Teams & Riders Tadej Pogačar discussion thread

[Unterlenkerfahrend]

I think both things can be true:
- WC ITT definitely isn't a big specific target for him in the context of the season. He also knew that his preparation was subpar and that the RR is more important.
- At the same time, this was probably his best chance ever parcours wise to win the rainbow jersey in the ITT. Very rare to get so much climbing. Pretty sure he knows that and - unlike previous years where he just showed up as part of training/to not let Slovenia down - really wanted to go for it and definitely tried to be in his best shape possible. Think he'll be quite disappointed because that opportunity with (outside of Remco) not a strong field and a perfect parcours won't come back that quickly.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

This was a nice, birthday gift from Remco: a motivation kick for the next Sunday and the next year.

 

[Peyroteo94]

I think both things can be true:
- WC ITT definitely isn't a big specific target for him in the context of the season. He also knew that his preparation was subpar and that the RR is more important.
- At the same time, this was probably his best chance ever parcours wise to win the rainbow jersey in the ITT. Very rare to get so much climbing. Pretty sure he knows that and - unlike previous years where he just showed up as part of training/to not let Slovenia down - really wanted to go for it and definitely tried to be in his best shape possible. Think he'll be quite disappointed because that opportunity with (outside of Remco) not a strong field and a perfect parcours won't come back that quickly.

Double WC is not going to happen in the future for sure.

 

[KoopaCycling]

This was a nice, birthday gift from Remco: a motivation kick for the next Sunday and the next year.

Well, Pogacar has 2 more years, before TT goes flat again.
I mean, i don't know the parcours, but both montreal and Haute-Savoie look like possible Pogacar opportunities.
Abu Dhabi likely does not.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Well, Pogacar has 2 more years, before TT goes flat again.

I was thinking more generally. Some of his recent comments suggested he was losing motivation. Maybe getting his *** kicked so badly like today will make him regain his fire. He won't forget Remco's overtaking for a long time.

 

[Peyroteo94]

Well, Pogacar has 2 more years, before TT goes flat again.

2 More years?

 

[KoopaCycling]

2 More years?

Looking at confirmed hosts, and their locations, 2027 likely next biggest chance.

 

[YavorD]

Because he's combined very different races .In 2024, the Giro was a previous extension of the Tour. He only did Liège .Without a doubt, the cobbles classics influence his training a lot.

That's what I said long time ago.
I do believe the Giro is better preparation for the Tour than the cobbled classics.

 

[Cycling111]

I'm sorry but he specifically mentioned training extra with his TT bike. he was aiming for it.
Maybe the parcours once seen in person was not as tough as initially led on. But this was a goal.
Not THE goal, but a goal. It's okay. For Pogacar this TT ain't that important, especially with the RR coming up.
But let's not pretend he did not want to win here.

For Pogacar, training for one day in TT bike after Tour de France is an extra .After the Tour, he never rides that bike. This time, he did it for a week. That's the extra training: one week
Very little, but for him, a lot, because once the Tour de France is over, in other years, he hasn't even ridden that bike.

What he said is true, he trained extra on the bike, because one week is an extra for him, for another no. Now, you have to assess whether a week is extra enough. It isn't, as some of us here have already said. It was ridiculous training. He didn't have any time because the Tour exhausted him and he had to go to Canada.
He only dedicated a few days of a week. Not even the whole week, because if you look at his Strava, you'll see he's done more 200km trainnings than time trials. And could also say he didn't train much for road races. He returned to training very late.

 

[KoopaCycling]

You can downplay it. That's fine. It was a goal when the year started.
Nothing wrong with missing out on a minor target when you won so much already.

I mean i'm sure he cared more about San Remo & Roubaix, but it was still a minor goal, going into the season.
Not sure why you're so on the defense about this.

If i'm a Pogacar fan, and my guy just had a season for the ages, i would not care all that much that he missed this one 'minor' target. especially since the season ain't over yet

 

[solo80k]

The God King is finally a human. Additional motivation for his next goals.

 

[Cycling111]

Looking at confirmed hosts, and their locations, 2027 likely next biggest chance.

I don't think he'll compete again in ITT WC; he does it every year with commitment with Slovenia team.

It's no coincidence that he does the time trial in the years Roglic isn't there.

