Tadej Pogacar and Mauro Giannetti

[Rackham]

Lassitude is what ultimately undermines historic achievements in sport. When the commentators up the verbosity and purple prose with regards Pog's "exploits", a whole bunch of viewers have just noped out already 100km earlier.

To win without peril is to win without glory. That's a French idiom that applies in Pog's case. The gap is just too big. To no one's surprise the biggest "excitement" of Pog's season was seeing him go toe-to-toe with Mvdp in Roubaix. And he didn't win that one.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

I finished my event this morning, checked the race situation and saw pocagar and de Toro ahead with 100km to go, I was like hahahahaha ok I will have another beer and not pay attention to this farce. Right decision

 

[hrotha]

What's with the people lying in ambush in this thread waiting for the latest race to end so they can hit us with their trusty "LANCE WASN'T SO BAD NOW WAS HE"

 

[Notarobot]

First time since 1988 I didn't watch the world championship. That's how bad Pogacars influence is.

 

[Abedfo]

First time since 1988 I didn't watch the world championship. That's how bad Pogacars influence is.

That's so tragic and makes me so upset with the state of things.

 

[Rackham]

First time since 1988 I didn't watch the world championship. That's how bad Pogacars influence is.

Beyond the clinical aspect Pog isn't even the sole issue here. What we're seeing (& have been seeing for a few years now and it's getting worse) is boring bike races where tiers of riders compete within their own category and get walloped by those who're in the higher level tiers. The Worlds isn't about tactics or race intuition anymore. It's just a watts fest and slowly (or rapidly) entire groups of riders just exploding one after another until a clear hierarchy emerges with (today) Pog >> Evenepoel >>> Healy > Skelmose >>>>> everyone else (themselves separated into respective tiers). The gaps are enormous and do not lend to any sort of suspense.

Rinse repeat. Roubaix last year (with VdP riding off easily) was similarly anti-spectacle. Pog is just the symbol of this era and biggest repeat winner.

 

[Red Rick]

Longest solo at the WC in how long?

And I believe nobody in their right bloody mind is surprised whatsoever.

 

[Peyroteo94]

So good to see the clinic active. It means Pogacar won.

 

[ashhutch1997]

What's with the people lying in ambush in this thread waiting for the latest race to end so they can hit us with their trusty "LANCE WASN'T SO BAD NOW WAS HE"

But he wasn't in terms of doping, Lance Armstrong was good for one race a year, not turning up to Roubaix or Flanders and dropping Johan Museeuw. Armstrong wasn't a nice guy, but his permances were clean compared to this complete farce.

 

[ashhutch1997]

So good to see the clinic active. It means Pogacar won.

Yep, just another solo 100k Landis style break, destroying the best riders in the world and looking fresh as a daisy at the end.
I was a massive Pogacar fanboy until last year, but it's just too much now, the slow death of the sport IMO.

 

[kingjr]

Yep, just another solo 100k Landis style break, destroying the best riders in the world and looking fresh as a daisy at the end.
I was a massive Pogacar fanboy until last year, but it's just too much now, the slow death of the sport IMO.

I'd be OK with the sport dying in that case. If it can't handle domination by the best riders, then it doesn't deserve to live.

 

[Abedfo]

Yep, just another solo 100k Landis style break, destroying the best riders in the world and looking fresh as a daisy at the end.
I was a massive Pogacar fanboy until last year, but it's just too much now, the slow death of the sport IMO.

I've just seen the footage of him crossing the line. Literally as fresh as the first day of spring.

 

[hrotha]

But he wasn't in terms of doping, Lance Armstrong was good for one race a year, not turning up to Roubaix or Flanders and dropping Johan Museeuw. Armstrong wasn't a nice guy, but his permances were clean compared to this complete farce.

Armstrong wouldn't be clean if you compared him to an oil spill

 

[ashhutch1997]

I'd be OK with the sport dying in that case. If it can't handle domination by the best riders, then it doesn't deserve to live.

There's domination, then there's outright farce.

 

[ashhutch1997]

Tom Pidcock who was 10th was 9 MINUTES down, literally grand Tour style gaps.

 

[kingjr]

There's domination, then there's outright farce.

That seems a highly arbitrary distinction

 

[CleanCiclismo]

Longest solo at the WC in how long?

And I believe nobody in their right bloody mind is surprised whatsoever.

last year

 

[ashhutch1997]

That seems a highly arbitrary distinction

If you generally believe that Pogacar is clean, I'm not going to argue, it's your opinion. I've watched cycling for over 25 years, and I've never seen anything like this, and I've seen some doped up races. I was a huge Pogacar fanboy until last year, it just got too much and too blatant.

 

[Red Rick]

last year

Last year was solo for 50km.

 

[ashhutch1997]

Last year was solo for 50km.

Pretty sure he attacked 100k out.

 

[ivanic]

Enough, I won't watch TV anymore. I feel robbed and cheated, as if they took my wallet and then laughed at me.

Believing in this stuff is like believing in Santa Claus; only a child can do that.

Motors? Genetic doping? Will he get caught sooner or later?

 

[Red Rick]

Pretty sure he attacked 100k out.

I know, but he did today as well, and my question was longest solo

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Enough, I won't watch TV anymore. I feel robbed and cheated, as if they took my wallet and then laughed at me.

Believing in this stuff is like believing in Santa Claus; only a child can do that.

Motors? Genetic doping? Will he get caught sooner or later?

Those who believe in Pogačar do seem to get a lot of presents.

 

[ontheroad]

The UCI have created a monster, simply too big to fail now so I think Pogacar will be another Usain Bolt, he will go through his career without getting busted. The casual fan won’t be too bothered anyway.

It’s hard to feel too sorry for the majority of the other riders though, they are mostly complicit and seem happy enough to eulogise about the goat. If I’m clean trying to compete against that I’m either left seething with anger or I leave the sport.

 

[Cookster15]

The UCI have created a monster, simply too big to fail now

I would understand this meme if he was an American or from one of the major cycling nations. But a small Eastern European nation I don't get?

Could it be simply he is very very good? When Pogacar announced himself when he won the 2019 ToC I didn't even know who he was. He became steadily more popular since that day with a spike when he grabbed the 2020 Tour right out of Visma's expectant hands (poor Rogla). Before the 2019 ToC he won the 2018 Tour de l'Avenir before his 20th birthday.

So going back to this thread's OP: It is silly to say he had achieved nothing before he was 20 years old. It is rare any athlete does for various reasons. Greg Lemond is an outlier. Correlation is not causation.

It’s hard to feel too sorry for the majority of the other riders though, they are mostly complicit and seem happy enough to eulogise about the goat

The controlling factor as you allude would be other teams and riders. They would risk legal action by making public accusations against Pogacar that they couldn't prove in court. But behind closed doors there is nothing stopping them making complaints via the right channels - even journalists. But nothing? Surely there are David Walsh's out there wanting to make a name for themselves by uncovering this scandal?

My thought is he isn't doing anything other top teams and riders are not. But perhaps he is a super responder to those methods along with just being a better talent.