Teams & Riders Tadej Pogačar discussion thread

[Peter von]

Regarding his comments that he will probably be back in P-R but is not sure ... Unless he attempts a Giro-Tour double (possible Vuelta participation will depend on successful double) I don't see a scenario where he'd skip P-R. Bottom line, either he races the Giro or P-R

yeah, maybe.

As long as he is dominant in the Tour, he can afford these side quests.

also back to back 2nd places... simply by playing the numbers game he looks bound to win it eventually if he keeps at it.

Then again, Pogi might just find motivation in mixing up his schedule once in a while.

 

[Lorzenz08]

The funny thing is that I think he ended up with a better result than if everything went on to plan with no major issue for anyone.

I think MVDP definitely wouldnt have been dropped, neither WVA even if probably much harder for him to follow, all 3 would arrive to the Velodrome together and he finishes 3rd place.

 

[vappa]

yeah, maybe.

As long as he is dominant in the Tour, he can afford these side quests.

also back to back 2nd places... simply by playing the numbers game he looks bound to win it eventually if he keeps at it.

Then again, Pogi might just find motivation in mixing up his schedule once in a while.

For sure but I just cannot imagine another reason for skipping it other than Giro. Surely he wouldn't skip P-R to go for Ardennes triple😅

 

[rafa92]

The funny thing is that I think he ended up with a better result than if everything went on to plan with no major issue for anyone.

I think MVDP definitely wouldnt have been dropped, neither WVA even if probably much harder for him to follow, all 3 would arrive to the Velodrome together and he finishes 3rd place.

nope, with a "normal" race pogacar and mvdp drop everyone, with all those punctures and time spent chasing the race dynamics completely changed but with a linear race van aert is simply not at pogacar and mvdp level. One race will not change what we have seen from these riders in terms of their level over the course of many races and many years, especially considering how strange this edition was.
If everything went according to plan as you say, mvdp would have very likely won the race (I'm almost certain about that) with pogacar 2nd, and van aert third by some margin.

 

[Coppi-Bartali]

If they had taken Julius to Paris-Roubaix, Pogacar would have won. Because that guy has the soul of a domestique and in his current form he would have brought Pogacar back to the peloton in a minute

 

[canina82]

I think UAE needs to find a classics guy (for cobbles) with the same height of Pogacar. This is very important.

 

[rafa92]

I think UAE needs to find a classics guy (for cobbles) with the same height of Pogacar. This is very important.

why, to give him a bike when needed? they already have that, there's a video showing morgado passing by just after pogacar stopped for the puncture, morgado is only 3 cm taller than pogacar, if pogacar took that bike instead of the shimano bike his race would probably have been very different. You can't find a PR rider that is precisely as tall as pogacar but morgado's bike would have been more than enough in that moment

 

[BubbaChuck]

That shimano guy risked it all for Pogacar. My man literally glided over cobbles to give him bike. Morgado was chilling and went by.

 

[rafa92]

That shimano guy risked it all for Pogacar. My man literally glided over cobbles to give him bike. Morgado was chilling and went by.

the video is really funny, he looks at pogacar and it seems like he couldn't care less about his problems

 

[hayneplane]

The funny thing is that I think he ended up with a better result than if everything went on to plan with no major issue for anyone.

I think MVDP definitely wouldnt have been dropped, neither WVA even if probably much harder for him to follow, all 3 would arrive to the Velodrome together and he finishes 3rd place.

A 3-way sprint might well have allowed for Pogacar to try a long sprint of a full lap and possibly capitalise on any hesitation between the other two leaning on each other to react first.

 

[BahamontesPhantom]

How ‘bad’ even are the shimano bikes? It’s not like it was too small or too big for Pogacar, aren’t they Canyon frames, and with good wheels etc ? He was only on it for 5k.
Some comments make it seem he was riding an old steel fixie for half the race

 

[canina82]

How ‘bad’ even are the shimano bikes? It’s not like it was too small or too big for Pogacar, aren’t they Canyon frames, and with good wheels etc ? He was only on it for 5k.
Some comments make it seem he was riding an old steel fixie for half the race

Really bad. Last year Campenaerts was spinning his legs like crazy and others were just flying and surpassing him.

 

[rafa92]

How ‘bad’ even are the shimano bikes? It’s not like it was too small or too big for Pogacar, aren’t they Canyon frames, and with good wheels etc ? He was only on it for 5k.
Some comments make it seem he was riding an old steel fixie for half the race

apart from the fact that riding on a bike that is not from your team on the cobbles is a big problem, the other point is that if you watch the video morgado was just behind him when he stopped so if he got on his bike he would have been able to get to the main group almost immediately, getting back almost immediately is a big difference compared to having to close a minute gap

 

[BahamontesPhantom]

Really bad. Last year Campenaerts was spinning his legs like crazy and others were just flying and surpassing him.

