Teams & Riders Tadej Pogačar discussion thread

[hayneplane]

In his case even 7 monuments, because he won LBL and Il Lombardia in 2024.

At the point of winning Paris-Roubaix it would be 5 in a row but if his level was so outrageously high that he did that then winning the two monuments most suited to him would be close to a formality.

 

[KZD]

I will be the first here to say that I don't like Pogacar's spring classics program. When they first announced it I was frustrated and disappointed.
What is there for Pogacar to gain in Gent Wevelgem, E3 Harelbeke and Amstel Gold Race? Nothing except a potential crash to ruin his season.
The gap between Pog and Jonas is too small for Pogi to do all these spring classics. I really hope he doesn't regret his choices in July.
Even if Pog wins 8 spring races it would mean nothing if Vingegaard crushes him in the Tour. In the eyes of the cycling world and media Jonas would be the alpha again.
I know that it's fun for Pogi to do Flanders and the other cobbles classics but I think it would be more fun for him to destroy a healthy Vinge in the TDF.

Of course it wouldn't mean nothing, he would become the first rider since Merckx to win three monuments in the same season and with Lombardia later in the season, he would have a high chance of becoming the first rider ever to win four monuments in one season.

Sure, a lot of the media (but certainly not all of it) would consider Jonas the "alpha again" but cycling is much more than the Tour and Pogačar fans like us have to see beyond the Tour otherwise we will not appreciate his career to the fullest.

 

[Peyroteo94]

Of course it wouldn't mean nothing, he would become the first rider since Merckx to win three monuments in the same season and with Lombardia later in the season, he would have a high chance of becoming the first rider ever to win four monuments in one season.

Sure, a lot of the media (but certainly not all of it) would consider Jonas the "alpha again" but cycling is much more than the Tour and Pogačar fans like us have to see beyond the Tour otherwise we will not appreciate his career to the fullest.

This. Pogacar is challenging Merckx because he wins monuments and GTs. Only 2 riders have double digits in monuments wins.

 

[Unchained]

But he still is working with UAE. He is coaching Ayuso. Maybe this is the reason Ayuso is not improving.

Ayuso had a great year, he is constantly improving. He at 22 can't be compared to 26 year old Pogacar by years of training and racing alone, but Pogacar is establishing performances that are among best of all time.
Asyuso would be silly to judge himself, let others judge him to bike racing anomaly who is 4 years older. Ayuso is doing great things on the bike. Showing certain fantastic traits like respectable to awesome TT times while still climbing at high level. If you think what Ayuso did in 2024 shows he is flat lined and not on upward trajectory, gotta ask who the reference riders are ..he had a good year..and UAE metrics are fairly clear.. Hirchi, Almeida, McNulty..all 26 years old ..52 wins between the 3 older guys..Sivakov 27 in the mix or a factor, excellent season.. Only serious issue Ayuso faces is unrealistic expectations and listening to anyone saying that 22 is the same as 26..

 

[Froome]

This. Pogacar is challenging Merckx because he wins monuments and GTs. Only 2 riders have double digits in monuments wins.

Nobody is challenging Merckx at the moment. There is still a lot of riders with better palmares than Pogacar.

 

[Peyroteo94]

Ayuso had a great year, he is constantly improving. He at 22 can't be compared to 26 year old Pogacar by years of training and racing alone, but Pogacar is establishing performances that are among best of all time.
Asyuso would be silly to judge himself, let others judge him to bike racing anomaly who is 4 years older. Ayuso is doing great things on the bike. Showing certain fantastic traits like respectable to awesome TT times while still climbing at high level. If you think what Ayuso did in 2024 shows he is flat lined and not on upward trajectory, gotta ask who the reference riders are ..he had a good year..and UAE metrics are fairly clear.. Hirchi, Almeida, McNulty..all 26 years old ..52 wins between the 3 older guys..Sivakov 27 in the mix or a factor, excellent season.. Only serious issue Ayuso faces is unrealistic expectations and listening to anyone saying that 22 is the same as 26..

Do you really think Ayuso had a good season? He won Pais Vasco because of that horrible crash. His best GT result was in 2022, there is no sign that he is showing great improvement year after year.

 

[Cookster15]

riders with better palmares than Pogacar

How many of these riders accrued their palmeres in 5 years or less? Pogacar only got started as a pro in 2019 and he is still only 26 years old. So his pro career is just 5 years and counting. Only Merckx stands above and if I am not mistaken he just matched Merckx’s best season?

