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The 3 GT and 7 one-week races.

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Apr 13, 2025
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Pogacar is going to win them all, and he's the only one that will
Vingegaard is going to win the Giro this year.

That would leave Tour de Suisse, Romandie, Paris-Nice, and Catalunya. Paris-Nice seems the most difficult in terms of participation, but if he avoids Pogacar, it's feasible for him.

Vingegaard has never won a one-week race with Pogacar. That's his biggest obstacle, but as long as Pogacar is competing in the cobbled classics, it doesn't look like he'll be back at Paris-Nice.

Pogacar will have to give up De Ronde to go to the Basque Country.
 
Sep 12, 2022
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Vingegaard is going to win the Giro this year.

That would leave Tour de Suisse, Romandie, Paris-Nice, and Catalunya. Paris-Nice seems the most difficult in terms of participation, but if he avoids Pogacar, it's feasible for him.

Vingegaard has never won a one-week race with Pogacar. That's his biggest obstacle, but as long as Pogacar is competing in the cobbled classics, it doesn't look like he'll be back at Paris-Nice.

Pogacar will have to give up De Ronde to go to the Basque Country.
Well, Jonas has a very realistic chance of doing it also
Vingegaard can, but he won't. He won't even focus on that, because he doesn't really care about that. Pogacar does care about it, and Roglic a bit. But I only see Pogacar win it.
 
Apr 13, 2025
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Vingegaard can, but he won't. He won't even focus on that, because he doesn't really care about that. Pogacar does care about it, and Roglic a bit. But I only see Pogacar win it.
He didn't care, but as soon as he won Tirreno-Adriatico and Basque Country, the following year he scheduled Paris-Nice and Catalunya (he ultimately didn't go). Of course he wants.

He postponed the Swiss races because Visma doesn't change the pre-Tour calendar much. But the same could be said of Pogacar with the Basque Country and the Vuelta. Vingegaard is prioritizing winning the 3 GT races more than Pogacar, and he clearly scheduled Paris-Nice and Catalunya as soon as he won Tirreno-Adriatico, leaving only the Swiss races.

Other riders don't care simply because they are far from achieving it.
 
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Jul 16, 2024
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He didn't care, but as soon as he won Tirreno-Adriatico and Basque Country, the following year he scheduled Paris-Nice and Catalunya (he ultimately didn't go). Of course he wants.

He postponed the Swiss races because Visma doesn't change the pre-Tour calendar much. But the same could be said of Pogacar with the Basque Country and the Vuelta. Vingegaard is prioritizing winning the 3 GT races more than Pogacar, and he clearly scheduled Paris-Nice and Catalunya as soon as he won Tirreno-Adriatico, leaving only the Swiss races.

Other riders don't care simply because they are far from achieving it.
Winning Basque country will be very difficult for Pogacar, not because it's a difficult race but because of schedule. He'd certainly have to skip P-R and probably also Flanders, you can go after RVV but you risk not winning because you're very tired. It goes
Sun Flanders
Mon - Sat Basque
Sun P-R
 
Sep 12, 2022
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He didn't care, but as soon as he won Tirreno-Adriatico and Basque Country, the following year he scheduled Paris-Nice and Catalunya (he ultimately didn't go). Of course he wants.

He postponed the Swiss races because Visma doesn't change the pre-Tour calendar much. But the same could be said of Pogacar with the Basque Country and the Vuelta. Vingegaard is prioritizing winning the 3 GT races more than Pogacar, and he clearly scheduled Paris-Nice and Catalunya as soon as he won Tirreno-Adriatico, leaving only the Swiss races.

Other riders don't care simply because they are far from achieving it.
Because he likes to do different things, not to win the big 7 stage races. 3 GT’s is indeed an obvious goal for him
 
Sep 4, 2017
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Winning Basque country will be very difficult for Pogacar, not because it's a difficult race but because of schedule. He'd certainly have to skip P-R and probably also Flanders, you can go after RVV but you risk not winning because you're very tired. It goes
Sun Flanders
Mon - Sat Basque
Sun P-R
That’s what Sean Kelly used to do but then again King Kelly never had to then prep for winning the Tour de France.
 
Sep 12, 2022
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I don't think doing a different stage race in more or less the same time slot counts as "doing something different". Ardennes would be something different, not T-A instead of P-N for example
If you want to believe Vingegaard is actively going for the big 7, then I’m looking forward to his schedule this year. We’ll know in a couple of weeks
 
Jul 16, 2024
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If you want to believe Vingegaard is actively going for the big 7, then I’m looking forward to his schedule this year. We’ll know in a couple of weeks
P-N, Catalunya, Giro sounds perfectly reasonable schedule to me. I don't think he's actively going for it but if he gets close he will try to get them all
 
Jan 22, 2010
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Sep 20, 2017
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Does Suisse even belong with the other six main one-week races anymore now it's dropping down to five days next season? If not, then the one-week sweep has been completed for Roglic, and it also becomes more likely for someone like Vingegaard to get all of those in addition to the three GTs. If yes, then it becomes harder because a five-day race is probably less attractive as a Tour warmup.

And yes, Pogacar's life in this regard would have been a lot easier had he not taken a nap on that one descent in 2021 Itzulia.
 
