Tadej Pogacar and Mauro Giannetti

[Rechtschreibfehler]

Losing hair was a part of his efficiency plan (aerodynamics).
The man dedicated the whole life to be the best version of himself on the bike.

Little did he know, that the secret is having your hair stick out of the helmet (he didn't wear one either!) to collect free energy from the magnetic field of the earth to directly convert into extra watts.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Little did he know, that the secret is having your hair stick out of the helmet (he didn't wear one either!) to collect free energy from the magnetic field of the earth to directly convert into extra watts.

Pogi's marginal gains never cease to amaze me! Sir Dave looks like a stone-age relict compared to Pogi and his team.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

The only hope for the rest is that Pogi won't drop his Roubaix weight on time for the Tour.
Then again, even at 90 kg only Vingegaard would be a threat to him!

After he's won the Giro, Vingegaard should be the one to target 90 kg in order to win the green jersey before Pogačar does.

 

[yaco]

I just feel like we're idiots to even be discussing what we're seeing. No offense to anyone but psychoanalyzing these races feels entirely vacuous and devoid of purpose anymore. My random-pulled-from-my-butt opinion that's probably not worth the broadband this comment will consume?

They're doing everything. Blood manipulation/regular drugs/gene therapy doping/small bike motors with limited performance boost and also buying off officials and rivals whenever whenever. The end.



Yeah because everyone waited for the stars to catch up and put on a show because that's what the TV audiences had tuned in for.

I thought they were all doping and had motors.

 

[pelotonIQ]

I am saying that extreme differences between his performance on a given day and what of the rest of the best cyclists in the world do is what raises suspicions; you are asking why suspicions are not raised on the days when he is no better than some others.

You seem to be asking why a teacher does not consider a test in which the best mathematician in the class gets a lower score than his/her peers as evidence that he might have sneaked a calculator into the room.

Your 'teacher' analogy is flawed and doesn't represent my point.

The detail you missed and should add is that the teacher have always accused the best mathematician (Pogacar) and then suddenly stops accusing him when another student scores higher despite him scoring the same points that made the teacher accuse him in the first place and then on the next math-test the teacher goes back to accuse him when he's #1 with the same score that got him #2 on the prior test.

This has been the pattern in this thread every since Pogacar won his 1st Tour. This is how I see it.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

I think you'll find that people respond to results and margin/manner of victory, not power numbers that are not widely shared.

Your finding something curious that most of us find rather predictable is in itself curious. But as you will.

 

[Red Rick]

I think you'll find that people respond to results and margin/manner of victory, not power numbers that are not widely shared.

Your finding something curious that most of us find rather predictable is in itself curious. But as you will.

Combloux had a lot of response based on a W/kg estimate that was way off.

 

[Gianetti_Is_The_Goat]

Your 'teacher' analogy is flawed and doesn't represent my point.

The detail you missed and should add is that the teacher have always accused the best mathematician (Pogacar) and then suddenly stops accusing him when another student scores higher despite him scoring the same points that made the teacher accuse him in the first place and then on the next math-test the teacher goes back to accuse him when he's #1 with the same score that got him #2 on the prior test.

This has been the pattern in this thread every since Pogacar won his 1st Tour. This is how I see it.

Pogacar hasn't been dropped a single time since the beginning of 2024 season when he was competing for victory.
You could argue that he was dropped by MvdP in Paris-Roubaix, but without the crash it remains to be seen.

 

[canina82]

Pogacar hasn't been dropped a single time since the beginning of 2024 season when he was competing for victory.
You could argue that he was dropped by MvdP in Paris-Roubaix, but without the crash it remains to be seen.

Montmarte. He was injured though.

 

[Gianetti_Is_The_Goat]

Montmarte. He was injured though.

Right. OMG. That changes everything

 

[AlpRaid]

Apparently Mr 60% invented a very efficient way of pedalling, which took him to the next level. If he shares the secret with his son then Pogi's days as cycling's top dog may be over.

but Pog's secret is the shortened crank length. no one else knew to do that and his perfs jumped mightily due just to this simple adjustment.

 

[KoopaCycling]

forget LBL. no one can compete against what we saw yesterday. no one.

best he can hope for at LBL is a distant 2nd like at worlds, euros and Lombardia. I would be absolutely shocked if anything else could happen. no one is in competition with what we saw yesterday. no one.

I'd like to think coming second is not a bad thing, as it may give you the victory in the end.
Alas i don't see the golden boy caught anytime soon. Not after i recently learned viewership has nearly doubled since his rise. No way they would bring harm to their main product.

 

[canina82]

A shame no doping program can make Remco a top climber. Went to one of the best teams and still can't climb. Probably needs some of Pogacar's talent.

 

[aphronesis]

A shame no doping program can make Remco a top climber. Went to one of the best teams and still can't climb. Probably needs some of Pogacar's talent.

So sprinters don’t dope? Actually, I’ll rephrase for clarity: re. thread so what?

 

[canina82]

So sprinters don’t dope? Actually, I’ll rephrase for clarity: re. thread so what?

Remco is doping hard but still can't be good enough. That's my point. I don't even understand why you ask if sprinters don't dope.