 

[Froome]

How many of these riders accrued their palmeres in 5 years or less? Pogacar only got started as a pro in 2019 and he is still only 26 years old. So his pro career is just 5 years and counting. Only Merckx stands above and if I am not mistaken he just matched Merckx’s best season?

Until the moment. Pogacar can crash tomorrow and end his career or suddendly appear some new guy who wins everything. We don't know the future.

 

[Lorzenz08]

I cant imagine the watt stats next year if Pogi improves his level in addition to being fresher since no Giro.

Its going to be crazy haha

 

[hayneplane]

Do you really think Ayuso had a good season? He won Pais Vasco because of that horrible crash. His best GT result was in 2022, there is no sign that he is showing great improvement year after year.

I agree. I don’t think he has made many steps since his remarkable Vuelta podium just a few days before turning 20.

It seems like he may already be very close to the finished product which is still a very good rider but likely at most the winner of 1 Grand Tour if the stars align for him.

 

[VayaVayaVaya]

Why do half the posters on this thread sound the exact same? Is there an online training course for aspiring Pogacar disciples hosted by Mou? Or one person with multiple handles?

 

[Peyroteo94]

I agree. I don’t think he has made many steps since his remarkable Vuelta podium just a few days before turning 20.

It seems like he may already be very close to the finished product which is still a very good rider but likely at most the winner of 1 Grand Tour if the stars align for him.

He is not a top10 climber in the world. No one would think in 2022 that he wouldn't be a top10 climber in 2024.

 

[scribers]

Why do half the posters on this thread sound the exact same? Is there an online training course for aspiring Pogacar disciples hosted by Mou? Or one person with multiple handles?

Debate is strongly discouraged

 

[James M]

How many of these riders accrued their palmeres in 5 years or less? Pogacar only got started as a pro in 2019 and he is still only 26 years old. So his pro career is just 5 years and counting. Only Merckx stands above and if I am not mistaken he just matched Merckx’s best season?

No, he didnt match it mate. He surpassed Merckx's best season in every single metric you can measure in terms of result alone. He literally just finished the best season of all time. And that in a era and modern cycling where its 10x bigger, more profesional and specialized at least.

Taking that into the account its really easy to get how superior he is Merckx in terms of best/strongest its not even a debate.

 

[James M]

Hardly think its a pro cyclist in the peloton who dont say Pogacar already is the best, lost count how many who say it as the most obvious common thing be it a active rider or top legend its seems like a common thing now.

The torch def already been passed at age 26 is very insane/remarkable but again everyone thinking logically about it what he is doing in what time, where cycling is 5x more competetive in the fashion he does, it becomes very easy and a reason why every legend and rider already say him even tho he is still active and only 26, emotions aside its very easy in fact.

 

[yaf]

Nobody is challenging Merckx at the moment. There is still a lot of riders with better palmares than Pogacar.

Here we come again😁 just forget about 2023,22,21,20 pog and start to count from this year on & u will see greatness not only interms of wins but the way he wins

 

[Peyroteo94]

Here we come again😁 just forget about 2023,22,21,20 pog and start to count from this year on & u will see greatness not only interms of wins but the way he wins

This season will be important for others. If the gap gets bigger, I don't know who is gonna stop him for the next 5 years.

 

[Peyroteo94]

No, he didnt match it mate. He surpassed Merckx's best season in every single metric you can measure in terms of result alone. He literally just finished the best season of all time. And that in a era and modern cycling where its 10x bigger, more profesional and specialized at least.

Taking that into the account its really easy to get how superior he is Merckx in terms of best/strongest its not even a debate.

This is true but he still needs palmares.

 

[Peyroteo94]

Why do half the posters on this thread sound the exact same? Is there an online training course for aspiring Pogacar disciples hosted by Mou? Or one person with multiple handles?

You were here to remember Contador and we can agree it was way worse

 

[pablohidalgo7]

I agree. I don’t think he has made many steps since his remarkable Vuelta podium just a few days before turning 20.

It seems like he may already be very close to the finished product which is still a very good rider but likely at most the winner of 1 Grand Tour if the stars align for him.

