I’d argue that Pogacar’s most telling victory this season was Stage 21 ITT to close out the TdF. Pogacar was up 5 minutes and could have cruised to victory. Instead he raced like he was losing, taking what many saw as unnecessary risks. Pogacar beat Vingegaard and Evenepoel by over a minute in a 33km time trial on a stage he didn’t need to win. Tadej is such a nice guy that it’s easy to lose sight of how fiercely competitive he is. He is, as Johan Bruyneel says, the new Cannibal.
Last couple of stages where handed to pog. 1. Second to last stage vingergard lead him to the line, saving him energy. 2. Last stage it was obvious pog knew the roads better than anyone. It looked to me like he knew every inch of those (local to him ) roads.
100% correct. On the surface he is all smiles, easygoing chap and people don't realise what a beast lies beneath and how much he hates losing. Two consecutive losses to Jonas at the Tour spurred Pog into maniacal level of training this season and boy did he come back with vengeance.
That is the question. In the stage, not only Pogačar but also Vingegaard drove like crazy. It was a very important stage for both of them. Each of them wanted to defeat the other. Exactly the same, but in the opposite guard, we saw in 2023 in the 20th stage. Both in 2023 and 2024, the former Tour winner wanted to show that he was much better than his opponent and he did not want to leave any partial success to the other. Both preferred to sacrifice the possibility of winning the next races in order to humiliate the opponent. They are both ruthless fighters. The time trial in Nice was stupid on the part of the organizers. It was too dangerous a terrain. It could have turned out very targically indeed.
Pogacar and UAE spent the last 2 years working on improving.. building this amazing team. Pogacar this year is a different cyclist.. worked hard and improved. I agree Chris.. he bonked on stage 11...
Great effort by UAE to have strong support around TP for seasons end. After the work of Cristen and Fisher-Black on the flat to have Hirschi, Majka, Sivakov and a Yates ready to attack on di Solmano is a luxury few teams can dream of
I agree Tadej Pogacar seems a generational talent at this point in cycling history. He has to maintain his form for several more years to prove that but he’s in an extraordinary position at present. He still has 191 victories before he ties Eddie Merckx. That being said Merckx wouldn’t reach 279 victories if he were racing in the modern era of specialization. It’s even more extraordinary that Pogacar can be so dominant in grand tours, lesser stage races and one day classics in this day and age. I really hope the big 4 and their teams stay healthy in 2025 because that could be a very special road cycling year.
14 pf the last 15 tours have been won by riders from countries who had never won a grand tour during EM's era. Ditto the last 6 GTs. Just this year we had all 3 GTs won by Slovenians, an Eritrean Green Jersey and an Ecuadorian KoM. I mean, Delgado was only the third Tour win for Spain. They now have 12 with 8 diiferent riders. Since Lemond won there have been no French Dutch or Belgian wins, 2 Italian wins and 1 Luxembourg win. Prior to EM these nations had won every Tour but one. It's a global sport now. It was a Western European sport in EM's time. Of course, that was true for everyone, and none of them had results that approach those of EM and he'd be great in any era of course, but the competition is a different level now.
Tadej is already a living legend. I know people love to compare with Eddy Merx. I red books about Merx, cause I never saw him riding (too young 😢). According to his competitors in that era, Eddy was also very dominant. He got his nickname "The Cannibal" from an enthusiastic Belgian reporter, who said after him winning again. "Eddy, the cannibal," cause indeed he won time after time. Also, a famous quote from one of his competitors. "Eddy is just riding 5km/pro hour faster than us." Than Mister Roubaix (Roger De Vlaeminck), a very good classic rider (monuments), said,"I had bad luck to ride against Eddy cause otherwise I would have won much more". He's still pissed about it.😂 Having said that, I think it's unfair to compare nor for Pogecar nor for Merx. Cycling has evolved massively since then (+45 years ago). Better nutrition, science, bikes, training, more money involved. Oh, riders back then rode much more races. Price money was very important. The salaries were not that high compared to nowadays. Yes, riders are riding faster, more watts nowadays, but the training, science, and bikes have improved also. So Tadej is a legend in this era, and Merx was a legend in his era.
“He is superior to me,” Merckx said to French newspaper L’Equipe. “It is obvious that he is now above me. I already thought so a little deep down when I saw what he did on the last Tour de France but, tonight, there is no doubt.
It's hard to compare across athletic generations, but yeah, Tadej is putting together quite a historic run to the top in cycling. The sport is so different from the days of Merckx, who was my first cycling hero. Even then, I only heard about him and serious cycling as a kid because Brad Lackey, a 70's badass American Euro motocrosser, talked about him in an interview I read in a magazine lol
As I commented yesterday on the Lombardy thread, I think that Pog had only one race-related mechanical (I.e. a stop requiring stop and adjustment or replacement of the bike by a team car). The one incident was a puncture and fall with about 10 km and one climb left in the Giro Stage 2. He won the stage and put on the pink jersey at the end of that stage.
I said Tadej would win by over 3 mins on Johan & Spencers "Out Comes" & Bingo! Tadej is a beast. He's so good cause he just loves cycling it's never a task, (unless he bonks) 99% of the time he's like a kid in a candy store. I think Jonas is really gonna haveta up his game without that dynamo team helping him win those tours. When I was a kid racing I loved reading about Eddy Merckx now I get to relive the thrill watching Tadej.. 👍🏼🚵🏼🫅🏼💯🇸🇮
Agreed Pogi the phenomenon. Chris talking about tactics.😂 With Tadej Chris can throw them in the bin. The only tactics for Tadej is launches his attack on a steep climb (doesn't matter how far from the finish) and nobody can follow him nor catch him. Arriving solo. What a rider.
Pog is still going to improve. Next Lombardia race, he is definitely going to Lapp the field. If he races 3 more Tour de Frances, he might even pass Mark Cavendish's tour win record in 2027.
He will probably do the Giro-Vuelta double next season, as Vuelta is the only GT he does not have yet. I am from Slovenia, and know people that know him personally, out of the 3 GTs, TDF is his LEAST favorite, so with 3 TDF wins, it is very likely that he will miss quite a few Tours in the second part of his career, because he has nothing more to prove in France.
