Teams & Riders Tadej Pogačar discussion thread

[Lequack]

But how else will we see a Remco vs Pog duel if not at Amstel.

 

[Cycling111]

That doesn’t diminish his accomplishment (though you can argue other things tarnished it) and it did establishment him at the top puncheur of that period. Schleck were formidable opponents for him at LBL.

I wasn't saying this for Gilbert's , I said thinking about what decision Pogacar will make.

But how else will we see a Remco vs Pog duel if not at Amstel.

Liege, Tour, Rwanda, Lombardia.

 

[BubbaChuck]

pog season is only starting,he is fine.his muscle recovery is crazy good.he cramped yesterday,he wasnot fully 100%,but no excuses.he didnot crashed,cause he overcooked corner.he was fatigued and confused motorbike parked in that f.... corner for leading one,lmao sh... happens in a moment.

 

[jono]

He's finished his road season yesterday. We know how bad he is in july so the only race left is mtb worlds.

Unlike past years there are some stages for him in this year's Tour. I wouldn't be surprised to see a first week like in 2021. Might even abandon before the finish as well to work on MTB.

 

[CyclistAbi]

Congratulations on the way the battle was unfolding at PR and for me personally the result is better then i have expected.

 

[Sciatic]

Pogacar crashed at Strade. He could have played the victim, as many rider have done, by exaggerating and
saying that he was affected that week , but he admitted that another rider was superior in Sanremo.
Why is it so hard to do the same with him in Flanders and admit that he´s the best Flandier ?


In Flanders, Pogacar is better than Mathieu. But since last year I read that Pogacar wasn´t superior to Remco in Lombardia, it doesn't surprise me that everything is being questioned to continue underestimating his achievements.

I don't understand why some fans insist on underestimating everything. It seemed obvious that he's better Flandier since 2023, but after yesterday's race, I think there should be no doubt that if he's almost impossible to drope him in a flat section, he's better on sections with some gradient in Flanders.



I'm not going to argue about it any further. Since I started reading this thread, it's been a constant practice to discredit everything. The idea that he's not the best in Lombardia or that he only won because Remco arrived tired after four years of winning... WTF.
If some question him even Lombardia, everything will be undervalued.

I think you’re just not acknowledging some elements of human nature in this. I think Pogacar, by his wins the last two years, is easily seen as the best at RvV right now, but that doesn’t rule out MVDP beating him next year. Since this is a discussion forum, of course folks who see chinks in the armor of the top dog or future reversals of fortune are going to post about that with lengthy rationales. The folks who agree that Pogacar is absolutely the best in an “of course!” perspective may not bother to post explanations or post at all. Or when they do it could look like this:
GOAT
Pog!
Yup
GOAT!!
GOAT
+1000
You da man (ok that was from yesterday’s Masters)
GOAT

Which really isn’t very interesting reading! It makes sense that folks with counter-arguments would post more, and we should be glad that the folks who don’t, as you put it, “discredit everything” don’t feel the need to post constant bland affirmations.

 

[yaf2]

Unlike past years there are some stages for him in this year's Tour. I wouldn't be surprised to see a first week like in 2021. Might even abandon before the finish as well to work on MTB.

Where was he on the gravel stage last year? It was tailor made for him & if yesterdays race was in the tour he would finish 100th. He peaks only for once a year or maybe for world championships(only for a day) but he doesn't have the capacity to be strong all year & in 2021 he didn't win a single monument & was competitive only in flanders but got beaten by asgereen.

 

[Peyroteo94]

Where was he on the gravel stage last year? It was tailor made for him & if yesterdays race was in the tour he would finish 100th. He peaks only for once a year or maybe for world championships(only for a day) but he doesn't have the capacity to be strong all year & in 2021 he didn't win a single monument & was competitive only in flanders but got beaten by asgereen.

He is very one dimensional in GTs. He only can win uphill sprints but we didn't have one stage suited to him in the last 3 years. We had the gravel stage and the mini PR but not many more suited to him.

 

[Peyroteo94]

AGR is a difficult race and just one week after PR. I'm almost certain he will not contest it. FW is more of a warm-up race and it's more likely he will be there.

Why is it a difficult race? Recovery isn't a problem for Pogacar. That is his main strenght compared to his classics rivals. I'm sure he will go hard on training tomorrow.

 

[Monsi]

In 2 days we will probably know if he will ride AGR or not. I hope so!
His team will probably be way better than 2 years ago so it is hard to look past him.
UAE team:
Pogacar
Christen
Novak
Grobschartner
Narvaez
And maybe Sivakov and Covi

UAE's provisional AGR team has that exact team you mentioned, except they have McNulty instead of Covi, which is weird because McNulty is in terrible shape atm.

 

[Peyroteo94]

But how else will we see a Remco vs Pog duel if not at Amstel.

And LBL?

 

[Peyroteo94]

I wasn't saying this for Gilbert's , I said thinking about what decision Pogacar will make.


Liege, Tour, Rwanda, Lombardia.

You seriously put the Tour there?

 

[jono]

Where was he on the gravel stage last year? It was tailor made for him & if yesterdays race was in the tour he would finish 100th. He peaks only for once a year or maybe for world championships(only for a day) but he doesn't have the capacity to be strong all year & in 2021 he didn't win a single monument & was competitive only in flanders but got beaten by asgereen.

