine.

 

[QueenStagiaire]

It's weird to me how the narrative shifted since the Liege crash, like 100% Pog is rated lower now than before his crash.

I think it‘s a general narrative shift, a few weeks ago, everyone’s talking about the Giro and now everybody is suddenly talking about how they should all do the Tour and how Vingegaard is amazing in the Tour and then the contenders for the Vuelta will be led by Landa because he‘s won Burgos or something and it‘s the same with the classics, Pog is amazing in the classics=>Hot hand fallacy kicks in, Vingegaard has just done more amazing numbers and Pog isn‘t considered to be as good as in the classics… I just realised my rambling is completely unreadable: good

 

[Red Rick]

Well, Pogi had his best ever spring. I think he'll be fine.

Maybe Pog is actually the Nadal of cycling if he was injured when he loses

 

[CyclistAbi]

Is tennis a sport?

 

[Salvarani]

Maybe Pog is actually the Nadal of cycling if he was injured when he loses

Wouldnt Nadal be like a rider who only cares about one race though?

 

[tobydawq]

Wouldnt Nadal be like a rider who only cares about one race though?

No

 

[Salvarani]

No

It is not a sport anyway so it is hard to compare them, I guess.

 

[tobydawq]

It is not a sport anyway so it is hard to compare them, I guess.

Luckily, the entire world is not evolved around Netserk's whims.

 

[Salvarani]

Luckily, the entire world is not evolved around Netserk's whims.

Luckily, everyone is not so miserable all the time and can laugh at things. Have a good day

 

[tobydawq]

Luckily, everyone is not so miserable all the time and can laugh at things. Have a good day

 

[Nick2413]

The hype of Pog running the table and getting the best season in history after his Flanders win was more on the lines of drunken pub talk. I think most of us were still in the 50/50 range of him winning the tour.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

The hype of Pog running the table and getting the best season in history after his Flanders win was more on the lines of drunken pub talk. I think most of us were still in the 50/50 range of him winning the tour.

Yup, my thoughts. Pog had a monstrous first part of the season but when it comes to the Tour a difficult battle was expected. I rated them about 50/50 but obviously now I'm rating Vinge's chances higher.

 

[tobydawq]

The hype of Pog running the table and getting the best season in history after his Flanders win was more on the lines of drunken pub talk. I think most of us were still in the 50/50 range of him winning the tour.

I think I said that. And I don't think I was drunk at the time. Nor did I post from a pub.

But yeah, let's just pretend he wasn't the big favourite to win Liège and that he didn't have an air of complete invincibility around him after Amstel. Tour was and is 50/50 but if that happened, there was a potential, I wasn't awarding his 2023 season as the best of history at the time...

 

[kingjr]

I think I said that. And I don't think I was drunk at the time. Nor did I post from a pub.

But yeah, let's just pretend he wasn't the big favourite to win Liège and that he didn't have an air of complete invincibility around him after Amstel. Tour was and is 50/50 but if that happened, there was a potential, I wasn't awarding his 2023 season as the best of history at the time...

I think the feeling after Amstel was that Ben Healy maybe would have caught him again without the race organizer intervening, and that he may be starting to fade slightly towards the end of the classics season.

 

[tobydawq]

I think the feeling after Amstel was that Ben Healy maybe would have caught him again without the race organizer intervening, and that he may be starting to fade slightly towards the end of the classics season.

I think that was neither here nor there. Healy catching him was very unlikely if not completely improbable. Healy beating him in the sprint, however, was less likely than Fraile winning the Tour. So I don't know the point of this. He had also been riding with a flat for a long time.

 

[kingjr]

I think that was neither here nor there. Healy catching him was very unlikely if not completely improbable. Healy beating him in the sprint, however, was less likely than Fraile winning the Tour. So I don't know the point of this. He had also been riding with a flat for a long time.

I agree with you, but that was the vibe I got from some of the reporting at the time.

 

[tobydawq]

I agree with you, but that was the vibe I got from some of the reporting at the time.

I think people had to have something to talk about. And it was very wrong what happened, however, not altering the results of the race.

 

[Rackham]

Yup, my thoughts. Pog had a monstrous first part of the season but when it comes to the Tour a difficult battle was expected. I rated them about 50/50 but obviously now I'm rating Vinge's chances higher.

We're 4 weeks away from the Tour. Vingegaard most likely has an insane level (just look at how he casually did a lead out for Laporte with a finger in his nose), meanwhile Pogacar does training rides with his left wrist wrapped up.

Before Liège I reckoned Pogacar was going to take the Tour but after seeing his recent pics... I think I don't like seeing his wrist like that so close to July.

In this sport where every little detail counts, the details are well & truly not on Pogacar's side right now.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

We're 4 weeks away from the Tour. Vingegaard most likely has an insane level (just look at how he casually did a lead out for Laporte with a finger in his nose), meanwhile Pogacar does training rides with his left wrist wrapped up.

Before Liège I reckoned Pogacar was going to take the Tour but after seeing his recent pics... I think I don't like seeing his wrist like that so close to July.

In this sport where every little detail counts, the details are well & truly not on Pogacar's side right now.

Here is a new article. Teddy confident in the form of his legs but admits his wrist won't be 100% and he may need a brace during the Tour:

Four weeks, two races, lots of wrist braces: Can Tadej Pogačar hit top form for Tour de France?

'Maybe the wrist won't be 100 percent, but the legs can be': Pogačar choses training over stage racing ahead of yellow jersey bout with Vingegaard.

velo.outsideonline.com

 

[Cookster15]

Here is a new article. Teddy confident in the form of his legs but admits his wrist won't be 100% and he may need a brace during the Tour:

Four weeks, two races, lots of wrist braces: Can Tadej Pogačar hit top form for Tour de France?

'Maybe the wrist won't be 100 percent, but the legs can be': Pogačar choses training over stage racing ahead of yellow jersey bout with Vingegaard.

velo.outsideonline.com

I am not confident with these recent setbacks that Pogi can beat Vingegaard in the Tour. But a braced wrist should not impede his prep very much if at all.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

I am not confident with these recent setbacks that Pogi can beat Vingegaard in the Tour. But a braced wrist should not impede his prep very much if at all.

He says he can't sprint. Not a problem now but at the Tour it will. Even if it improves significantly it could be recommended that he shouldn't do it (in order not to risk).

 

[SHAD0W93]

He says he can't sprint. Not a problem now but at the Tour it will. Even if it improves significantly it could be recommended that he shouldn't do it (in order not to risk).

Doesn’t need to sprint when he has a weapon now to smack the others around with.