@@byhsu6140 Not if he wants to do the Giro-Vuelta double, and he wants to do that ASAP. Also he does not really care that much about prestige, he cares more about winning all there is to win in road cycling, TDF is just one small part of the equation, especially in modern times. He would 100% switch one of his TDF GT wins for Milano-San Remo.
It´s getting ridiculous! I always thought Pogi would be a TdF hall of Fame but hes destroying "end-season" races with unbelievable time gaps. And he´s still young... lets enjoy!
I told you last summer that Pog would win another tour. If I remember in 2023 there were doubts about his capabilities from some. This year he proved the doubters wrong.
A strong team is the most important for a possible victory at Milan San Remo. The UAE has never had it there. Tadej Pogačar will win if he has the support of the UAE people from this year's Tour. Only the best from the UAE are able to set off at the end through the Cipressa and the subsequent flat and the beginning of the Poggio a pace that will tire the opponent and give Pogačar a chance for a successful attack.
Great name drop in jalabert... tres forte..hadn't thought about him in minute but beyond style he had incredible posture and style that Tadej resembles so much. Bettini, freire, zabel, museeuw cone to mind from that generation when I think one days but jalabert was incredible. Even more recently valverde as stated and Fabian 2010-14 had period where he it was him and saxo/trek vs peloton. He had a run for dozen monument in tow he didn't finish off podium. That's who Tadej reminds me of in terms of dominance. I remember that quickstep using national champs and race favorite in break like chavanel, stybar, lampard, terpstra all along with boonen protected to have chance. Rest of peloton as well hushove in rainbow Jersey man marked Fabian in 2011 rounaix after his dominant 50k 3:00 2010 solo victory. That's how they will start racing Tadej in one days. Difference is Tadej is climber and as we saw in lombardia no man marking works on mountain when you can follow or drop. Still Flanders, strade, and when he races rounaix I imagine it's a tactic that has to implemented. Some call it negative personally it's strategy because with his form and his team at the moment if he stays upright it's a procession. He's that good. 2013 roubaix was one of best I've ever seen as Fabian was isolated and had to let moves go up road and then bridge himself. Masterclass where he let race go away to fracture and gamble on closing on fractured groups since he has no sprint and it was incredible. Tadej has a sprint lol so it's really like merckx where damned if you do damned if you don't peloton has to organize top notch breaks and co operate while not assisting at all. They didn't in lombardia and I a.ebrought it back. It will be tall task. Gilbert had two prime spells one early and one later after growing a bit and tackling cobbles instead of climbs. He's other top class guy I see in Tadej. Serious company. Anyway we slice it it's historic stuff. Thanks for breakdowns Chris your race craft analysis is top class too. When you raced a young man started these UA-cam analysis named Cosmo catalano. Ten years on nice to hear someone with observation, knowledge, vocabulary, and one step further first hand experience. Sports greatest theater 🎭 🚴 imo. You do it a great service 👏chapeau/Forza sir
I simply wish for the riders to stay safe and healthy so they can compete at their best. This to me is what makes the races throughout the year their best and most exciting. Maybe Pogacar still would have dominated if the Basque crash had not occurred. But to some extent we will never know for sure, just like in 2023 when Pogacar broke his wrist and lost training time. Here's for a fully healthy 2025 for all.
I share your words and wishes. However I have one bad feeling about Pogi. Recently in one interview he said that:"Milano - San Remo is probably gonna put him in grave." There's a history of great athletes forsee or predict their future. I hope that there's no truth in this words, but taking too much risks down the Poggio could easily lead to disastrous consequences.
I would say that one of the things that Tadej does, even if it's unintentional, is to give his rivals(?) hope. Sure, lose a time trial. Hope. Win a stage. Win two, maybe three. Hope and more hope. The idea of giving room, time and space to think that you might be able to win against the greatest only to have him win by minutes at the end of it? In that last right pocket of Tadej's jersey, those aren't gels. Those are the "hopes" of every rider that believes they can win. He saves those for last. And smiles as he crosses the line.
Hope we get a documentary about Pog one day... so his first trainers can tell, how they spotted his talent from an early age. Armstrong was never considered a big talent, until he started with doping.
Very surprised that Tadej did not do the Vuelta for the unprecedentd triple. He would have won it. Maybe he had to let some of his team mates a chance to win something? Maybe it would of been "too much"? Thus the Vuelta the most interesting GT this year. He must regret not having his picture lifting his bike under the Eiffel tower. Thanks for another great year of race analysis.
No doubt, Tadej is a generational super rider. An exeptional cyclist. He wins grand-tours, monuments, the rainbow jersey. Just look at the current individual UCI- ranking 1st with more than double the points on the 2nd one (Remco). It's also the way he wins. He launches an attack on a steep climb, and nobody can hold his wheel. With him, it doesn't matter how far from the finish (100km, 50km) and gaining time, arriving solo. It's against all tactics in the book. At the world championship on the road, he attacked from +100km from the finish??? Who does that? We are witnessing a true phenomenon. Winning the Giro (6 stages) and then the TDF (6 stages) in the same season. What's really scary is that he makes it look so easy. His power out put is off the charts, and he can hold it longer than anyone else.
2024 has served us some interesting questions and storylines for the 2025. How sustainable is this from Tadej, and where does he go from here? Is there anyway he could find some additional gains in the next few years? What kind of schedule will he pick for 2025? How will the field and especially Jonas respond? You've got to think he'll train like a madman this off-season. What kind of progression curve can we expect from Remco in the next few years? Will 2025 be the last or last last season of Romain Bardet? Will Tom Pidcock be able to escape the Ineos moldy basement in 2025?
Pogi could not have had a more dominant 2024. He was a force winning the TdF in ‘20 and ‘21 as a kid, but has improved to a new level this year. I don’t believe a 100% healthy Jonas can compete with an in form Tadej for GTs. Hopefully there is another cyclist that can compete to elevate Pogi’s drive in 2025. If Pogi stays healthy, think he will rewrite the record books, and a kind and grounded human off the bike as well.
