Tadej Pogačar
Tadej Pogačar (Slovene pronunciation: [taˈdɛ́ːj pɔˈɡáːtʃaɾ] (listen);[7] born 21 September 1998) is a Slovenian cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam UAE Team Emirates.[8] He won the 2020 and 2021 editions of the Tour de France, winning three different jerseys during each Tour, a feat unseen in nearly four decades. Comfortable in time-trialing, one-day classic riding and grand-tour climbing, he has been compared to legendary all-round cyclists such as Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Fausto Coppi.
In 2019, he became the youngest cyclist to win a UCI World Tour race with the Tour of California win at the age of 20.[9] Later in the year, in his debut Grand Tour, Pogačar won three stages of the Vuelta a España en route to an overall third-place finish and the young rider title.[10][11] In both his Tour de France debut and the following year, he won three stages and the race overall, as well as the mountains and young-rider classifications, becoming the only rider to win these three classifications simultaneously.[12][13] He is the first Slovenian winner, and, at the age of 21, the second-youngest winner after Henri Cornet, who won in 1904 at the age of 19.[14][15] He is the first road cyclist in history to break the 6,000-point barrier in UCI World Ranking.[16]
He has won four one-day Monuments (Tour of Flanders and Liège–Bastogne–Liège once and Giro di Lombardia twice), Paris-Nice once and Tirreno–Adriatico on two occasions.
In 2021, he also made history when he became the first Tour de France winner to take an Olympic medal in the road race in the same year after he took bronze at the men's road race.[17]
He is the current men's UCI road racing world No.1 with record 96 weeks in total spending on top of it and record 86 consecutive weeks. He finished the season as the year-end No.1 (2021, 2022).
Career
Early career
Pogačar followed his older brother Tilen in joining the Rog Ljubljana club at the age of nine.[18] In 2011 he came to the attention of Road World Championship medallist Andrej Hauptman, who is as of 2021 his coach and head coach and selector for the Slovenian national cycling team. Hauptman watched Pogačar pursuing a group of much older teenagers from 100 metres behind. Thinking that Pogačar was struggling to keep up with the older riders, he told the race organisers that they should provide some assistance to Pogačar: the organisers explained that the younger rider was in fact about to lap the group he was chasing.[19][20] Hauptman subsequently managed Pogačar as an under-23 rider with the Rog–Ljubljana team, before joining UAE Team Emirates as a directeur sportif in May 2019, after Pogačar joined the team.[18]
UAE Team Emirates (2019 – Present)
2019
Pogačar joined UAE Team Emirates from the 2019 season, a deal that was made ahead of the 2018 Tour de l'Avenir, which he won. He made his debut for the team at the Tour Down Under, where he finished 13th overall. He went on to win the Volta ao Algarve, taking the race lead after winning the second stage.[21] He also placed sixth at the Tour of the Basque Country.[18] In May 2019, he won the Tour of California, becoming the youngest rider to win a UCI WorldTour stage race.[19] He took the race lead after winning the queen stage to Mount Baldy on stage 6.[22] In June, Pogačar won the Slovenian national time trial championship after beating Matej Mohorič by 29 seconds.[23]
In August, Pogačar was named in the team's startlist for the Vuelta a España, his debut in a Grand Tour.[24] In the first week, he performed strongly, placing himself in the top ten on GC (General Classification) before winning his first Grand Tour stage on the rain-soaked stage to Cortals d'Encamp.[25] The win allowed him to move inside the top five on GC. On stage 13, which finished on the steep climb of Los Machucos, he was the only rider to stay with the race leader and his compatriot, Primož Roglič. Pogačar ended up winning his second stage to move up to third overall,[26] where he stayed heading into the second rest day. After losing time on stage 18, he dropped down to fifth on GC.[27] On the penultimate stage, with one last chance to move up the standings, Pogačar launched an attack, going on an almost 40-kilometre (25 mi) solo breakaway. He eventually took his third stage win, winning by more than a minute and a half over the rest of the contenders. The win allowed him to finish the Vuelta in third overall, the final podium position, and giving him the victory in the young rider classification.[28][29]
2020
Before the season started, Pogačar announced that he was making his debut at the Tour de France, where he planned on riding in support of Fabio Aru.[30] He made his season debut at the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, where he won two stages on his way to winning the race.[31] At the curtailed UAE Tour, he won the fifth stage, which finished atop the Jebel Hafeet,[32] and finishing second to Adam Yates on GC. In March, cycling events were among those postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic. When the season resumed, he took fourth overall in the Critérium du Dauphiné. In the Slovenian national championships, he finished second to Primož Roglič in the road race[33] before defeating him in the time trial, defending his title.[34]
In the Tour de France, Pogačar quickly demonstrated that he was in better form than Aru, his team's initial leader, after finishing second to Roglič on stage four, which finished atop the climb of Orcières-Merlette.[35] However, he lost almost a minute and a half on stage 7, which was affected by crosswinds.[36] The next day, he began to claw back time when he attacked on the Col de Peyresourde, gaining back 38 seconds over the rest of the contenders.[37] After Aru withdrew on stage 9, Pogacar won the stage to Laruns, his first Tour stage win, by outsprinting Egan Bernal and Roglič, who took the maillot jaune, as well as Marc Hirschi, who had been on an 80-kilometre (50 mi) solo breakaway.[38] On stage 13, which finished atop the steep climb of Puy Mary, he was the only rider to stay with Roglič and moving up to second overall at 44 seconds down.[39] He also took the lead in the young rider classification in the process. Two days later, he outsprinted Roglič at the top of the Col du Grand Colombier to take his second stage of the race.[40]
