Tadej Pogacar and Mauro Giannetti

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So by the rules of Pogicentrism the clinic has been under for a while, do we now assume that:
(a) his battery was low (of his motor)
(b) Visma and Soudal are now ahead in the arms race.
(c) Remcocentrism has to take over
?

It depends. Anyone who's been watching Pog race since forever might also remember he sometimes used to just coast through a race without looking for a performance. Yeah it's been a few years (his 2024 was monster stuff) but once-upon-a-time Pog used to race Emilia (for example) like a human. Either getting beaten by Rog or actually many years ago even riding gruppetto, basically. Then a week later he schooled everyone in Lombardia.

It's way too early to judge. This result will only become clearer by the weekend and when the Tour starts.
 
It depends. Anyone who's been watching Pog race since forever might also remember he sometimes used to just coast through a race without looking for a performance. Yeah it's been a few years (his 2024 was monster stuff) but once-upon-a-time Pog used to race Emilia (for example) like a human. Either getting beaten by Rog or actually many years ago even riding gruppetto, basically. Then a week later he schooled everyone in Lombardia.

It's way too early to judge. This result will only become clearer by the weekend and when the Tour starts.

That is true, one could also mention he just came from altitude, and might still be adapting. And also that he wants to peak in the second part of the Tour, yet all of this has one major flaw.: it doesn't tell us how we should overreact!
 
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That is true, one could also mention he just came from altitude, and might still be adapting. And also that he wants to peak in the second part of the Tour, yet all of this has one major flaw.: it doesn't tell us how we should overreact!

Well, I mean if we embrace the nature of the beast here aka pro sports is all about the drama, then sure, let's have at it: Pog might have gotten cooked in the heat today and could be very worried looking ahead at July.

Namely looking at the hot weather. So let's overreact and say a hot TdF will fry Pogi like roast chicken and put him off riding the Vuelta because it's even hotter in Spain.
 
So by the rules of Pogicentrism the clinic has been under for a while, do we now assume that:
(a) his battery was low (of his motor)
(b) Visma and Soudal are now ahead in the arms race.
(c) Remcocentrism has to take over
(d) The races are obviously pre-arranged*
?

*credit for (d) @kingjr
Pog was looking at his pedals midway throught the time trial, something on the bike wasn't working normally, that's why he also checked Vingos bike😉so obviously all of the above, but maybe a&b the most. This was the natural non e-assisted level of this so called super talent.
 
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Pogi rode paniagua today and you know what? This was a darn good performance.

Painiagua (pain and water) is the breakfast of champions. And Pog had both today, aka pain in his legs and lots of water.

The big question is by just how much of a margin can Vinge improve for the Tour. I mean I expected him to be stronger this year and be a serious challenger but this weekend's mountain stages just got a hell of a lot more interesting for neutral cycling fans, that's for sure.
 
I noticed he drank from his bottle 3 times in a 20 minute effort and did not look comfortable on the bike at all, I think illness/altitude adaptation or depleted blood rather than some fundamental physiological issue.
TC has his eye on the ball here. Might be all of the above.

Also, this is not the tour. Let's wait to see how alien things get. That stands for all three of the big GC guys
 
Pogi rode paniagua today and you know what? This was a darn good performance.

And he didn't even drink any water until he reached the climb. I've personally always measured the quality of my rides on how long I could wait before taking my first sip (and then emptying the rest of the bottle pretty quickly afterwards), so it's nice to see the COW (cascades of water) using a similar tactic here. It has however never worked too well for me either.
 
What was up with that rear wheel judder on Pogacar’s bike during the time trial today? Just as he came off the descent? Right at the spot you’d switch on the motor if you had one.
Road surface.

O1h2Gwh.jpeg
 
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