Was wondering if you would do this. Eddy and Pogo are physically different to the others of his generation, plus the small gains in all other places. (mainly power to weight ratio)
The likes of Gianetti and Matxin are a massive red flag. I cannot fathom how anyone who knows the sport, its history and understands anything about human physiology cannot be suspicious of this level of dominance. This guy is destroying the field without showing any signs of fatigue, he is in top shape from February till October, puts minutes into other elite athletes, hell he even put 3 minutes into Remco on a rolling part of Lombardia. There is something going on but nobody in the sport is asking any questions. Where are the likes of Walsh, Kimmage et all?
His performance is actually dropping at the end of the season, at Emilia and particularly Lombardy, but then so is everyone else’s, all due to fatigue. Walsh outed Armstrong because he knew he was doping. Not Walsh, or anyone else, will accuse Pogacar of doping unless they know he is. Makes sense, No? If you accuse someone of doping because they’ve done the Triple Crown you’re going to get sued.
After living thru Armstrong years I’m always suspicious, but the fact Pog can do this ALL year actually shows it’s more likely talent thank pharmaceutical.
When he was a kid, the trainers already spotted him as an extraordinary talent... and predicted he will be one of the greatest. You think they were doping him since he was 15? 😂
@@roadrunner1095 please check his results when he was a junior and show me examples that he was so much better than the rest. It's one thing to be a talent and another to absolutely destroy an elite field and distance everybody else by minutes irrespective of the terrain. Where did his improvement come from in the last year? And please don't tell me it's down to better nutrition and equipment.
@@michiem9903 Winning Giro della Lunigiana at 16 years old... so I guess he must be doping at least from 14y.o. to come to that level at 16... and no-one caught him since.
Commentary before watching;; i think someone will make his statue out of pure gold, with diamants as fingernails, gems as eyes, and a crown of wheels. He'll make replica, and put one everywhere he has won. In any case, he's the best sportsman of the year, and of this century so far. But he still has to win a tour stage with, how many was it, ten minits, fifteen?, as dit Mercx.
It's safe to say that, if you know who Chris Horner is and are listening to the podcast, you are a fan of cycling - specifically, you are a fan of the pro peloton. That being said, why do we use the full name of cyclists every time? Every time that we are talking about Tadej, it's Tadej Pogacar... every time that we are talking about Remco, it's Remco Evenepoel... every time that we are talking about Jonas, it's Jonas Vingegaard? Maybe I missed that pro cycling requirement. Maybe it would be different if there were four Tadej's, six Remco's, and two Jonas (though of the three, this is the only name that I had heard of prior to Vingegaard).
Haven't followed pro cyclng for very long so this might be a dumb question. But I'd be interested in knowing why isn't Jonas competing in these 1 day events considering how good he is?
Fizik, he is to light and small. But he can defenitly win one day races but less. Armstrong had big inpact on "it is all about tdf", all else is uninportant.
Pogacar is great but in great part due to his team. In your opinion, what team tactics could be used to neutralize his dominance? Other teams must be scratching their heads
Comparing Pogi to the likes of Jalabert or Valverde is a massive stretch. This guy wins grand tours, stage races and one day classics with absolute ease barely breaking a sweat riding the peloton off his wheel. He climbs with the best climbers humiliating them, outdoes the best time trialists and ends up among top sprinters in sprint stages (if he wants to). This is a kind of domination even Lance Armstrong did not produce. And he is able to maintain this dominance throughout the season. The guy essentially pulls a Landis in every race. It’s absolutely mindblowing and suspicious to say the least.
Yeah, Pojačar made a few mistakes here and there that cost him wins. The stage 1 loss at the Giro was a real shame. The most impressive was him mixing it up with the sprinters at Milan-San Remo right at the start of the season - quite auspicious in retrospect.
@@diogoalmeida4793i understand where you come from? But how is it possible in the modern era? How can you get pass all the tests. Theses guys test probably 50 time a year. You cant predict when you gonna test. Its impossible to get past it now a days? Blood doping is the only possibility, but for tadej this isnt possible, cuz he is performing the whole year and not just for 3 weeks 2 times a year.
@@louisfourie800 the same way all the other riders before tadej were "clean". I am not saying he is the only one, he just happens to be the best amongst everyone
I think it’s pretty clear what’s going on. In Tadej’s head lives one name, Jonas. Everything is to prepare for him for July I know my fellow balkan’s very well. Listening to Peter Attia’s podcast he is clearly not happy how he beat him this year. I hope Jonas comes back in 2025. Question: should Jonas ride the Giro as well!? Is Jonas less talented and capable rider than Tadej if he doesn’t ride Giro as well as TDF. If I was Jumbo, I would have to analyze these questions. I promise I am not trying to trick Jonas to participate in Giro just so he compromises his chances of winning the TDF. 😜😎
He'll break Cavendish's TDF stage win record, he'll break Fausto Coppi's II Lombardia record (unfortunately), he'll break Gino Bartali's TDF time between tour wins record, and many others. But the only record that really matters is if he'll break Armstrong's record. =] Innoncent until proven guilty, as they say.
@@DiesUndDasOderDasDa Fair enough, let's not talk about the elephant in the room. Yet Chris somehow miraculously brought it up by comparing Pogačar to Jalabert and Valverde, two known dopers.
What is the record for most individual stage wins across all the grand tours combined in a single season? I would imagine Pogacar broke it this year, but maybe Merckx or some sprinter has him beat
Freddy Maertens won 13 stages in the 1977 Vuelta (in May), so that's already more than Pog's 12 this year. But Maertens also won 7 stages in the 1977 Giro (in June), so he won 20 stages that year. He broke his wrist and abandoned the Giro that year.
From here on the chesterfield the PCS rankings seem to favor the sprinters and one day specialists too much. I don't think Moser, Valverde, Zabel and Jalabert should place higher than Indurain, Froome and Pogi. 🦋🛋️
Jonas Vinegaard is a generational talent. Pogačar is once in 50 years talent. Literally, no one since Eddy Merckx has done what Tadej is doing. Once in 50 years.
