Teams & Riders Tadej Pogačar discussion thread

[Rasto]

D

Doubts aren’t about the effort of doing three Grand Tours, but about whether he has the patience for 3×3 weeks. I thought he’ll prefer to finally target PR and all five in one year. Odd if he’s already confirmed skipping a Monument in 2027.

why not he just raced 5 days in two months he is racing so low

 

[YavorD]

But he was strong enough to out sprint vingegaard on top of ventoux yet he didn’t want to cooperate with him to close a 30 second gap for the win lol

Indeed, he was strong as a mountain sprinter.
He wasn't strong enough to drop Vingegaard and win 2-3 more stages as he intended.

 

[jibbo90]

I still do not buy that Pogi won’t be coming back to MSR anymore. Doing MSR isn’t really in conflict with any other race he might want to do. The Cipressa attack does wonders for him and really elevates his chances to win. Why not come back and go for more wins? Maybe he gets another chance to do the Monument sweep in one year. He just doesn’t need to train as hard for it anymore.

If he won Roubaix this year, you wouldn't see him coming again to the race.
I highly doubt he will come back next year to MSR. I feel he will try to start the season maybe in Australia for a change. He is a rider who always like to add new races every year in his calendar and mix things up.

 

[onefortheroad]

why not he just raced 5 days in two months he is racing so low

More than the effort, fatigue, challenge, competition or even the confidence boost of winning all three GTs, I think it’s simply about the patience/motivation, or lack of it, to put up with the whole grind: stages, training, team routine and race life for 3×3 weeks.
In the current context, he knows he’ll win anyway. PR, monuments, worlds, one day races or even a short stage race give him more of a kick: go there, win, come back with another title without the daily boredom of the GT routine.

 

[Rou]

But he was strong enough to out sprint vingegaard on top of ventoux yet he didn’t want to cooperate with him to close a 30 second gap for the win lol

He tried to drop Jonas on stage 14, on Ventoux and on stage 19 as well.
He couldn't. Most likely because of the knee.
Let's not pretend he didn't want to win more in the last week.

 

[AmRacer]

He tried to drop Jonas on stage 14, on Ventoux and on stage 19 as well.
He couldn't. Most likely because of the knee.
Let's not pretend he didn't want to win more in the last week.

Yeah, of course and then he would be closer to Cav's record.

 

[Panda Claws]

Wonder if Valverde ever watches the sport now and thinks "damn, I should've ridden some more classics more seriously"

 

[Lorzenz08]

I'm actually really excited to see this TdR to see how Pogi performs in altitude right after having been in " classic mode "

Don't forget Roubaix was only 2.5 weeks ago...

 

[canina82]

Wonder if Valverde ever watches the sport now and thinks "damn, I should've ridden some more classics more seriously"

Why?

 

[BahamontesPhantom]

Pog can’t time trial like Anquetil or Merckx, and that’s not a knock as he’s still a great time trialist, yes mountains different story

 

[The bald fraud]

I still do not buy that Pogi won’t be coming back to MSR anymore.

Surely not next year. But he might return to MSR later if the organizers add a climb, maybe put Le Manie back to the route.

 

[canina82]

Pog can’t time trial like Anquetil or Merckx, and that’s not a knock as he’s still a great time trialist, yes mountains different story

Anquetil and Merckx can't climb like Pogacar too. Don't see the comparison, specially from guys who raced 50-60 years ago.

 

[Gratemans]

Taday will not ride 3 GT's in a year. There is too much wishful thinking in this forum.

If he does and he wins all three in one year, I'll just throw in the towel and stop watching cycling entirely.
Not because I hate Pog. I certainly don't. Or because I am a fan of one of his rivals. Which I'm not.
In fact I'm not a particular fan of any cyclist. Well, I have slight preferences ofcourse, but in general I just enjoy watching exciting races.

