Teams & Riders Tadej Pogačar discussion thread

[Salvarani]

But this year the route in Vuelta is very easy. Let him win and probably risk his WC but he will have opportunities in 2026 and 2027

He will be risking too much for the upcoming years by potentially overdo it this season.

 

[Netserk]

(he would not race the Vuelta even if he didn't crash).

He would. No different than the year before.

 

[Salvarani]

They can be very compatible. Think the debate is whether you can reasonably do Tour-Vuelta-WC back to back to back with the aim of winning all 3x

Possible but not smart to target when you have also gone hard in the spring. Doing all of MSR, Ronde, PR and LBL

People seem to forget all the preparation that he has done here as well. Just focusing on race days doesnt tell the story about the workload, or the hard work for and in these races.

 

[BubbaChuck]

problem is mixing classics and gts.you could see,how easy was last year for pog,when he did mainly stage races.he looked fresh whole season,like he is on perenial training camp,lol.in 2023 he was dead after brutal season.its completelly different duking it out with vdp in spring,than jonas in summer and still going strong in autumn.thast not the same as doing as doing vuelta catalunya and fighting with lanador gaudu,lol.why do you think jonas is taking it so easy.or remco.vdp is literally on vacation right now.

 

[Salvarani]

problem is mixing classics and gts.you could see,how easy was last year for pog,when he did mainly stage races.he looked fresh whole season,like he is on perenial training camp,lol.in 2023 he was dead after brutal season.its completelly different duking it out with vdp in spring,than jonas in summer and still going strong in autumn.thast not the same as doing as doing vuelta catalunya and fighting with lanador gaudu,lol.why do you think jonas is taking it so easy.or remco.vdp is literally on vacation right now.

Exactly.

Pog can do a lot but he shouldnt do everything in one year.

 

[BubbaChuck]

you can ask jonas,if he would od same calendar.dead in may.

 

[Froome]

problem is mixing classics and gts.you could see,how easy was last year for pog,when he did mainly stage races.he looked fresh whole season,like he is on perenial training camp,lol.in 2023 he was dead after brutal season.its completelly different duking it out with vdp in spring,than jonas in summer and still going strong in autumn.thast not the same as doing as doing vuelta catalunya and fighting with lanador gaudu,lol.why do you think jonas is taking it so easy.or remco.vdp is literally on vacation right now.

Strade bianche, MSR, LBL, Il Lombardia, WC are not "classics? He did those last year.

 

[BubbaChuck]

yes he did,but mainly hills and no vdp on his terrain.beating chumps in strade is not the same as fighting vdp in pr or flanders.pog said pr was 1 of hardest races he ever did.you should know the best about this.jonas is posterchild for this method.

 

[Peyroteo94]

He would. No different than the year before.

No, he wouldn't. It was planned but his wife got pregnant.

 

[Peyroteo94]

He will be risking too much for the upcoming years by potentially overdo it this season.

The Vuelta will be a walk in the park for him but we will never agree on this one.

 

[Salvarani]

yes he did,but mainly hills and no vdp on his terrain.beating chumps in strade is not the same as fighting vdp in pr or flanders.pog said pr was 1 of hardest races he ever did.you should know the best about this.jonas is posterchild for this method.

And he has done weeks in training of preparation for Ronde and PR. He almost won them both.

After LBL he will have break and start building towards the Tour. He will also be doing Dauphine before it.

He should then have a break in August and focus on WC + Lombardia.

 

[scribers]

I’ll bet they can track kj across the season training + race days and inch toward a busier and busier schedule. It would not surprise me to see the vuelta added. But it’s wait and see if he stays on the bike and what does Vingo look like in July for him.

 

[Salvarani]

The Vuelta will be a walk in the park for him but we will never agree on this one.

It wouldnt and it would be risking a lot for the future.

 

[Peyroteo94]

The only reason I see for him to avoid the Vuelta this year is if somehow Vingegaard can push him beyond his limits in the Tour. A lot of his schedule will be determined by Vingegaard's shape.

 

[YavorD]

The Vuelta will be a walk in the park for him but we will never agree on this one.

Depending on how strong Vingegaard is.
With a very strong Vingegaard the Vuelta can never be walk in the park.

 

[Salvarani]

The only reason I see for him to avoid the Vuelta this year is if somehow Vingegaard can push him beyond his limits in the Tour. A lot of his schedule will be determined by Vingegaard's shape.