Oz had a horse that was unbeatable during the depression years called Phar Lap. Beat everything in Oz so they took him to America where unfortunately they nobbled him and he died. Phar Lap is now on display at the Melbourne Museum (stuffed) without his heart( taken out to examine). Take care Pog.
fausto coppi, jaja ,valverde ,le blaireau , moser , before eddy merckx ! and those guys didn t wear silly crash hat !!!! not the same ! and jonas had a bad accident this year ! remember .where was chris horner 🦋in that list ? tadej had a good year ! is he gona win lombardie next year to bit coppi ? and next year he ll have more enemies ! njoylife
While I don't think Pogacar can maintain his current level of fitness all the time, for the next, let's say, five years, I do think it's possible for him to about 75% of the time..
He is so much faster than all those apparantly unbeatable KOM’s from the 90’s and 00’s set by the most doped generation. And hes so much better than everybody else all season Long. And nobody raises an eyebrow 👀
Lance is still number one - they can ban his ass all they want.....everyone was doing it at the time.....give me a break.....Pog is an awesome rider and an equally good dude...love watching him dominate....cant get much more humble that Poggy!
@@ChrisHornerCycling damn right, as much as I hate to admit it (I'm Slovenian) it might be the one thing preventing Rogla from being 2nd best rider as it stands
Stop with the Vingegaard nonsense. He can come to the level of Pogacar with 1%-2% better fitness? Not in his wildest dreams! Vingegaard will NEVER be competitive outside of longer stage races dominated by climbing. He is, for all intents and purposes, a specialist. Pogacar is an all-around great. Just as Merckx, Hinault, Lemond (yes, Lemond was a generational talent, who, hunting accident and EPO era aside would have accumulated Hinault level dominance or greater). It's incredibly disrespectful to the history of cycling, all the true greats, and to Pogacar himself that you mention Vingegaard's name in the same breath as Pogacar.
I think it won't be too many more years we will all be shown irrefutable evidence that Tadej is not much more of a generational talent than LA was. I suspect there are new secrets being kept by a very limited number of cyclists. Much like EPO was in the early days before everyone else discovered the "benefits".
I'm not convinced I can fully trust his talent. Knowing this sport's history, how competitors levelled against each other in those days, and how Pogi is now so far above the rest (who are all generational cycling super talents compared to 99,99% of the population) feels biologically impossible. Making Evenepoel and so many others look like true amateurs, feels too good to be true to me...
At 72 and a cycling fan for a long time, I'm glad I've lived long enough to witness this remarkable career.
Thanks again, Chris.
👊🦋
I’m just a few years behind you, and feel exactly the same way…Keep the rubber side down. 🦋
hope you live long enough to see the scandal too
I’d argue that Pogacar’s most telling victory this season was Stage 21 ITT to close out the TdF. Pogacar was up 5 minutes and could have cruised to victory. Instead he raced like he was losing, taking what many saw as unnecessary risks. Pogacar beat Vingegaard and Evenepoel by over a minute in a 33km time trial on a stage he didn’t need to win.
Tadej is such a nice guy that it’s easy to lose sight of how fiercely competitive he is. He is, as Johan Bruyneel says, the new Cannibal.
As Remco said following the stage, this wasn't an ITT it was an individual mountain stage for Pogcar. It wasn't a traditional time trial.
The kid loves to win. No doubt 👊🦋💪🐐
Last couple of stages where handed to pog. 1. Second to last stage vingergard lead him to the line, saving him energy.
2. Last stage it was obvious pog knew the roads better than anyone. It looked to me like he knew every inch of those (local to him ) roads.
100% correct. On the surface he is all smiles, easygoing chap and people don't realise what a beast lies beneath and how much he hates losing. Two consecutive losses to Jonas at the Tour spurred Pog into maniacal level of training this season and boy did he come back with vengeance.
That is the question. In the stage, not only Pogačar but also Vingegaard drove like crazy. It was a very important stage for both of them. Each of them wanted to defeat the other. Exactly the same, but in the opposite guard, we saw in 2023 in the 20th stage. Both in 2023 and 2024, the former Tour winner wanted to show that he was much better than his opponent and he did not want to leave any partial success to the other. Both preferred to sacrifice the possibility of winning the next races in order to humiliate the opponent. They are both ruthless fighters.
The time trial in Nice was stupid on the part of the organizers. It was too dangerous a terrain. It could have turned out very targically indeed.
I think it is fair to say that this season he went from generational talent to all time great already
Pogacar and UAE spent the last 2 years working on improving.. building this amazing team. Pogacar this year is a different cyclist.. worked hard and improved. I agree Chris.. he bonked on stage 11...
@@LadyBird-n2t , Tadej changed his coach before this season, many forget that… big difference.
Uae a country soooo high in morals....
@@donquique1 , you should know, like USA… by the way, Pogi is from Slovenia.
We are witnessing greatness. Let's enjoy and cherish it while it lasts.
🙄💉😂
👊🦋
Thanks Chris and Garrett!!!
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👊🦋
The fact that you focused on the losses rather than the wins shows how dominant Pog was throughout this season
Exactly. Pure dominance 👊🦋💪
Ąnd it wasn' t like he finished with grupetto. 2nd, 2nd, 3rd, 9th
Great breakdown of this historic season, thanks!
Tadej just passed Peter Sagan on the PCS all time list after winning yesterday
Yep. With so many less days of racing. 🦋💪
Thanks for another season of insightful race coverage, Chris. I looked forward to your post race analysis/assessment each and every time. Thank you.
👊🦋🙏
Great effort by UAE to have strong support around TP for seasons end.
After the work of Cristen and Fisher-Black on the flat to have Hirschi, Majka, Sivakov and a Yates ready to attack on di Solmano is a luxury few teams can dream of
Yep. A strong team helps 👊🦋
Does not hurt buying colnago. I wonder if his conponenet are available for sale....
I agree Tadej Pogacar seems a generational talent at this point in cycling history. He has to maintain his form for several more years to prove that but he’s in an extraordinary position at present. He still has 191 victories before he ties Eddie Merckx. That being said Merckx wouldn’t reach 279 victories if he were racing in the modern era of specialization. It’s even more extraordinary that Pogacar can be so dominant in grand tours, lesser stage races and one day classics in this day and age. I really hope the big 4 and their teams stay healthy in 2025 because that could be a very special road cycling year.