Fondly do I remember the days where tactics and mindgames mattered, when there weren't a couple of aliens around.
Riders trying to pull all the tricks from the book. Sucking wheels, and being trashtalked or cheered here on the forum because of it. Playing dead then suddenly riding away. You name it.
Nibali, Valverde, Rodriguez, Contador, Schleck.. drama and excitement. It was wonderful.

One rider winning all three GT's in one season? Yeah, I'll just retreat to another part of the forum and leave this section to.. other kinds of fans.*

(The "waaah!! My bro is an alpha and should demolish everyone!" kind of sports-fan)

 

[the asian]

I really hope he avoids Itzulia Basque Country until he finally takes a win at Paris–Roubaix.

I also doubt he will ever attempt to win all three Grand Tours in a single season. In fact, I cannot see him targeting the Vuelta a España until the UCI Road World Championships are held in Abu Dhabi, where the course would suit sprinters more. Overall, it seems clear that he prioritizes one-day races over Grand Tours.

In my view, winning Paris–Roubaix would mean more to him than winning the Vuelta. At the same time, he does appear to pay close attention to records and statistics. This could explain why he is targeting races like the Tour de Romandie and the Tour de Suisse this season, as he looks to get closer to winning the biggest one-week stage races.

He'll definitely ride Vuelta nex year. It's held late next year after the Super Worlds in August

 

[the asian]

If he does and he wins all three in one year, I'll just throw in the towel and stop watching cycling entirely.
Not because I hate Pog. I certainly don't. Or because I am a fan of one of his rivals. Which I'm not.
In fact I'm not a particular fan of any cyclist. Well, I have slight preferences ofcourse, but in general I just enjoy watching exciting races.

Fondly do I remember the days where tactics and mindgames mattered, when there weren't a couple of aliens around.
Riders trying to pull all the tricks from the book. Sucking wheels, and being trashtalked or cheered here on the forum because of it. Playing dead then suddenly riding away. You name it.
Nibali, Valverde, Rodriguez, Contador, Schleck.. drama and excitement. It was wonderful.

One rider winning all three GT's in one season? Yeah, I'll just retreat to another part of the forum and leave this section to.. other kinds of fans.*

(The "waaah!! My bro is an alpha and should demolish everyone!" kind of sports-fan)

This is a different era. if the Vuelta was held in September prior to 1995 instead of April/May we could have seen more riders attempt the Grand Tour Treble. and perhaps a rider like Merckx would have won all 3.
1990-2017 is a whole different era. The tactics of that era does not apply anymore and neither should it be treated as the norm.

 

[jmdirt]

Did I miss the "he's washed" posts?

 

[Oldman]

I'm actually really excited to see this TdR to see how Pogi performs in altitude right after having been in " classic mode "

Don't forget Roubaix was only 2.5 weeks ago...

His result today was amazing considering he just finished 160mile of LBL a few days ago. Hardly a prologue training setup.

 

[canina82]

Time for a Poggenheimer. I'm expecting 1'30" to the second best (I believe it will be Lipo).

 

[Jan the Man]

Time for a Poggenheimer. I'm expecting 1'30" to the second best (I believe it will be Lipo).

It really depends on what he wants to do - if he wants an all out test he should be in a different stratosphere to everyone else here. If it’s a more controlled pace from the bottom, Lipo may do ok. I anticipate Pog will want to make it hard from the bottom though.

 

[Ulle97]

Are we seeing a decline in Pogacar?
Lost 7 seconds in a 3km prologue.
I suppose his demise is inevitable.

 

[Tanakka]

Are we seeing a decline in Pogacar?
Lost 7 seconds in a 3km prologue.
I suppose his demise is inevitable.

He should have some damn self-respect and stop pulling off these '2021-2025 Froomy shenanigans'.
He's basically stealing his huge salary... btw, from someone (UAE) who struggles to make ends meet.
Utterly reprehensible

 

[BahamontesPhantom]

Are we seeing a decline in Pogacar?
Lost 7 seconds in a 3km prologue.
I suppose his demise is inevitable.

Spring classics has spread his butter over too much bread

 

[BahamontesPhantom]

Walscheid for the tour