No, it is determined by what he has raced in the season already.

He can do the Vuelta in 3/4 possible scenarios... but this season he has chosen the one scenario where it wouldnt be wise at all to do it, for his own sake.

So he will just have to win the Vuelta another year.

Or risk his future by overloading and overdoing it this season.

I know what I think is smart and best to do.

 

[Rou]

Pogacar goes crazy in March/April, something the other 2 don't. If you really think Pogacar can't recover like Roglic and Vingegaard, you are not watching cycling in the last year.
Vingegaard in the Vuelta 2023 was stronger than Pogacar in the Giro 2024?

As I said, I want Pog to do the Vuelta this year against a focused Vingegaard. But my gut feeling is that he won't.
If Pogacar wins the Dauphine and the Tour then I don't have any issues with him missing the Vuelta. But if Jonas cracks him in July then I see no excuse for Pogi to miss the Tour of Spain.
In that case I would view the season for him as a fail even if he potentially wins World's TT + World's RR + Lombardia.
What is important for Pog's legacy is the number of times he wins the biggest races against his arch rivals. I don't care about Lombardia victories against Enric Mas.

 

[Peyroteo94]

Depending on how strong Vingegaard is.
With a very strong Vingegaard the Vuelta can never be walk in the park.

I mentioned it.

 

[Peyroteo94]

As I said, I want Pog to do the Vuelta this year against a focused Vingegaard. But my gut feeling is that he won't.
If Pogacar wins the Dauphine and the Tour then I don't have any issues with him missing the Vuelta. But if Jonas cracks him in July then I see no excuse for Pogi to miss the Tour of Spain.
In that case I would view the season for him as a fail even if he potentially wins World's TT + World's RR + Lombardia.
What is important for Pog's legacy is the number of times he wins the biggest races against his arch rivals. I don't care about Lombardia victories against Enric Mas.

I completely agree. He put the bar so high that he can win all monuments but the Tour to Vingegaard and his season will be a failure.

 

[YavorD]

No, it is determined by what he has raced in the season already.

He can do the Vuelta in 3/4 possible scenarios... but this season he has chosen the one scenario where it wouldnt be wise at all to do it, for his own sake.

So he will just have to win the Vuelta another year.

Or risk his future by overloading and overdoing it this season.

I know what I think is smart and best to do.

No. If Vingegaard is no match for him the Vuelta will be basically a training camp. He wont be overdoing anything in this scenario.

 

[Salvarani]

As I said, I want Pog to do the Vuelta this year against a focused Vingegaard. But my gut feeling is that he won't.
If Pogacar wins the Dauphine and the Tour then I don't have any issues with him missing the Vuelta. But if Jonas cracks him in July then I see no excuse for Pogi to miss the Tour of Spain.
In that case I would view the season for him as a fail even if he potentially wins World's TT + World's RR + Lombardia.
What is important for Pog's legacy is the number of times he wins the biggest races against his arch rivals. I don't care about Lombardia victories against Enric Mas.

He would have still have added potentially 2 monuments and another WC in such a scenario. Not too bad.

Plus it would probably be a big motivation to choose a scenario where he skips cobbles and does two GTs next season.

 

[Peyroteo94]

No, it is determined by what he has raced in the season already.

He can do the Vuelta in 3/4 possible scenarios... but this season he has chosen the one scenario where it wouldnt be wise at all to do it, for his own sake.

So he will just have to win the Vuelta another year.

Or risk his future by overloading and overdoing it this season.

I know what I think is smart and best to do.

He was fresh as a daisy after the Tour last year. His fatigue will be determined by the shape of Vingegaard. I don't count Remco, Pogacar in the Giro's shape would destroy any version of Remco in a mountain stage.

 

[Salvarani]

No. If Vingegaard is no match for him the Vuelta will be basically a training camp. He wont be overdoing anything in this scenario.

It is not all about Vingegaard.

 

[Salvarani]

He was fresh as a daisy after the Tour last year. His fatigue will be determined by the shape of Vingegaard. I don't count Remco, Pogacar in the Giro's shape would destroy any version of Remco in a mountain stage.

He wasnt at all if you listen to him.

 

[snipeheem]

He was fresh as a daisy after the Tour last year. His fatigue will be determined by the shape of Vingegaard. I don't count Remco, Pogacar in the Giro's shape would destroy any version of Remco in a mountain stage.

After the Tour he said that he is very tired and doesnt feel good for 2-3 weeks