Let’s hope so. 🤞🦋👊
14 pf the last 15 tours have been won by riders from countries who had never won a grand tour during EM's era. Ditto the last 6 GTs. Just this year we had all 3 GTs won by Slovenians, an Eritrean Green Jersey and an Ecuadorian KoM. I mean, Delgado was only the third Tour win for Spain. They now have 12 with 8 diiferent riders. Since Lemond won there have been no French Dutch or Belgian wins, 2 Italian wins and 1 Luxembourg win. Prior to EM these nations had won every Tour but one. It's a global sport now. It was a Western European sport in EM's time. Of course, that was true for everyone, and none of them had results that approach those of EM and he'd be great in any era of course, but the competition is a different level now.
Merckx has 525
Tadej is already a living legend. I know people love to compare with Eddy Merx. I red books about Merx, cause I never saw him riding (too young 😢). According to his competitors in that era, Eddy was also very dominant. He got his nickname "The Cannibal" from an enthusiastic Belgian reporter, who said after him winning again. "Eddy, the cannibal," cause indeed he won time after time. Also, a famous quote from one of his competitors. "Eddy is just riding 5km/pro hour faster than us." Than Mister Roubaix (Roger De Vlaeminck), a very good classic rider (monuments), said,"I had bad luck to ride against Eddy cause otherwise I would have won much more". He's still pissed about it.😂 Having said that, I think it's unfair to compare nor for Pogecar nor for Merx. Cycling has evolved massively since then (+45 years ago). Better nutrition, science, bikes, training, more money involved. Oh, riders back then rode much more races. Price money was very important. The salaries were not that high compared to nowadays. Yes, riders are riding faster, more watts nowadays, but the training, science, and bikes have improved also. So Tadej is a legend in this era, and Merx was a legend in his era.
“He is superior to me,” Merckx said to French newspaper L’Equipe. “It is obvious that he is now above me. I already thought so a little deep down when I saw what he did on the last Tour de France but, tonight, there is no doubt.
It's hard to compare across athletic generations, but yeah, Tadej is putting together quite a historic run to the top in cycling. The sport is so different from the days of Merckx, who was my first cycling hero. Even then, I only heard about him and serious cycling as a kid because Brad Lackey, a 70's badass American Euro motocrosser, talked about him in an interview I read in a magazine lol
I agree with Garret!
😂🦋👊
As I commented yesterday on the Lombardy thread, I think that Pog had only one race-related mechanical (I.e. a stop requiring stop and adjustment or replacement of the bike by a team car). The one incident was a puncture and fall with about 10 km and one climb left in the Giro Stage 2. He won the stage and put on the pink jersey at the end of that stage.
That helps 🦋👊
BOOYA!!!!
Booya 👊🏆🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋
Pogi is the best I have ever seen, I'm 65, I didn't get to actually witness Eddy, but I will say POGI is the NEW CANNIBAL.
I said Tadej would win by over 3 mins on Johan & Spencers "Out Comes" & Bingo!
Tadej is a beast. He's so good cause he just loves cycling it's never a task, (unless he bonks) 99% of the time he's like a kid in a candy store.
I think Jonas is really gonna haveta up his game without that dynamo team helping him win those tours.
When I was a kid racing I loved reading about Eddy Merckx now I get to relive the thrill watching Tadej.. 👍🏼🚵🏼🫅🏼💯🇸🇮
Agreed Pogi the phenomenon. Chris talking about tactics.😂 With Tadej Chris can throw them in the bin. The only tactics for Tadej is launches his attack on a steep climb (doesn't matter how far from the finish) and nobody can follow him nor catch him. Arriving solo. What a rider.
👊🦋🐐🐐
Ffs talk about dynamo teams... I guess Adam Yates is a continental rider. Uae is going to kill cycling.
Pog is still going to improve. Next Lombardia race, he is definitely going to Lapp the field. If he races 3 more Tour de Frances, he might even pass Mark Cavendish's tour win record in 2027.
He will probably do the Giro-Vuelta double next season, as Vuelta is the only GT he does not have yet. I am from Slovenia, and know people that know him personally, out of the 3 GTs, TDF is his LEAST favorite, so with 3 TDF wins, it is very likely that he will miss quite a few Tours in the second part of his career, because he has nothing more to prove in France.
@zigazdovc6175 but TdF is the most prestigious, surely his team will want him to enter the TdF
@@byhsu6140 Not if he wants to do the Giro-Vuelta double, and he wants to do that ASAP. Also he does not really care that much about prestige, he cares more about winning all there is to win in road cycling, TDF is just one small part of the equation, especially in modern times. He would 100% switch one of his TDF GT wins for Milano-San Remo.
Wrong dude. Pogi himself said in a recent interview that TDF is his primary goal because it’s the most prestigious.
Indeed, and can you blame him? The TDF is the biggest event in cycling. Even people how don't follow cycling know
the TDF. @TheGagnonRx
Supreme commander of the bicikleta world🌪🌪💨💨🦾🦾
🐐🦋👊
I think generational is an understatement once in a lifetime is more appropriate
🦋💪
Garrett’s right. 🦋👊
9:52
What a photo!
👍🦋
It´s getting ridiculous! I always thought Pogi would be a TdF hall of Fame but hes destroying "end-season" races with unbelievable time gaps.
And he´s still young... lets enjoy!
👊🦋💪
Great season, Really happy, this Tadej--He and Walt seem to enjoy cycling the most these days-
I told you last summer that Pog would win another tour. If I remember in 2023 there were doubts about his capabilities from some. This year he proved the doubters wrong.
A strong team is the most important for a possible victory at Milan San Remo. The UAE has never had it there. Tadej Pogačar will win if he has the support of the UAE people from this year's Tour. Only the best from the UAE are able to set off at the end through the Cipressa and the subsequent flat and the beginning of the Poggio a pace that will tire the opponent and give Pogačar a chance for a successful attack.
Great name drop in jalabert... tres forte..hadn't thought about him in minute but beyond style he had incredible posture and style that Tadej resembles so much. Bettini, freire, zabel, museeuw cone to mind from that generation when I think one days but jalabert was incredible.