To be fair, that podium was anything but remarkable (age aside), it took place on a shitty parcours (compared to that of the Vuelta 2023 for example) and in a very favorable context, Roglic out of shape and crashing out (also Simon Y. out) , Almeida with health problems I think, as always in the Vuelta... His only serious rivals who could finish were Remco and Mas and they were much better. Not to mention that in the stage that Roglic won in the first week, if someone would have push the pace of the group harder in the Herrera climb Ayuso would have lost a lot of time, he was completely at the limit but nobody cared at that time.

For me there is no doubt that in terms of physical condition he was somewhat better the following year, but the competition and the course were much tougher, and I already said at that time that maybe he wouldn´t match the expectations in term of results despite being stronger. I would also say that in the spring races of this year he was clearly better than in that Vuelta podium.

Even so, it is true that compared to others he has made little progress, but in Spain I doubt that this surprises anyone, it has always been said that he was very optimized since he was a teenager.

 

[Peyroteo94]

To be fair, that podium was anything but remarkable (age aside), it took place on a shitty parcours (compared to that of the Vuelta 2023 for example) and in a very favorable context, Roglic out of shape and crashing out (also Simon Y. out) , Almeida with health problems I think, as always in the Vuelta... His only serious rivals who could finish were Remco and Mas and they were much better. Not to mention that in the stage that Roglic won in the first week, if someone would have push the pace of the group harder in the Herrera climb Ayuso would have lost a lot of time, he was completely at the limit but nobody cared at that time.

For me there is no doubt that in terms of physical condition he was somewhat better the following year, but the competition and the course were much tougher, and I already said at that time that maybe he wouldn´t match the expectations in term of results despite being stronger. I would also say that in the spring race of this year he was clearly better than in that Vuelta podium.

Even so, it is true that compared to others he has made little progress, but in Spain I doubt that this surprises anyone, it has always been said that he was very optimized since he was a teenager.

The problem is San Millan said he was similar to Pogacar. He will never match those expectations. Other thing very important is nothing until now was remarkable in his career. If Vuelta podium was not remarkable, Pais Vasco win wasn't too because all favourites crashed out. After Pais Vasco, his season was horrendous. He was beaten by 4th tier stage racers fair and square.

 

[Peyroteo94]

Vingegaard's wife gives the Tactic to beat Pogacar.

Jonas Vingegaard's wife Trine on how to match Tadej Pogacar at 2025 Tour de France - "It all depends on what kind of race it is"

Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard are 2-2 against each other in the past four editions of the Tour de France where they were first and second. In 2025 we could see a tie-breaker between them, and wit...

cyclinguptodate.com

 

[Tim Cahill]

We're on to the questioning competitors injuries stage of the thread I see, excellent scenes, soon it will be 'd*cks out for Pog', 'Pogcoin', then did the moon landing really happen and then onto the threads natural conclusion, mass cyanide drinking in the middle of a field.

 

[scribers]

Vingegaard's wife give the Tactic to beat Pogacar.

Jonas Vingegaard's wife Trine on how to match Tadej Pogacar at 2025 Tour de France - "It all depends on what kind of race it is"

Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard are 2-2 against each other in the past four editions of the Tour de France where they were first and second. In 2025 we could see a tie-breaker between them, and wit...

cyclinguptodate.com

if I have to hear an opinion from someone’s spouse, it’s going to be oumi

 

[James M]

This is true but he still needs palmares.

True but only in terms of greatness not best. For instance by palmares alone means Roglic is twice the GT Vingegaard is, thats not how black and white we measure the best. Vingegaard been on a level Roglic never reached in terms of GT alone and clearly a better GT rider.

In terms of best of all time Pogacar has already cemented himself as the nr 1 of all time by a huge margin even - already. That part is already piss obvious (theres not a serious guy on this forum even who thinks Merckx is even half the climber Vingegaard is, nvm Pogacar who is many levels above that again or that Merckx would beat MvdP in Flandern) and as mentioned already a forgone conclusion within cycling and big profiles/legends/riders already saying it as the most obvious thing, every objective person would reach that conclusion and its already the case and happening right infront of our eyes. Its so special to witness this big part of history in real time and the guy is still 26 years old, its so rare.

In greatness terms indeed he is still young and need to add more longevity to match Merckx palmares theres no doubt about that but make no mistake theres never been a better rider than Pogacar in the history of the sport after this season, its undeniable.