Shows the difference in the really top end bikes and gear I suppose

 

[SHAD0W93]

But it was Zoetemelk hitting into him that ended his Tour. Merckx didn’t MAKE him crash. Didnt take him out. Thats like saying “you made me crash cuz I ran into your back wheel”.

He crashed just like Merckx had. And was going to keep going when Zoetemelk hit him.

That’s where it stinks we don’t have coverage like today (when it works) to see what transpired.

 

[SHAD0W93]

Gimondi, Poulidor, Ocana, Zoetemelk were pretty good for farmers. All of them would be at least podiuming today.
Pog rides against one fishermen, and loses to him at least 33.33% of the time.
You stop it

40% of the time Pog’s lost to Vingegaard but to a rider from Visma 33.33%.

 

[No Excuses]

Will you start getting worried after Robespierre Seixas destroys everyone in Wallone next week?

Only if he cruises away like pog did last year. That seated bomb was nuts.

 

[Shortcut]

I have a feeling, a lot of "fans" are not satisfied with P-R result and are totally depressed about it. After first two monuments i was already extremly satisfied because he already saved his spring season. He was lucky at MSR and P-R(he almost badly crashed) that there are no injuries. I don't really care about LBL, EC and GdL anymore, because someday he will lose. Only two things that matters next two years are TdFs and WCs. Everything else is just bonus.

 

[canina82]

why, to give him a bike when needed? they already have that, there's a video showing morgado passing by just after pogacar stopped for the puncture, morgado is only 3 cm taller than pogacar, if pogacar took that bike instead of the shimano bike his race would probably have been very different. You can't find a PR rider that is precisely as tall as pogacar but morgado's bike would have been more than enough in that moment

4 cm taller. This still makes a huge difference. Better to have a guy 4 cm smaller than 4 cm higher.

 

[Berniece]

Thats how great he is. Even Merckx didnt have such dedicated haters. The true sign of greatness

Like everything. Merckx did it better. He also had more dedicated haters.

 

[Shortcut]

Of course Pogacar is the GOAT. I remember Lance winning his 6 TdF everybody was saying he is the GOAT. Nobody even mentioned Merckx. If that was Remco with Pogacar's palmares there would be no doubt. Pogacar is a little bit unlucky he is from small Slovenia. No somehow everybody is mentioning Eddy like they know everything about him.

 

[BahamontesPhantom]

I like Pogacar
But it seems only in cycling that there’s such recency bias and current rider worship from fans.

No one really puts down pele or Maradona in favour of Messi or Ronaldo in football, the debate tends to be more balanced.
Pele never even played outside of the Americas in his entire club career , but no one says he played in a farmers league.
Merckx dominated gts and monuments against great competition in both but he ‘competed against farmers’

It just annoys me as a fan of sport and of cycling.

 

[QueenStagiaire]

I like Pogacar
But it seems only in cycling that there’s such recency bias and current rider worship from fans.

No one really puts down pele or Maradona in favour of Messi or Ronaldo in football, the debate tends to be more balanced.
Pele never even played outside of the Americas in his entire club career , but no one says he played in a farmers league.
Merckx dominated gts and monuments against great competition in both but he ‘competed against farmers’

It just annoys me as a fan of sport and of cycling.

I think you will find that there are plenty of people who think that Messi or Ronaldo is undoubtedly the greatest player of all time. Those are obviously not the Most balanced opinions and those may not be the greatest Football experts of all time, but I think still that those Fans are a plurality just like Pogačar Fans in cycling. I think this actually happens in almost every sport with the best athletes of their generation.

 

[BahamontesPhantom]

I think you will find that there are plenty of people who think that Messi or Ronaldo is undoubtedly the greatest player of all time. Those are obviously not the Most balanced opinions and those may not be the greatest Football experts of all time, but I think still that those Fans are a plurality just like Pogačar Fans in cycling. I think this actually happens in almost every sport with the best athletes of their generation.

They would have a good case certainly for Messi who has won everything.
Not as many were calling him the greatest ever
( better than Pelé or Maradona) in say 2011 or 2012 when Messi was at his peak, like Pogacar is now.
He had a lot more left to win, he still hadn’t won anything with Argentina, had only won half of his ballon d’ors, hadn’t played in different leagues.
Pogacar is like Messi of that time, he’s brilliant, he has the talent, but he probably still has big things to do to be the greatest.

 

[BahamontesPhantom]

Tell me you are not Charlyghoul...

I’m Axel Merckx