Of course Pogačar won't have any trouble winning the missing races if he chooses to. The only question is will he do that before Roglič and Vingegaard? The Vuelta is the toughest. I keep saying at 27 this year he isn't young any more and should target the Vuelta whilst it is still a gimme. And because the Vuelta is after the Tour it does not risk the Tour.

Itzulia and Romandie look easy for Pogačar when he wants them. He was easily beating Jonas at P-N in 2023. It was the Tour which was the problem, not now or at least before he begins to physically decline. Suisse should be ticked off by Pogačar this year as he is scheduled to race that for the first time.

As for the competition, I think I would eliminate Roglič now - whilst he has the least gaps to fill, he is past his best and is not going to win the TdF now. So that leaves Jonas. Jonas looks a strong favorite to win this years Giro. But the other week long stage races (P-N, Catalunya, Romandie and Suisse) I would only see him win if Pogi wasn't racing, and even then that is no guarantee against riders like SYates, Almeida and Ayuso - even Remco.
 
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Oct 15, 2017
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Of course Pogačar won't have any trouble winning the missing races if he chooses to. The only question is will he do that before Roglič and Vingegaard? The Vuelta is the toughest. I keep saying at 27 this year he isn't young any more and should target the Vuelta whilst it is still a gimme. And because the Vuelta is after the Tour it does not risk the Tour.

Itzulia and Romandie look easy for Pogačar when he wants them. He was easily beating Jonas at P-N in 2023. It was the Tour which was the problem, not now or at least before he begins to physically decline. Suisse should be ticked off by Pogacar this year as he is scheduled to race that for the first time.

As for the competition, I think I would eliminate Roglič now - whilst he has the least gaps to fill, he is past his best and is not going to win the TdF now. So that leaves Jonas. Jonas looks a strong favorite to win this years Giro. But the other week long stage races (P-N, Catalunya, Romandie and Suisse) I would only see him win if Pogi wasn't racing, and even then that is no guarantee against riders like SYates, Almeida and Ayuso - even Remco.
He cant combine classics, Tour, Vuelta + Worlds. Counting the race days and saying "its not too much" doesnt take into account the prep and pressure. Or that most of them is just the toughest you can undertake, especially when you are trying to win everything you line up for. Doing them all in the same season would just be very stupid.

Vuelta is just the sacrifice for now and least important atm. While Pog is targeting MSR and more importantly PR... he is not gonna do Vuelta, I think. Either he skips the Tour some time in the future or the classics (maybe if he can check off MSR and PR sooner rather than later).

However, doing everything would just be dumb and could cause fatigue/burn-out. Physically and mentally.

Been saying this, but yet people seem to have their mind on the Vuelta.
 
Been saying this, but yet people seem to have their mind on the Vuelta.
I get what you are saying but I think this is because we see Pogi as more a stage racer than one day racer. Plus, like I said, he isn't young any more and should win the Vuelta while it appears easy. Jonas just did that. The hardest stage race left to win missing from Pogačar's palmeres is the Vuelta of course.

If he finishes his career with MSR and PR but never wins a Vuelta I think that would be a shame. If he wins the Vuelta but never wins MSR and PR no biggie as he isn't physically suited to these races anyway. And to anyone who is objective (thinking about the physical demands) a grand tour is always a bigger achievement than any classic or monument.

But I also know it isn't what I think but what Pogačar wants. If he prefers as you say and can win those races without ever winning a Vuelta then good for him.

Doing them all in the same season would just be very stupid.

Why, because he won't recover? 2024 tells me otherwise. After completing the Giro-Tour double he continued winning including the triple crown (worlds) and then Lombardy along with some one day races in between. And we all recall saying how he said he was dead after the Tour. Didn't slow him. He also didn't get sick which is what usually happens when riders have insufficient recovery.

On the table, he only has to win Itzulia (April), Romandie (early May) and Suisse (June) and then Vuelta (Aug/Sep), The first three are spaced out he has plenty of time to recover and can win those without being 100% anyway so he should not destroy himself.
 
Sep 1, 2023
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I get what you are saying but I think this is because we see Pogi as more a stage racer than one day racer. Plus, like I said, he isn't young any more and should win the Vuelta while it appears easy. Jonas just did that. The hardest stage race left to win missing from Pogačar's palmeres is the Vuelta of course.

If he finishes his career with MSR and PR but never wins a Vuelta I think that would be a shame. If he wins the Vuelta but never wins MSR and PR no biggie as he isn't physically suited to these races anyway. And to anyone who is objective (thinking about the physical demands) a grand tour is always a bigger achievement than any classic or monument.

But I also know it isn't what I think but what Pogačar wants. If he prefers as you say and can win those races without ever winning a Vuelta then good for him.



Why, because he won't recover? 2024 tells me otherwise. After completing the Giro-Tour double he continued winning including the triple crown (worlds) and then Lombardy along with some one day races in between. And we all recall saying how he said he was dead after the Tour. Didn't slow him. He also didn't get sick which is what usually happens when riders have insufficient recovery.

On the table, he only has to win Itzulia (April), Romandie (early May) and Suisse (June) and then Vuelta (Aug/Sep), The first three are spaced out he has plenty of time to recover and can win those without being 100% anyway so he should not destroy himself.
Romandie and Susisse this season, and if he wins PR, then he can do Itzulia next year.
 
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