Tadej Pogačar hinted that he was ‘99%’ certain not to race this year’s Vuelta a España, despite the allure of a Grand Tour treble after his triumphs in the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France. UAE Team Emirates sports manager Matxin Joxean Fernandez confirmed to Cyclingnews that Pogačar would not compete in Spain.
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Toggle“Everybody is asking me why we don’t go for the treble. Well, it’s very simple – we’ve had Tadej on the team since he was a young rider, and we’ve always planned with his whole career in mind, not just a single season,” said Matxin in Nice. “If you put a rider in three Grand Tours in one season, that also means he would end up racing four Grand Tours in little over a year. We don’t have a short-term vision like that. We don’t just want Tadej to win this year. We want him to keep winning into the future. “In the rest of this season, Tadej will only race the Olympics, the Canadian races, the Worlds and Il Lombardia. He needs to recover physically and mentally now. So either side of the Olympics, he needs mental peace and a normal life.”
Training Adjustments and New Coaching
Post-2023, Pogačar switched coaches from Iñigo San Millán to Javier Sola, reflecting a strategic shift. His racing calendar underwent significant changes, with a focus on fewer races early in the year. Instead of his usual early start in February, Pogačar held off until Strade Bianche in March, allowing for nearly five months without competition.
“Between Il Lombardia and Strade Bianche, Tadej went almost five months without racing, from October to March. That was important,” Matxin stated. “With that time away from racing, he really had this big desire to train hard and then when the season started, he came in fresh and with a lot of hunger.”
Racing Tactics and Performance
Pogačar’s 2024 season started with a solo victory at Strade Bianche, followed by sparing races in Spring. He dominated Milan-San Remo, the Volta a Catalunya, and Liège-Bastogne-Liège before heading to the Giro. His performance at the Giro was remarkable, wearing the pink jersey for 20 days and securing a lead of nearly 10 minutes.
“In principle, the plan of Tadej not to race too much before the Giro worked well,” Matxin said. “The idea was not to have too much racing early in the year, and then ride the Giro in a slightly more conservative way.”
Tour de France Showdown
Pogačar’s performance in the Tour de France was exceptional, with his strength peaking in July. His power outputs were staggering, particularly on stages like Pla d’Adet and Plateau de Beille. This time, he faced a fierce rival in Jonas Vingegaard.
“Yes, he went up a little bit, the numbers and the data show us that he went up a little bit,” Matxin revealed. “He recovered very well from the Giro and that race also gave him a lot of race rhythm, and we’ve seen that here.”
The Rivalry with Vingegaard
The ongoing rivalry between Pogačar and Vingegaard has been a talking point for several seasons. Both riders have pushed each other to new heights, influencing their performances significantly.
“It’s clear that Tadej is very strong mentally, and I think that the defeats have given him more strength, they made him better,” Matxin remarked. “Just like Van Aert and Van der Poel made one another stronger, I think Jonas has made Tadej stronger and Tadej has possibly made Jonas stronger. The rivalry and the closeness of it has made them both more competitive.”
Despite promising newcomers like Remco Evenepoel, Pogačar and Vingegaard seem set to dominate for years to come. With Pogačar not yet 26 and Vingegaard only two years older, their rivalry is predicted to continue shaping the future of cycling.
Main photo credit: ASO