Pogacar is the only rider I have seen that has no fluctuations in level throughout his entire season, defying all conventional wisdom.

Worth noting that MVDP has an additional winter peak in Dec-Jan that other road riders don't need to plan around.

 

[Peyroteo94]

Pogacar is the only rider I have seen that has no fluctuations in level throughout his entire season, defying all conventional wisdom.

Worth noting that MVDP has an additional winter peak in Dec-Jan that other road riders don't need to plan around.

I still think he has been poor in the Tour due to lack of opportunities. This year is different.

 

[Cycling111]

You seriously put the Tour there?

I don't think Remco will be at Pogacar's level in the Tour, but they'll be rivals in that race.
Everyone who competes in the same race is a rival.

 

[jono]

I still think he has been poor in the Tour due to lack of opportunities. This year is different.

He wouldn't ride the Tour if his sponsors didn't require it. He has used it as base training for a major target (2023) or just ridden along disappointingly (2022 + 2024). In 2022 he felt the effects of a very stupid Giro-Tour double coming off a major back injury. In 2021 he had a first week suited to him and was also well along in his preparation (engine-wise) for Tokyo Olympics MTB.

Hoping for a more 2021-style participation, preferably with an early withdrawal as well.

 

[Lequack]

Backstage pass Paris Roubaix

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqvC9Ae1mSU&feature=youtu.be

 

[Peyroteo94]

I don't think Remco will be at Pogacar's level in the Tour, but they'll be rivals in that race.
Everyone who competes in the same race is a rival.

I hope you are joking. Using your logic, do you really think (for example) Carlos Rodriguez is a rival of Pogacar?

 

[Peyroteo94]

He wouldn't ride the Tour if his sponsors didn't require it. He has used it as base training for a major target (2023) or just ridden along disappointingly (2022 + 2024). In 2022 he felt the effects of a very stupid Giro-Tour double coming off a major back injury. In 2021 he had a first week suited to him and was also well along in his preparation (engine-wise) for Tokyo Olympics MTB.

Hoping for a more 2021-style participation, preferably with an early withdrawal as well.

This year, the first week has plenty of opportunities, not only for stage wins but also to wear the yellow jersey.

 

[scribers]

Pogacar is the only rider I have seen that has no fluctuations in level throughout his entire season, defying all conventional wisdom.

Worth noting that MVDP has an additional winter peak in Dec-Jan that other road riders don't need to plan around.

I’ve come to the conclusion pogacar might have 2-3 peaks but basically operates effectively at less than 100% successfully. Most world class athletes have one super peak (Olympic athletes as example). Others have to compete a longer schedule of effective performance like football, tennis, etc.

The bruyneel method of focusing in July forces cycling into superpeaks. Look at Vingo for example and remco as well really. And for 30+ years it’s been this way. Pogi is the first to defy this

 

[Cookster15]

Pogacar is the only rider I have seen that has no fluctuations in level throughout his entire season, defying all conventional wisdom.

I think Pogacar's level does vary. He was better in last year's Tour than in the Giro for example. But I think he used the weak field and easier parcours of the Giro (compared to what we usually see) to ride himself into form for the Tour de France. It obviously worked.

And Valverde was known to be strong all season (albeit a lower level than Pogacar of course).

 

[Jan the Man]

I’ve come to the conclusion pogacar might have 2-3 peaks but basically operates effectively at less than 100% successfully. Most world class athletes have one super peak (Olympic athletes as example). Others have to compete a longer schedule of effective performance like football, tennis, etc.

The bruyneel method of focusing in July forces cycling into superpeaks. Look at Vingo for example and remco as well really. And for 30+ years it’s been this way. Pogi is the first to defy this

Pogacar is the extreme because he is a high level throughout and can win big races when not in a traditional ‘peak’ per se - but i don’t agree that we have not seen riders consistently well at a high level throughout seasons - just their level is never at a specialisation to win a tour or good enough to win tours. It is purely some grand tour specialists who since Armstrong tended to focus on June/ July.

Plenty of sprinters have been consistently great at winning races of their capabilities throughout a year, Cancellara was pretty consistent throughout the year, Gilbert, Valverde others etc

Remco and Van Aert (until last 2 years) are super competitive whenever they compete

Pog is however unique as a throwback in that he is capable of winning all types of races

 

[Lorzenz08]

I’ve come to the conclusion pogacar might have 2-3 peaks but basically operates effectively at less than 100% successfully. Most world class athletes have one super peak (Olympic athletes as example). Others have to compete a longer schedule of effective performance like football, tennis, etc.

The bruyneel method of focusing in July forces cycling into superpeaks. Look at Vingo for example and remco as well really. And for 30+ years it’s been this way. Pogi is the first to defy this

Yes, but the reason the "superpeak method" is used is because most cyclists are relatively not very competitive for some races no matter if they peak for it or not. So those who superpeak would rather do it for one event, than waste their time peaking for something they know they wont be competitive enough.

Like Vingegaard could prepare an entire year just for Paris-Roubaix and he wouldnt break top 30.

 

[Peyroteo94]

The problem is Pogacar's base level is stronger than almost everyone's ceilling.

 

[Lorzenz08]

The problem is Pogacar's base level is stronger than almost everyone's ceilling.

This is very true as well. This is a big part of why his recovery is so good. Its that he needs to strain his body less than others to be competitive.