Teams & Riders Tadej Pogačar discussion thread

[Monsi]

I already said that everything said on the last day of the Tour needs to be put into context, and that afterwards he'd say something different.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1992159945782100031

View: https://x.com/cirogazzetta/status/1992159945782100031?t=K7GYMFsOJCLzhelnipdFsw&s=19

As expected. I never really considered that he would retire immediately post-LA Olympics. I always thought he would honor his current contract. Depending on his motivation, I think he'll have one more extension after 2030 before retiring.

 

[KZD]

I already said that everything said on the last day of the Tour needs to be put into context, and that afterwards he'd say something different.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1992159945782100031

View: https://x.com/cirogazzetta/status/1992159945782100031?t=K7GYMFsOJCLzhelnipdFsw&s=19

Hopefully we will get to watch the GOAT riding for as long as possible.

 

[scribers]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1991853804988555392

View: https://x.com/cirogazzetta/status/1991853804988555392?s=46&t=X4NqNG7J5ZQ-MxPOi53ECQ


Can remco stay with the cipressa selection if even well positioned?

 

[vappaxbipmv]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1991853804988555392

View: https://x.com/cirogazzetta/status/1991853804988555392?s=46&t=X4NqNG7J5ZQ-MxPOi53ECQ


Can remco stay with the cipressa selection if even well positioned?

I would think yes, although if he isn't in a good position coming into Cipressa, he has no chance. He can be a valuable ally in the flat part afterwards. I expect him to get dropped somewhere on Poggio, either on the climb or on descent

 

[James M]

I already said that everything said on the last day of the Tour needs to be put into context, and that afterwards he'd say something different.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1992159945782100031

View: https://x.com/cirogazzetta/status/1992159945782100031?t=K7GYMFsOJCLzhelnipdFsw&s=19

Imo he never said so either, and that was just people jumping to conclusions to me, arrest me if im wrong tho. Didn’t he say that in 28 he would maybe start thinking about when in the future it would suit him, which always was different from retiring in 2028.

Anyway, I saw Urska recently, 2–3 weeks ago say she would ride until 2028/29 at least, and Tadej a few more years than here. Anyway nightmare news for every pro cyclist out there.

 

[Oldman]

As expected. I never really considered that he would retire immediately post-LA Olympics. I always thought he would honor his current contract. Depending on his motivation, I think he'll have one more extension after 2030 before retiring.

Contract to 2030 or no; he'll know when he's done. I wouldn't be surprised if he just called in "I'm done" to whomever and go off into a peaceful retirement. Crank out a coupla' super babies with his lovely wife.

 

[Cycling111]

Last question: Most important, another Tour. It´s obvious, the fifth Tour.

This winter, what goal is most on your mind: winning the Tour again, the World Championships, Milan-San Remo, or Paris-Roubaix? And if you could only choose one victory in 2026, what would it be?

I think going to the Tour again. It's pretty obvious: it's the biggest race of them all. But I also want to prove myself in the Classics, to show if I can improve in one-day races compared to this year or last. Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix are two races I'm very motivated to try again and fight for the win.

It seems he won't be going to the Vuelta for a long time. He doesn't care about it.

If you were to retire one day without ever winning La Vuelta, would you feel your career was incomplete, or is that not something that obsesses you?

No, it doesn't obsess me. I want to go to La Vuelta, I want to compete, and of course, I want to win too. But if I ended my career today, I'd be quite happy.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1991450758546624957

View: https://x.com/ammattipyoraily/status/1991450758546624957?s=20

 

[AmRacer]

Interview in Marca (Spain): Last question: Most important, another Tour. It´s obvious, the fifth Tour.

This winter, what goal is most on your mind: winning the Tour again, the World Championships, Milan-San Remo, or Paris-Roubaix? And if you could only choose one victory in 2026, what would it be?

I think going to the Tour again. It's pretty obvious: it's the biggest race of them all. But I also want to prove myself in the Classics, to show if I can improve in one-day races compared to this year or last. Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix are two races I'm very motivated to try again and fight for the win.

It seems he won't be going to the Vuelta for a long time. He doesn't care about it.

If you were to retire one day without ever winning La Vuelta, would you feel your career was incomplete, or is that not something that obsesses you?

No, it doesn't obsess me. I want to go to La Vuelta, I want to compete, and of course, I want to win too. But if I ended my career today, I'd be quite happy.

Maybe if he wins MSR and PR.

 

[Cookster15]

He seems to be ticking off goals each season. Of course the TdF is always the biggest race in the sport and can’t be sacrificed for other goals (so will say UAE).

But I can see he wants to one day win PR and MSR. And he has come close enough already to know it can be possible. Problem is those two races are before the Tour and have higher risk of crashes and injury. He was bitten in 2023 when he got injured at LBL.

Will be interesting to see.

 

[hayneplane]

He seems to be ticking off goals each season. Of course the TdF is always the biggest race in the sport and can’t be sacrificed for other goals (so will say UAE).

But I can see he wants to one day win PR and MSR. And he has come close enough already to know it can be possible. Problem is those two races are before the Tour and have higher risk of crashes and injury. He was bitten in 2023 when he got injured at LBL.

Will be interesting to see.

I think he feels like he has already shown he can win the Vuelta and may only add it to the schedule when it becomes the biggest remaining gap on his palmares.

He is at heart a classicomano and the 5 monuments club is an even more exclusive club to join than the 3 Grand Tours club.