You need talent (genetics) to be a good responder

 

[Rackham]

Remco Evenepoel seems more like mismanagement tbh.

Relatively speaking he was a far better climber a few years ago than he is today. People might have short memories but Vuelta 2022 Evenepoel was very good, as was his 2024 Tour.

Pog meanwhile has a beast of a team behind him.

 

[Notarobot]

Imagine you being a pro cyclist and don't juice. Obviously you'll never win a race. But I would run my mouth to journalists. They all know what's going on. And what about the scared journalists, sorry I mean "journalists". Not a single one of them is grilling the UCI about Matxin and that other bald abomination.

 

[SorelyBoy]

Re Remco, I’ve come to the conclusion that he’s a tremendously talented rider (he was the most talented of his generation from an early age) who is relatively clean in comparison to other elite level cyclists. Hence his lack of top climbing performance and the variability in his overall performance levels. He also appears to be vulnerable to illnesses and fatigue, something we can’t really see in the Slovenian boy wonder. And unlike him, Remco had no qualms about competing in the Olympic Games, which probably indicates he’s more than happy to give blood samples that can be retained for future testing. If Remco was cycling during the 2010s he’d have won at least a couple of TDFs as his climbing abilities would be good enough to be up there with the likes of Wiggins and Froome, and he could more than hold his own time trialling.

 

[Red Rick]

Montmarte. He was injured though.

He got dropped on Montjuic in Catalunya 2024. Gap was a full 1.2 seconds.

 

[Rob5091]

Imagine you being a pro cyclist and don't juice. Obviously you'll never win a race. But I would run my mouth to journalists. They all know what's going on. And what about the scared journalists, sorry I mean "journalists". Not a single one of them is grilling the UCI about Matxin and that other bald abomination.

The occasional rumour about doping will come out (e.g. the thyroid use in thepeloton), but without specifics a journalist runs the risk of lawyers getting involved (not to mention editors and corporate pressure).
The ITA probably uses rumours to target individuals and again they need something concrete, but the ITA can at least cooperate with local law enforcement.

 

[jotafap]

Re Remco, I’ve come to the conclusion that he’s a tremendously talented rider (he was the most talented of his generation from an early age) who is relatively clean in comparison to other elite level cyclists. Hence his lack of top climbing performance and the variability in his overall performance levels. He also appears to be vulnerable to illnesses and fatigue, something we can’t really see in the Slovenian boy wonder. And unlike him, Remco had no qualms about competing in the Olympic Games, which probably indicates he’s more than happy to give blood samples that can be retained for future testing. If Remco was cycling during the 2010s he’d have won at least a couple of TDFs as his climbing abilities would be good enough to be up there with the likes of Wiggins and Froome, and he could more than hold his own time trialling.

So, all your conclusions are based on your perception or imagination of reality? Poor Remco, even lack of doping is used as an excuse...

 

[SorelyBoy]

So, all your conclusions are based on your perception or imagination of reality? Poor Remco, even lack of doping is used as an excuse...

Shots fired! 😯😂

 

[Salvarani]

Combloux had a lot of response based on a W/kg estimate that was way off.

Sure, how was it way off?

Doesnt quite add up with the statement of "Show them how strong you are" over the radio from someone who was sounding like a crazy person

Followed by an absolute obliteration and the craziest performance recorded in cycling ever

"the w/kg was way off" LOL

 

[Cookster15]

Re Remco, I’ve come to the conclusion that he’s a tremendously talented rider (he was the most talented of his generation from an early age) who is relatively clean in comparison to other elite level cyclists. Hence his lack of top climbing performance and the variability in his overall performance levels. He also appears to be vulnerable to illnesses and fatigue, something we can’t really see in the Slovenian boy wonder. And unlike him, Remco had no qualms about competing in the Olympic Games, which probably indicates he’s more than happy to give blood samples that can be retained for future testing. If Remco was cycling during the 2010s he’d have won at least a couple of TDFs as his climbing abilities would be good enough to be up there with the likes of Wiggins and Froome, and he could more than hold his own time trialling.

I used to think this way about Cadel Evans. But I didn't openly accuse Alberto Contador of being purely a creation of doping. Remco's climbing is too inconsistent. He was great in the 2022 Vuelta (actually only a single decisive climb) and in the 2024 Tour. And again, you are not the only person here but I am not sure why we think results as a junior always extrapolate to a professional career? It doesn't and I've checked that.

I think Remco would have been destroyed in the mountains by both Contador and Nibali at his 2013-2014 peak. I guess you are basing on his level in the 2024 TdF. A sample of 1. He is too inconsistent as you say, fell apart last year.

There are also a number of other riders in today's peloton not riding for UAE who I think are consistently better climbers than Remco whose names are not Pogacar. Not only Vingegaard.

As for Pogacar avoiding the Olympics due to the possibility of retrospective testing, interesting theory. But I think more pressure should be placed on the UCI / ITA to properly analyze the samples they get rather than rely on retrospective testing. Don't get mad, get active. But I am surprised the UCI isn't aligned with the IOC on retrospective testing.