Even more recently valverde as stated and Fabian 2010-14 had period where he it was him and saxo/trek vs peloton. He had a run for dozen monument in tow he didn't finish off podium. That's who Tadej reminds me of in terms of dominance. I remember that quickstep using national champs and race favorite in break like chavanel, stybar, lampard, terpstra all along with boonen protected to have chance. Rest of peloton as well hushove in rainbow Jersey man marked Fabian in 2011 rounaix after his dominant 50k 3:00 2010 solo victory. That's how they will start racing Tadej in one days. Difference is Tadej is climber and as we saw in lombardia no man marking works on mountain when you can follow or drop. Still Flanders, strade, and when he races rounaix I imagine it's a tactic that has to implemented. Some call it negative personally it's strategy because with his form and his team at the moment if he stays upright it's a procession. He's that good. 2013 roubaix was one of best I've ever seen as Fabian was isolated and had to let moves go up road and then bridge himself. Masterclass where he let race go away to fracture and gamble on closing on fractured groups since he has no sprint and it was incredible. Tadej has a sprint lol so it's really like merckx where damned if you do damned if you don't peloton has to organize top notch breaks and co operate while not assisting at all. They didn't in lombardia and I a.ebrought it back. It will be tall task.
Gilbert had two prime spells one early and one later after growing a bit and tackling cobbles instead of climbs. He's other top class guy I see in Tadej.
Serious company. Anyway we slice it it's historic stuff. Thanks for breakdowns Chris your race craft analysis is top class too. When you raced a young man started these UA-cam analysis named Cosmo catalano. Ten years on nice to hear someone with observation, knowledge, vocabulary, and one step further first hand experience. Sports greatest theater 🎭 🚴 imo. You do it a great service 👏chapeau/Forza sir
Thanks for the comment Ryan 👊🦋🙏
I simply wish for the riders to stay safe and healthy so they can compete at their best. This to me is what makes the races throughout the year their best and most exciting. Maybe Pogacar still would have dominated if the Basque crash had not occurred. But to some extent we will never know for sure, just like in 2023 when Pogacar broke his wrist and lost training time. Here's for a fully healthy 2025 for all.
...and let's keep the scientists and team doctors safe, so this modern day Lance can continue to entertain the naive among us!😂
🤞🦋👊
I share your words and wishes. However I have one bad feeling about Pogi. Recently in one interview he said that:"Milano - San Remo is probably gonna put him in grave." There's a history of great athletes forsee or predict their future. I hope that there's no truth in this words, but taking too much risks down the Poggio could easily lead to disastrous consequences.
I would say that one of the things that Tadej does, even if it's unintentional, is to give his rivals(?) hope. Sure, lose a time trial. Hope. Win a stage. Win two, maybe three. Hope and more hope. The idea of giving room, time and space to think that you might be able to win against the greatest only to have him win by minutes at the end of it? In that last right pocket of Tadej's jersey, those aren't gels. Those are the "hopes" of every rider that believes they can win. He saves those for last. And smiles as he crosses the line.
Hope. Got to have it. 😂🦋👊
Loved watching Jaja in the past...
Yep. 👊🦋
My ears are ringing "Tadeypogachar" nonstop after that video...
How many of the riders ahead of Pogi on the all time list have doping histories?
Do some research and get back to us
Truly special. Lomardia is special too. So late in the season to keep firing.
We have to give credits to his UAE climbers too.. those guys are monsters, they have helped to burn down those GC domesqites
Hope we get a documentary about Pog one day... so his first trainers can tell, how they spotted his talent from an early age. Armstrong was never considered a big talent, until he started with doping.
Very surprised that Tadej did not do the Vuelta for the unprecedentd triple. He would have won it. Maybe he had to let some of his team mates a chance to win something? Maybe it would of been "too much"? Thus the Vuelta the most interesting GT this year. He must regret not having his picture lifting his bike under the Eiffel tower.
Thanks for another great year of race analysis.
Is it wise to conduct such analysis based on a season in which most other page 1 (or 2?) riders experienced horrific injuries?
Can Tadej pass Cav's TdF stages record? I think he can if he stays healthy.
Yep. 🤔🦋💪
No doubt, Tadej is a generational super rider. An exeptional cyclist. He wins grand-tours, monuments, the rainbow jersey. Just look at the current individual UCI- ranking 1st with more than double the points on the 2nd one (Remco). It's also the way he wins. He launches an attack on a steep climb, and nobody can hold his wheel. With him, it doesn't matter how far from the finish (100km, 50km) and gaining time, arriving solo. It's against all tactics in the book. At the world championship on the road, he attacked from +100km from the finish??? Who does that? We are witnessing a true phenomenon. Winning the Giro (6 stages) and then the TDF (6 stages) in the same season. What's really scary is that he makes it look so easy. His power out put is off the charts, and he can hold it longer than anyone else.
👊🦋
2024 has served us some interesting questions and storylines for the 2025. How sustainable is this from Tadej, and where does he go from here? Is there anyway he could find some additional gains in the next few years? What kind of schedule will he pick for 2025? How will the field and especially Jonas respond? You've got to think he'll train like a madman this off-season. What kind of progression curve can we expect from Remco in the next few years? Will 2025 be the last or last last season of Romain Bardet? Will Tom Pidcock be able to escape the Ineos moldy basement in 2025?
All good videos 👊🦋
I reckon with his current form pogi would be close to vingegaard on that stage 16 on last years tour. Just look how he rode this years last stage.
Pogi could not have had a more dominant 2024. He was a force winning the TdF in ‘20 and ‘21 as a kid, but has improved to a new level this year. I don’t believe a 100% healthy Jonas can compete with an in form Tadej for GTs.
Hopefully there is another cyclist that can compete to elevate Pogi’s drive in 2025. If Pogi stays healthy, think he will rewrite the record books, and a kind and grounded human off the bike as well.
Hopefully everyone stays healthy 👊🦋🤞
Was wondering if you would do this. Eddy and Pogo are physically different to the others of his generation, plus the small gains in all other places. (mainly power to weight ratio)
I think his goal next year is to win milano - san remo and tdf. If he goes to giro, becaus he can, he will make history.
I heard Majka put off retirement to come back for another year with Tade. That's not good news for the other contenders..