The Australian time trial was flatter than the one in Zurich, but he did the Australian ITT(Roglic wasn't there) and not the Zurich ITT (Roglic was there).

 

[Miha81]

I don't doubt he would love to win a WC ITT. But it being a WC ITT, it's within a week of a WC road race, and 95% of the parcourses it will make more sense for him to prioritize the road race.

He said in Slovenian interview that he trained mainly for road race (hence the visit to Canada) but still looked kinda shellshocked. I guess he did not expect this kind of beat down. He acknowledged that he needs to prepare better if he wants to challenge likes of Remco in ITT. He hinted that it is not his best birthday and he will have to earn his gift next weekend.

 

[HashRouge]

He said in Slovenian interview that he trained mainly for road race (hence the visit to Canada) but still looked kinda shellshocked. I guess he did not expect this kind of beat down. He acknowledged that he needs to prepare better if he wants to challenge likes of Remco in ITT. He hinted that it is not his best birthday and he will have to earn his gift next weekend.

I do remember Cycling111 being worried a few weeks ago that he hadn't been seen out on his TT bike very much.

 

[Peyroteo94]

He said in Slovenian interview that he trained mainly for road race (hence the visit to Canada) but still looked kinda shellshocked. I guess he did not expect this kind of beat down. He acknowledged that he needs to prepare better if he wants to challenge likes of Remco in ITT. He hinted that it is not his best birthday and he will have to earn his gift next weekend.

He was surpassed by Remco. It was a humiliation.

 

[Lequack]

So now that he is washed, should he work for Roglic in the RR?

 

[AlpRaid]

He told he needed to race in Canada for the RR so I will wait for his performance next Sunday.

fear not. he will crush it.

 

[AlpRaid]

This performance will help him win the RR. Now Remco believe he can beat him so he will have Belgium control and then race for Pogacar in my mind.. If Pogacar had won with 1 min today Ii would be everyone against Slovenia. And no way Slovenia could handle that.

fair, but Pog is still the favorite. I don't think one TT changes that as much as you think.

 

[Peyroteo94]

fear not. he will crush it.

I don't fear anything anymore. I will never have a low like I had after Contador's crash in the Tour 2014. Even worse was seeing Nibali winning the Tour. Yeah, I disliked Nibali even more than Ayuso.

 

[AlpRaid]

Most likely he was just hoping to get a podium with less than optimal preperation. There's no way he thought he'd win this.

If anything this duel was extremely overhyped before the race, and that's not even Pogacar's fault.

well I do remember some interviews where he said he was targeting the ITT and wanted to measure himself directly against remco.

that didn't turn out so well, though he got his best placing ever, and possibly the illness he had had a big effect (tho he certainly seemed fine in Montreal). I still think Pog fans are over-reacting. I still expect a domination by him in the RR.

 

[AlpRaid]

I don't fear anything anymore. I will never have a low like I had after Contador's crash in the Tour 2014. Even worse was seeing Nibali winning the Tour. Yeah, I disliked Nibali even more than Ayuso.

wow, and I only like Contador when he was beating armstrong, but really wanted him to fail after and always, otherwise.

 

[AlpRaid]

I have to say, he just looked bad on the bike the entire time. Too upright. Terrible position.

I think it's who you may be comparing him with.

he did his best placing in this event ever.

however, losing almost 2 mins in the first 24 kms with two climbs...not a great look.

still expect him to destroy everyone in the RR.

 

[AlpRaid]

A strong break and he is in trouble.

I think Belgium or any other bigger nation will win.

what team has the quality of a pog and rog double threat?

 

[AlpRaid]

He would benefit from leaving UAE.

cycling (if not the world) would benefit from all riders leaving UAE.

 

[Red Rick]

well I do remember some interviews where he said he was targeting the ITT and wanted to measure himself directly against remco.

that didn't turn out so well, though he got his best placing ever, and possibly the illness he had had a big effect (tho he certainly seemed fine in Montreal). I still think Pog fans are over-reacting. I still expect a domination by him in the RR.

That is talk before. His actions speak differently, prioritizing Canada over altitude and or extra TT training.

Meanwhile, Pogacar uploaded to Strava and the climbing numbers are diabolical.