Teams & Riders Tadej Pogačar discussion thread

[Cycling111]

When? On the box he said 'maybe he'll come back'.

In a previous interview.

Anyway, he's now burned out by the third week of the Tour; by February 2026, he'll already be thinking about his fifth Tour.

By the way, yesterday Pogacar almost ruled out fighting today's stage, and we've seen it..... Pogacar loves this sport above all else.
What he says now about being exhausted from the Tour doesn't necessarily mean what he'll say in a few months.

 

[Rou]

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=d6U9hToBGTg

I told you guys that Pogacar is playing with the media.
Days ago he was talking about burnout, fatigue, etc...
Now he is saying that the Tour was a nice race and next week he will miss it.
And he is still cryptic about the Vuelta and doesn't deny going there.

 

[Peyroteo94]

You have a link?

Not from him, sorry. Clickbait probably.

 

[Cycling111]

Not from him, sorry. Clickbait probably.

I have no doubt he'll do the Tour next year. We're overanalyzing a tired Pogacar at the end of a Tour. This has happened to everyone, even Hinault, after one Tour, said he was fed up and came back to win the fifth.

In February 2026, he'll probably be thinking about winning the fifth; he knows he has to win it. And with maturity, he knows he has to win it in his prime, not do the Giro-Vuelta, as someone said, and return to the Tour in 2027. That would be mentally exhausting, taking a year off from the Tour and then mentally preparing himself for a comeback.

 

[fenns]

If Jonas was not in the Vuelta he'd definitely go to Spain because it would be so much easier - he may well leave it a while until making a decision.

 

[Offline]

In a previous interview.

You have a link?

 

[Cycling111]

It´s not disposable either. that once he wins 5 Tours and 1 Vuelta, he will retire from GT but continue competing only in classics for a few more years.

If Jonas was not in the Vuelta he'd definitely go to Spain because it would be so much easier - he may well leave it a while until making a decision.

I don't think Pogacar's final decision depends on that when he has just won the Tour without difficulty.

 

[Rou]

If Jonas was not in the Vuelta he'd definitely go to Spain because it would be so much easier - he may well leave it a while until making a decision.

They will talk with Sola after checking the data after the Tour.
Unlike some people I think Pogacar was riding conservatively with a purpose and had more in the tank.
In one interview he was about to say something like 'the second week we sealed the deal' but he changed his words to not sound arrogant.
The plan was to end the Tour on Hautacam and Peyragude and save energy later.

 

[scribers]

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=d6U9hToBGTg

I told you guys that Pogacar is playing with the media.
Days ago he was talking about burnout, fatigue, etc...
Now he is saying that the Tour was a nice race and next week he will miss it.
And he is still cryptic about the Vuelta and doesn't deny going there.

He keeps his publicist up at night with anxiety

 

[Rou]

He keeps his publicist up at night with anxiety

I don't trust his words anymore.
I wait to see his actions.

 

[yaf2]

Meanwhile somewhere in paris...

https://twitter.com/x/status/1949547347907645932

View: https://x.com/trollcycling3/status/1949547347907645932?t=F8_WDfPIdzN-v6XWq-y9rA&s=19

 

[Cycling111]

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=d6U9hToBGTg

I told you guys that Pogacar is playing with the media.
Days ago he was talking about burnout, fatigue, etc...
Now he is saying that the Tour was a nice race and next week he will miss it.
And he is still cryptic about the Vuelta and doesn't deny going there.

The Vuelta isn't denying it because the team will want to make it official that Ayuso is going. It's a matter of simple protocol. I think it's clear today that he's not going to the Vuelta.

And right now, he wouldn't even want to go to the World Championships, but in a week, he'll think differently.

If you read interviews with former Tour de France cyclists, they always say that after the Tour de France, they didn't want anything else, but a few weeks later, they thought differently

He's burned out for the moment, but in a few weeks he'll be thinking about Rwanda.

This year, there are only three weeks behind Tour and Vuelta, so I don't think he'll change his mind, but there's no way to draw any conclusions about his retirement or other races. What riders say in the last week of the Tour doesn't usually match up with what they think once they've had a few days off.

 

[Needsnewtyres]

Pog's contract runs to end of 2030 - at which point he'll be 32. My assumption is he'll run his contract then retire; he might go before, but he won't hang on after. Vingo's contract runs to end of 2027, literally a few weeks after his 31st birthday; my firm belief is that he will retire definitively on New Tear's Eve 2027.

These blokes came in at the summit of the sport and stayed there. They won't hang on riding for scraps - especially not when they've each made their money. They'll both retire from racing young, rich, and lauded - and then get on with Act II of their respective lives.

 

[Rou]

The Vuelta isn't denying it because the team will want to make it official that Ayuso is going. It's a matter of simple protocol. I think it's clear today that he's not going to the Vuelta.

And right now, he wouldn't even want to go to the World Championships, but in a week, he'll think differently.

If you read interviews with former Tour de France cyclists, they always say that after the Tour de France, they didn't want anything else, but a few weeks later, they thought differently

He's burned out for the moment, but in a few weeks he'll be thinking about Rwanda.

