Teams & Riders Tadej Pogačar discussion thread

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Pogacar is at hearth a classic rider, he really enjoys one day races and he will not miss a single world until the day he retires ( same goes for the other monuments). I think he has a soft spot for the giro ( close to home + cold days) vs vuelta ( hot and close to WC and fall classics); don't really see the vuelta on the menu unless the sponsor really pressures him.
He already said he wants to win the Vuelta so he will go there one day, I just hope it's not too late.
 
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Maybe he will make a deal with jonas asking him to skip vuelta & giving him a stage in tdf in return😉 perhaps la plange who knows😁
It would be great for Pogacar to burn Vingegaard in the Tour and he decides to not race the Vuelta.
On the other side, Pogacar vs Vingegaard is what I want to see in GTs. Seeing another Giro 2024 will be painful to my eyes.
 
Mont Ventoux is very hard and somewhat they need to tire Pogacar for Col de la Loze. It's also after a rest day so a bad day can happen, even if I believe Pogacar will gain time, they need to try. The Tour is almost lost so what do they lose?

Mt Ventoux will be epic. Basically FTP duel. Both Vingegaard and Pogacar will be eager to attack, methinks. Pogacar to win the stage, Vingo to gain time. The pace will be set by both Visma and UAE and somewhere near the middle of the climb (on the steep section) one of them will attack first (not sure who).

As for the Alps, Pog should turn into fully defensive mode. Those stages are huge and can do the damage so it's better to ride conservatively with 4-5 minute GC lead. He can still win a stage by stomping Vingo at the end (if breakaway is chased down).
 
This hard pace of Visma will work unfortunately, not for the Tour but for the Vuelta. Pogacar is mentally tired.
Has there been any year that Pog hasn't been mentally tired after the Tour? It's such an intense 3 weeks. And this year he's been going really hard with racing and camps constantly since March already. I'm not sure he will have the motivation for the Vuelta. After all, once you win the tour, you've really got very little to prove or win from winning the Vuelta.

I think it will be tempting to take his normal wc + autumn classics schedule rather than push on for 3 more weeks of intense gt racing.
 
Has there been any year that Pog hasn't been mentally tired after the Tour? It's such an intense 3 weeks. And this year he's been going really hard with racing and camps constantly since March already. I'm not sure he will have the motivation for the Vuelta. After all, once you win the tour, you've really got very little to prove or win from winning the Vuelta.

I think it will be tempting to take his normal wc + autumn classics schedule rather than push on for 3 more weeks of intense gt racing.
He is always tired because he peaks for April too.
But some day he needs to win the Vuelta and this year the route is very easy.
 
One year he'll have to sacrifice the rainbow.

I'd also prefer the World Championship . But winning the three GTs is a must for someone like him.

Indurain retired without winning Vuelta because he postponed it too long.
I dont think he should prioritize the vuelta before the WC. Racing the Vuelta the years he wins the tour seems like a lot of effort to show something that is already clear from the tour.

With indruain for example, his status is completely based on the tour wins and getting one or two vueltas would change little for his legacy.

With rainbow jerseys i think he should absolutely go for it the years the route suits him, its not a huge sacrifice, and the rewards are potentially very big (he should absolutely aim to join the 3 time winners club, which is not a feat to underestimate)
 
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He is always tired because he peaks for April too.
But some day he needs to win the Vuelta and this year the route is very easy.
Rwanda route is already perfect for him and there is no guarantee Montreal will be suited for him. Everybody think they will have the same route as usual but they could easy change it (last 30km could be flat).Rwanda route is also much more easy for Slovenian team to control it then. There is also TT where he could win. With WC double and 5th Lombardia he would be just relaxed in future for that part of season. I hope he wins San Sebastian, Quebec, WC double and Lombardia. But first bring TdF home.
 
Rwanda route is already perfect for him and there is no guarantee Montreal will be suited for him. Everybody think they will have the same route as usual but they could easy change it (last 30km could be flat).Rwanda route is also much more easy for Slovenian team to control it then. There is also TT where he could win. With WC double and 5th Lombardia he would be just relaxed in future for that part of season. I hope he wins San Sebastian, Quebec, WC double and Lombardia. But first bring TdF home.
It will be very similar to GP Montreal. They love Pogacar in Canada, of course they will make a route where he can win.
 
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I don’t think that’s what they had in mind when they said pogi should let some other riders win
Wellens' victory is half thanks to Visma.

First, Campenaerts and Van Aert insisted on breaking away after the crash. At the time, Wellens was with Pogacar, but seeing the insistence of those riders, Pogacar told him to go to the break.

Then, Campenaerts seemed to be Wellens's domestique when Storer attacked and Campenaerts pulled with Wellens at his wheel the entire climb :sweatsmile:
 
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