Good decision 👊🦋
The comparison of Jaja, Valverde and Pogi, wow. It tells you more than you need to know.🙄
All clean riders :))))
🤪🦋👊
The likes of Gianetti and Matxin are a massive red flag. I cannot fathom how anyone who knows the sport, its history and understands anything about human physiology cannot be suspicious of this level of dominance. This guy is destroying the field without showing any signs of fatigue, he is in top shape from February till October, puts minutes into other elite athletes, hell he even put 3 minutes into Remco on a rolling part of Lombardia. There is something going on but nobody in the sport is asking any questions. Where are the likes of Walsh, Kimmage et all?
His performance is actually dropping at the end of the season, at Emilia and particularly Lombardy, but then so is everyone else’s, all due to fatigue. Walsh outed Armstrong because he knew he was doping. Not Walsh, or anyone else, will accuse Pogacar of doping unless they know he is. Makes sense, No? If you accuse someone of doping because they’ve done the Triple Crown you’re going to get sued.
After living thru Armstrong years I’m always suspicious, but the fact Pog can do this ALL year actually shows it’s more likely talent thank pharmaceutical.
When he was a kid, the trainers already spotted him as an extraordinary talent... and predicted he will be one of the greatest. You think they were doping him since he was 15? 😂
@@roadrunner1095 please check his results when he was a junior and show me examples that he was so much better than the rest. It's one thing to be a talent and another to absolutely destroy an elite field and distance everybody else by minutes irrespective of the terrain. Where did his improvement come from in the last year? And please don't tell me it's down to better nutrition and equipment.
@@michiem9903 Winning Giro della Lunigiana at 16 years old... so I guess he must be doping at least from 14y.o. to come to that level at 16... and no-one caught him since.
What should concern the Peloton is that POGI can improve in a few areas...namely, the TT, he can and will be better.
First like😜
Almost 👊🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋
Commentary before watching;; i think someone will make his statue out of pure gold, with diamants as fingernails, gems as eyes, and a crown of wheels. He'll make replica, and put one everywhere he has won. In any case, he's the best sportsman of the year, and of this century so far. But he still has to win a tour stage with, how many was it, ten minits, fifteen?, as dit Mercx.
👍🏻
👍🦋
JV beat Pogačar in a two-man sprint. His first loss in 10 or 11, so that for me was the biggest “mistake” of the year.
It's safe to say that, if you know who Chris Horner is and are listening to the podcast, you are a fan of cycling - specifically, you are a fan of the pro peloton. That being said, why do we use the full name of cyclists every time? Every time that we are talking about Tadej, it's Tadej Pogacar... every time that we are talking about Remco, it's Remco Evenepoel... every time that we are talking about Jonas, it's Jonas Vingegaard? Maybe I missed that pro cycling requirement.
Maybe it would be different if there were four Tadej's, six Remco's, and two Jonas (though of the three, this is the only name that I had heard of prior to Vingegaard).
👍
I enjoy CH better than AI for strategic breakdowns
Haven't followed pro cyclng for very long so this might be a dumb question.
But I'd be interested in knowing why isn't Jonas competing in these 1 day events considering how good he is?
Fizik, he is to light and small. But he can defenitly win one day races but less. Armstrong had big inpact on "it is all about tdf", all else is uninportant.
Chris, at only 26, do you think he still has another 0.25-0.5W/kg of power to add? :)
Pogacar is great but in great part due to his team. In your opinion, what team tactics could be used to neutralize his dominance? Other teams must be scratching their heads
Comparing Pogi to the likes of Jalabert or Valverde is a massive stretch. This guy wins grand tours, stage races and one day classics with absolute ease barely breaking a sweat riding the peloton off his wheel. He climbs with the best climbers humiliating them, outdoes the best time trialists and ends up among top sprinters in sprint stages (if he wants to). This is a kind of domination even Lance Armstrong did not produce. And he is able to maintain this dominance throughout the season. The guy essentially pulls a Landis in every race. It’s absolutely mindblowing and suspicious to say the least.
Next year, Pogacar will lead all stages of TDF, then attack his own shadow with 100k to go.
😂🤪🦋👊
Disturbing news for the GT contenders: The King revealed he will be doing ALL three GTs in the same season in 1-2 years. 😂😂
really? where can i see that
Garrett, the motocrosser, is correct.
🤪🦋👊
Yeah, Pojačar made a few mistakes here and there that cost him wins. The stage 1 loss at the Giro was a real shame. The most impressive was him mixing it up with the sprinters at Milan-San Remo right at the start of the season - quite auspicious in retrospect.
👊🦋
"Jaja" was not my favorite, but he was fun to watch. Purely personal, but I look at Remco & Jonas the same way.
Too bad the internet was not in full swing back then. Would have been cool to get more info and video on the riders. 🤔🦋👍
@ChrisHornerCycling
My first Euro-summer was in 1998; I was hoping Alex Zülle had a good Tour... then "Festina" changed the scorecard...
🎃👻🎃
Tadej is the GOAT for sure no doubt!! Merckx who? The guy that got kicked out of the Giro for doping?
tadej aint clean either
@@diogoalmeida4793 like your moma u mean
@@diogoalmeida4793i understand where you come from? But how is it possible in the modern era? How can you get pass all the tests. Theses guys test probably 50 time a year. You cant predict when you gonna test. Its impossible to get past it now a days?
Blood doping is the only possibility, but for tadej this isnt possible, cuz he is performing the whole year and not just for 3 weeks 2 times a year.
They have usada so until hes busted hes clean @diogoalmeida4793
@@louisfourie800 the same way all the other riders before tadej were "clean". I am not saying he is the only one, he just happens to be the best amongst everyone
Either generation talent, or we doped up, we may never know 😅
DUH!!!😂
The latter....
Meh, two things can be true at the same time.
😮🦋
Wauuuu Chris found out about a letter "Č". Man, can't belive my eyes. Thought he hates Slovenian cyclists...
2025 lambordia 5 win wow
I think it’s pretty clear what’s going on. In Tadej’s head lives one name, Jonas. Everything is to prepare for him for July I know my fellow balkan’s very well. Listening to Peter Attia’s podcast he is clearly not happy how he beat him this year. I hope Jonas comes back in 2025.