This year, there are only three weeks behind Tour and Vuelta, so I don't think he'll change his mind, but there's no way to draw any conclusions about his retirement or other races. What riders say in the last week of the Tour doesn't usually match up with what they think once they've had a few days off.

I don't think Ayuso is a reason for anything.
Pog can say he's not going and Joao can be the sole leader without a problem.
Tadej is giving himself some time to see how he feels.

 

[Cycling111]

Pog's contract runs to end of 2030 - at which point he'll be 32. My assumption is he'll run his contract then retire; he might go before, but he won't hang on after. Vingo's contract runs to end of 2027, literally a few weeks after his 31st birthday; my firm belief is that he will retire definitively on New Tear's Eve 2027.

These blokes came in at the summit of the sport and stayed there. They won't hang on riding for scraps - especially not when they've each made their money. They'll both retire from racing young, rich, and lauded - and then get on with Act II of their respective lives.

I don't know what Vingegaard will do, but the situation are nothing like Pogacar. Pogacar competes year-round against the best. Vingegaard has been out of the Tour for only a week with Pogacar some years.

Aside from the fact that Vingegaard started as a domestique, Pogacar, at 20, took on the responsibility of leading a UAE team that was a disaster. He didn't arrive in the UAE like Del Toro in a favorable situation.

Pogacar's wear and tear is far greater than Vingegaard's over the years. If Vingegaard retires young, it will be due to his own circumstances or thoughts.

 

[SHAD0W93]

Oh boy. Not this *** again. Why is it these guys at the top of their sport fantasize about early retirement. Everyone one of them regrets it

It might depend on how the next 3 years go for him. Take Tom Brady for example has said he thinks he would have retired after the 2007 season or soon after if the Patriots would have went undefeated compared to them losing and he playing until he’s 45. Pogacar has been riding at a high level for a very long time and not everyone has the drive to keep on riding as they age. Maybe in 3 years he decides to just do classics and that’s it for his last two years of contract. But 3.5 more seasons to go is more than enough time to add to his legend.

 

[Fos]

Pogacar doesn't talk one single time about the Vuelta.
His goals are PR and TdF next year and Los Angeles in 2028. No more.

Cause Vuelta will be won this year

 

[Poursuivant]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1949554563293339792

View: https://x.com/itvcycling/status/1949554563293339792

 

[Peyroteo94]

Pog's contract runs to end of 2030 - at which point he'll be 32. My assumption is he'll run his contract then retire; he might go before, but he won't hang on after. Vingo's contract runs to end of 2027, literally a few weeks after his 31st birthday; my firm belief is that he will retire definitively on New Tear's Eve 2027.

These blokes came in at the summit of the sport and stayed there. They won't hang on riding for scraps - especially not when they've each made their money. They'll both retire from racing young, rich, and lauded - and then get on with Act II of their respective lives.

This.

 

[scribers]

He will retire earlier. No need to go till 36.

The need = full legacy. Not asterisks and what if’s. He’ll get every chance for a full retirement after

 

[Peyroteo94]

The need = full legacy. Not asterisks and what if’s. He’ll get every chance for a full retirement after

No way he races until 36. He is a winner and no other rider has won for 15 years.

 

[Urbi27]

After all his interviews I won't be surprise if he will take one year off in TdF.

He loves classics because he could go deep and not think about tommorow. Even on the Giro or in Vuelta he could go there and have fun. In TDF is always the presure and even with big time margin he was focus about controlling and in my opinion he hates it.

I hope he will go to the Vuelta and have freedom, real freedom.

 

[Charlyghoul]

I think he’d be crazy not to go for number 5 and hopefully 6 at the tour while he’s still young and dominant, if he gets the 5 the pressures off somewhat as well.

 

[Cycling111]

After all his interviews I won't be surprise if he will take one year off in TdF.

He loves classics because he could go deep and not think about tommorow. Even on the Giro or in Vuelta he could go there and have fun. In TDF is always the presure and even with big time margin he was focus about controlling and in my opinion he hates it.

I hope he will go to the Vuelta and have freedom, real freedom.

I see it the other way around. By saying he's not going to have a long career, he knows he has to win the fifth Tour as soon as possible because he won't be at this levels many years.

And I think we're giving too much importance to statements made in the third week after being sick for a few days.

In the second week, his statements were very different, and he said he hadn't come here to make friends but to win.
The statements have changed with mental exhaustion, exacerbated by being sick.

You're concluding that he won't be going to the Tour in 2026, when a week ago he was saying he wanted to win a lot of stages in the Tour. What matters is what he'll think after a few weeks of rest, and I have no doubt it will be to win the fifth Tour as soon as possible. When he achieves that, he'll be able to think about other options. Now, they're simply statements made at moment of tiredness; a week ago, his statements were very different

 

[QueenStagiaire]

No way he races until 36. He is a winner and no other rider has won for 15 years.

Valverde won for 20 years. Sean Kelly won MSR at 35 and raced until 38, Moser raced up to 36, De Vlaeminck was still around at 36 (although he wasn‘t the most successful his last five years), nowadays Froome is still riding at 40, Nibali went until 37, Boonen was 36. Plenty of greats stayed there until high age. I‘m not sure he‘ll stay until he‘s 36, but I can‘t see him stopping before 2030, that would be unprecedented.