 

[James M]

I think he feels like he has already shown he can win the Vuelta and may only add it to the schedule when it becomes the biggest remaining gap on his palmares.

He is at heart a classicomano and the 5 monuments club is an even more exclusive club to join than the 3 Grand Tours club.

Vuelta is obvious easypeasy for him to get compared to some of the targets he is trying to tick off now imo. I think he's just being logical and pragmatic within his goals.

Maximize your window while you're a god, and as he gets older will do easy spring schedule with Tour and Vuelta sounds both convenient and logical to me.

 

[vappaxbipmv]

https://bici.pro/focus/incontri/pogacar-esclusivo-padel-sogni-campione/

We kind of already knew that but it does add some clarity, no Giro (and almost certainly no Vuelta)

 

[scribers]

The giro is nice but it can’t replace the drama of RVV and P-R

 

[Krzysztof_O]

He seems to be ticking off goals each season. Of course the TdF is always the biggest race in the sport and can’t be sacrificed for other goals (so will say UAE).

But I can see he wants to one day win PR and MSR. And he has come close enough already to know it can be possible. Problem is those two races are before the Tour and have higher risk of crashes and injury. He was bitten in 2023 when he got injured at LBL.

Will be interesting to see.

MSR isn't a scheduling problem or increased injury risk at all. Roubaix is a different story. Those are two biggest and most challenging goals: after a few tries Pogi must be realizing that MSR is very difficult to win (maybe the most) while Roubaix is difficult in all possible ways (physically challenging, injury risk and also there's his biggest rival on his best terrain: MVP).

 

[Cookster15]

MSR isn't a scheduling problem or increased injury risk at all. Roubaix is a different story. Those are two biggest and most challenging goals: after a few tries Pogi must be realizing that MSR is very difficult to win (maybe the most) while Roubaix is difficult in all possible ways (physically challenging, injury risk and also there's his biggest rival on his best terrain: MVP).

Agree. I didn’t mean to group PR and MSR on increased risk of injury. Only that these are the two monuments he hasn’t won but hasn’t given up trying.

Until 2024 I thought he should avoid crash prone races like Roubaix as that jeopardised his Giro and/or Tour participation through possible injury. This view is because of his 2023 LBL crash which I thought was a factor in his collapse on Loze that year.

But now he’s won the Giro-Tour double and another Tour this year I have changed my mind on him targeting these monuments.

And at 27 now the end of his career is beginning to appear on the horizon so he doesn’t have as much time to win these races before he declines as he did in 2023.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Agree. I didn’t mean to group PR and MSR on increased risk of injury. Only that these are the two monuments he hasn’t won but hasn’t given up trying.

Until 2024 I thought he should avoid crash prone races like Roubaix as that jeopardised his Giro and/or Tour participation through possible injury. This view is because of his 2023 LBL crash which I thought was a factor in his collapse on Loze that year.

But now he’s won the Giro-Tour double and another Tour this year I have changed my mind on him targeting these monuments. And at 27 now the end of his career is beginning to appear on the horizon.

There's always a risk, and in a race like PR it's bigger but he's gunning for history: winning PR and MSR at least once is important so he has to try while at his very best (as those races are the most difficult to win) and it's good that he's already won the Tour 4 times. The pressure to participate in the Tour will get a bit weaker when he gets 5th (or maybe 6th), not earlier.

 

[YavorD]

There's always a risk, and in a race like PR it's bigger but he's gunning for history: winning PR and MSR at least once is important so he has to try while at his very best (as those races are the most difficult to win) and it's good that he's already won the Tour 4 times. The pressure to participate in the Tour will get a bit weaker when he gets 5th (or maybe 6th), not earlier.

To be honest it's entirely possible to win all the monuments (and a WC) in the same aeson.
I dare to say that if he accomplishes that, even without winning the Tour, that would be the most impressive season ever

 

[Krzysztof_O]

To be honest it's entirely possible to win all the monuments (and a WC) in the same aeson.
I dare to say that if he accomplishes that, even without winning the Tour, that would be the most impressive season ever

Basically only one man prevented him from doing it this year (MVP) but obviously he's a big man and will stay there for some time.

 

[YavorD]

Basically only one man prevented him from doing it this year (MVP) but obviously he's a big man and will stay there for some time.

Made me think, with a perfect leadout up Cipressa (this year it wasn't, Del Toro was basically passenger and Narvaez/Pog were out of position), would it be so "easy" for MVP to stay with Pogacar?

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Made me think, with a perfect leadout up Cipressa (this year it wasn't, Del Toro was basically passenger and Narvaez/Pog were out of position), would it be so "easy" for MVP to stay with Pogacar?

MVP is super good at short, anaerobic efforts (also uphill) plus his power is big enough to stay on Pog's wheel on shallow climbs. We will see next year but he's definitely a very tough customer to drop there.

 

[YavorD]

MVP is super good at short, anaerobic efforts (also uphill) plus his power is big enough to stay on Pog's wheel on shallow climbs. We will see next year but he's definitely a very tough customer to drop there.

Oh, yeah, definitely not easy to drop VDP there.
My point was that UAE were far from perfect as well IMO.
If they don't succeed in dropping him next year, perhaps it's time to be a bit more tactical, if they have the strength to have 2 or 3 in a group if 15.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

If they don't succeed in dropping him next year, perhaps it's time to be a bit more tactical, if they have the strength to have 2 or 3 in a group if 15.

If it's impossible to overpower MVP then using multiple options is worth trying.