Question: should Jonas ride the Giro as well!? Is Jonas less talented and capable rider than Tadej if he doesn’t ride Giro as well as TDF. If I was Jumbo, I would have to analyze these questions. I promise I am not trying to trick Jonas to participate in Giro just so he compromises his chances of winning the TDF. 😜😎
He'll break Cavendish's TDF stage win record, he'll break Fausto Coppi's II Lombardia record (unfortunately), he'll break Gino Bartali's TDF time between tour wins record, and many others. But the only record that really matters is if he'll break Armstrong's record. =] Innoncent until proven guilty, as they say.
Pogi could have five already with a little bit better team and a little bit more tactics. But there time still for Pogi to win more. 🤔🦋👊
A well-known ex-Pro: "Tadej Pogačar is a GENERATIONAL Talent"
The French press: "Tadej Pogačar is a DEGENERATE Talent . . . we all KNOW why"
No
For sure. Sadly most people are in denial.
Let me stop you right here. Cheating and doping simply don't exist on this channel. Never ever mentioned. Just enjoy the 'show'...
@@DiesUndDasOderDasDa Fair enough, let's not talk about the elephant in the room.
Yet Chris somehow miraculously brought it up by comparing Pogačar to Jalabert and Valverde, two known dopers.
😬🦋
What is the record for most individual stage wins across all the grand tours combined in a single season? I would imagine Pogacar broke it this year, but maybe Merckx or some sprinter has him beat
🤔🦋
Freddy Maertens won 13 stages in the 1977 Vuelta (in May), so that's already more than Pog's 12 this year. But Maertens also won 7 stages in the 1977 Giro (in June), so he won 20 stages that year. He broke his wrist and abandoned the Giro that year.
@@teddansonLA Thanks! What a crazy era that must have been
From here on the chesterfield the PCS rankings seem to favor the sprinters and one day specialists too much. I don't think Moser, Valverde, Zabel and Jalabert should place higher than Indurain, Froome and Pogi. 🦋🛋️
It's about total points over the career. Pogi will catch up 😅
😮🦋👊
Jonas Vinegaard is a generational talent. Pogačar is once in 50 years talent. Literally, no one since Eddy Merckx has done what Tadej is doing. Once in 50 years.
Like Lance?
Oz had a horse that was unbeatable during the depression years called Phar Lap. Beat everything in Oz so they took him to America where unfortunately they nobbled him and he died. Phar Lap is now on display at the Melbourne Museum (stuffed) without his heart( taken out to examine). Take care Pog.
Left to be viewed for ever. 😮🦋🐎
Alejandro Valverde ranked that far ahead of him??
fausto coppi, jaja ,valverde ,le blaireau , moser , before eddy merckx ! and those guys didn t wear silly crash hat !!!! not the same ! and jonas had a bad accident this year ! remember .where was chris horner 🦋in that list ? tadej had a good year ! is he gona win lombardie next year to bit coppi ? and next year he ll have more enemies ! njoylife
Ahhh the days of no helmets. I remember them well, but it’s better to wear one. Although I still miss the feeling. 🥲🤪🦋👊
You can`t take that list serious. Merckx was on doping most of his pro life. And still he is up there. And Armstrong is at place 116.
JaJa and Valverde were dopers.
please don't get caught
please don't get caugh
please don't be Lance
please don't be Lance
please please please....
🙏🦋👊
Lol, exactly, the only question is if he's going to get caught, because every professional sporsman dopes. I know it, you know it, we know it.
Every professional sportsman dopes??
While I don't think Pogacar can maintain his current level of fitness all the time, for the next, let's say, five years, I do think it's possible for him to about 75% of the time..
Nah, Mathieu van der Poel is a generational talent. Pogačar is a class above that.
Follow the route…UAE…Pogačar, Ulissi, Mauro Gianetti, Roberto Corsetti, Ferrari…..= Doping
I am a big fan of Valverde, but Pogi is even better than him, and not even close tbh. I watched them both growing up
Valverde raced a long time which helps get points.🤔🦋👍
Just put Tadej on the cover
👊🦋
it killed all the fun in cycling
He is so much faster than all those apparantly unbeatable KOM’s from the 90’s and 00’s set by the most doped generation. And hes so much better than everybody else all season Long.
And nobody raises an eyebrow 👀
A generational Enhanced Athlete! Chris.....you should know better. He just happens to have the best juice....nothing more.
Lance is still number one - they can ban his ass all they want.....everyone was doing it at the time.....give me a break.....Pog is an awesome rider and an equally good dude...love watching him dominate....cant get much more humble that Poggy!
Lance was banned for doing it more and better than anyone else. And for being the first a-hole in the history of cycling.
Pogi is certainly humble 👊🦋
TP belongs on page ZERO.
He stayed healthy and didn’t crash which is largely because he doesn’t do stupid stuff.
Staying healthy helps 👊🦋🤞
@@ChrisHornerCycling damn right, as much as I hate to admit it (I'm Slovenian) it might be the one thing preventing Rogla from being 2nd best rider as it stands
He's on more gear than the oldest grand tour winner in the universe. ;)
Stop with the Vingegaard nonsense. He can come to the level of Pogacar with 1%-2% better fitness? Not in his wildest dreams! Vingegaard will NEVER be competitive outside of longer stage races dominated by climbing. He is, for all intents and purposes, a specialist. Pogacar is an all-around great. Just as Merckx, Hinault, Lemond (yes, Lemond was a generational talent, who, hunting accident and EPO era aside would have accumulated Hinault level dominance or greater). It's incredibly disrespectful to the history of cycling, all the true greats, and to Pogacar himself that you mention Vingegaard's name in the same breath as Pogacar.
Bs. Look at the stats in the future section between remco and pogi....
That “all time list” is absolute crap 💩 lol
Can’t be all crap. 🤪🦋👊
Yeah generational doper
I think it won't be too many more years we will all be shown irrefutable evidence that Tadej is not much more of a generational talent than LA was. I suspect there are new secrets being kept by a very limited number of cyclists. Much like EPO was in the early days before everyone else discovered the "benefits".
I'm not convinced I can fully trust his talent. Knowing this sport's history, how competitors levelled against each other in those days, and how Pogi is now so far above the rest (who are all generational cycling super talents compared to 99,99% of the population) feels biologically impossible. Making Evenepoel and so many others look like true amateurs, feels too good to be true to me...
or doping
Real original...