Teams & Riders Tadej Pogačar discussion thread

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They might need to try something new. I think 2 years ago they wanted to set up Pog on the Cipressa but the team didn't position well. This year, they came closer but it wasn't a perfect lead-out for Pog. Maybe, they'll try again next year and hope they have a couple of guys left in a train to power up from the bottom.
He needs to attack on Cipressa but it is important to make the race slightly harder before. Probably with Politt
 
I think Remco has problems staying "light". He probably loses power.
Realistically doing the longer work loads that benefit Pogacar and other GT contenders would accomplish both of those things. It's always been a balance, IMO. Could he do it if really wanted that increased climbing ability? Hard to say with the theatrics coming from Saddlegate. He doesn't deal well with actual failure when he feels he's put out the effort.
One thing he should seek some comfort in: he was that close to Pogacar in horrible ozone/air quality and terrain conditions. Granted, Pogacar rode 100km at his pace with little that resembled substantial pace changing attacks. He's gotten good at the subtle tempo changes that build and blow sh*t up.
 
Pogacar and MvdP have won 15 of the last 17 major one-day races (Monuments/WC). The two they didnt win were MSR, where MvdP waited for Philipsen, and Liege, where Pogacar crashed out.
You should count Olympics IMO.
5 Races in 2025
7 races in 2024
6 races in 2023

Since 2023, we had 18 major one day races and Remco won 2, Philipsen 1 and MVP/Pogacar 15 wins.
We still have GdL where Pogacar is a strong favorite so there is a possibility MVP/Pogacar won 17 of the last 20 major one day races.
 
You should count Olympics IMO.
5 Races in 2025
7 races in 2024
6 races in 2023

Since 2023, we had 18 major one day races and Remco won 2, Philipsen 1 and MVP/Pogacar 15 wins.
We still have GdL where Pogacar is a strong favorite so there is a possibility MVP/Pogacar won 17 of the last 20 major one day races.
Yeah, 3 riders are winning 22 of the last 25 (going back to 2022), with 2 of them winning 19, big one day races and you're telling me that competition nowadays is big...
Certainly the stats don't confirm it.

The scary thing is that similar thing applies to GT's as well. The only GT that either Pogacar, Roglic or Vingegaard finished, but didn't win was the Vuelta 2023. And we all know the story of this race.
 
The problem is this dominance will probably last 2 more years.
Yeah, 3 riders are winning 22 of the last 25 (going back to 2022), with 2 of them winning 19, big one day races and you're telling me that competition nowadays is big...
Certainly the stats don't confirm it.

The scary thing is that similar thing applies to GT's as well. The only GT that either Pogacar, Roglic or Vingegaard finished, but didn't win was the Vuelta 2023. And we all know the story of this race.
 
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The problem for Pogi on MSR is MVDP.
Without MVDP, big chances Pogi would have already won 2x MSR

2024 MSR good chances that no one bridges the gap on the Pogio, 2025 no one follows on Cipressa and he go solo.

It is pretty sad to say but I think unless MVP is having a bad day only luck can get Pogi to win over MVP in MSR.
And probably same thing for PR.
 
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May 10, 2024
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Here's my first attempt. Data taken of course from PCS, the GOAT of cycling stats.
Methodology: take a cycling race and evaluate it as a series of one-to-one matches.
Then calculate ELO of riders with this system. From 1900 - 2025, each year 15 ELO points are reduced from each rider and riders with no races are eliminated from next year's list. When two riders are compared, their relative ELO difference plays a huge role in how ELO is redistributed. Read link below for more info.
I experimented a lot. The first idea was to calculate all possible matchups in a race and adjust ELO rating of all pairs of riders. ELO is standard formula used for example in chess.
Instead of calculating all N*(N-1)/2 pairs, I decided to just compare top 10 or top 20 (for one-day/gc result tables) to all others. makes sense, since in most rases places below 10/20 are not really contested and cannot be treated as "matches" between two riders. Since ELO is exchange (rider A gains X ELO and rider B loses same X amount), the calculation is stable in any pairwise situation. I have taken a list of races (GT's + all GT stages , WC races, monuments, major week races (gc only), classics), 116 races in all (past and present) and ran the calc with many different parameters. Things depend on them, of course, but one thing remains stable in all scenarios: Tadej Pogačar has the highest ELO of all time.
If you find this approach interesting, I can post more about it when I find the time.
3ka-OUtv-Imgur.png
 
Jul 14, 2024
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Very true, but I'd like to see him try!
Yeah, 3 riders are winning 22 of the last 25 (going back to 2022), with 2 of them winning 19, big one day races and you're telling me that competition nowadays is big...
Certainly the stats don't confirm it.

The scary thing is that similar thing applies to GT's as well. The only GT that either Pogacar, Roglic or Vingegaard finished, but didn't win was the Vuelta 2023. And we all know the story of this race.
Pogacar at the 2023 Vuelta?
 
The problem for Pogi on MSR is MVDP.
Without MVDP, big chances Pogi would have already won 2x MSR

2024 MSR good chances that no one bridges the gap on the Pogio, 2025 no one follows on Cipressa and he go solo.

It is pretty sad to say but I think unless MVP is having a bad day only luck can get Pogi to win over MVP in MSR.
And probably same thing for PR.
I also see MSR as almost impossible for him to win.