At the beginning of the third week, Pogačar sat in second overall at 40 seconds behind Roglič. On stage 17, the queen stage which finished atop the Col de la Loze, he struggled to follow Roglič, eventually losing 17 seconds.[41] Ahead of the penultimate stage, a 36.2-kilometre (22.5 mi) time trial finishing at La Planche des Belles Filles, Pogačar faced a 57 second deficit to Roglič. At the first time check, he had already managed to claw back 13 seconds from his compatriot. He headed into the final climb with a lead of 36 seconds and a deficit of 21 seconds on the virtual GC. On the climb, Pogačar continued to gradually gain time before going into the virtual maillot jaune with 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) left. He eventually took the stage victory, almost a minute and a half ahead of Tom Dumoulin while Roglič finished almost two minutes down. His third stage win of the race, the result meant he took the maillot jaune with a lead of 59 seconds on Roglič and also the lead in the mountain classification.[42][43] The next day, he finished safely in the peloton to officially win the Tour, becoming the first Slovenian winner of the race.[44] At the age of 21, he also became the second youngest winner of the Tour, just behind Henri Cornet, who won the Tour in 1904 at the age of 19. In addition to winning the Tour, he also won the young rider classification as well as the mountains classification.[45] The previous rider to win three jerseys was Eddy Merckx in 1972. He became the twelfth rider to win the Tour de France on his first attempt, and the first since 1983.[15]
After the Tour, Pogačar competed in the men's road race at the World Championships where he rode in support of Roglič, who eventually finished in sixth place.[46] Three days later, he competed at La Flèche Wallonne where he finished in ninth place. He ended his season at Liège–Bastogne–Liège, where he originally finished in fourth place before moving up to third following Julian Alaphilippe's relegation.[47]
2021
He started the 2021 season by winning the UAE Tour, Tirreno–Adriatico, Liège–Bastogne–Liège – his first win in a monument[18] and the Tour of Slovenia.
He began the 2021 Tour de France as one of the pre-race favorites along with Primož Roglič, Geraint Thomas and Richard Carapaz. On stage one he finished with the group of favorites eight seconds behind stage winner Julian Alaphilippe and took the lead in the white jersey classification. Pogačar won the fifth stage, the race's first time trial, finishing 18 seconds ahead of Stefan Küng and taking significant time out of his GC rivals.[48] On stage eight he launched an attack, from more than six minutes behind the breakaway, taking over the yellow jersey with a lead of over four and a half minutes on those considered to be contenders for the overall victory.[49] Pogačar extended his GC lead on the ninth stage to Tignes, responding to an attack by Carapaz on the final climb 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) from the finish and dropping his rivals in the main group, emerging with an overall lead of over two minutes over second placed Ben O'Connor, who had moved up the order after winning the stage from the breakaway.[50]
Following stage eleven, which included a double ascent of Mont Ventoux, the closest rivals to Pogačar included Rigoberto Urán, Jonas Vingegaard and Carapaz, but all them remained more than five minutes behind. Pogačar had temporarily lost some time to Vingegaard on the final ascent of Ventoux before catching him on the descent to the finish alongside Carapaz and Uran.[51] Pogačar extended his lead further with wins on stages 17 (to the Col de Portet)[52] and 18 (in Luz Ardiden), by which point he had a lead of 5' 45" over Vingegaard and an unassailable lead in the polka dot jersey classification.[53] On the penultimate 20th stage, a time trial between Libourne and Saint-Émilion, Pogačar conceded half a minute to Vingegaard but retained a lead of over five minutes going into the final stage to Champs-Élysées in Paris.[54]
Pogačar's win made him the youngest cyclist to win consecutive Tours. This was also the second year in a row that he won three distinctive jerseys. Both during and at the end of the Tour there were accusations of doping on social media and in the press due to the dominance Pogačar displayed.[55] When asked about it he answered, "For sure I am not angry about it. They are uncomfortable questions because the [cycling] history was really bad. I totally understand why there are all of these questions."[56]
Jonathan Vaughters, the Directeur Sportif of one of the teams who had a GC rider competing against Pogačar, Team EF Education–Nippo, offered an explanation for how Pogačar was able to be so successful on stage eight. He explained that the twin factors of uncharacteristic weather conditions and chaotic, uncontrolled racing dynamics played a part.[57] In addition to this in previous years there was usually a dominant team who would contain the attacks of any riders considered a threat for victory, whether it was Team Ineos, Team Jumbo-Visma or Movistar Team. During the 2021 Tour teams Ineos and Jumbo had both suffered from the first week crashes and Movistar was not as strong as they had been in years past. As such by the time Pogačar launched his attack late in the stage, there were no teams remaining who were strong enough to keep him in check. Vaughters also stated, "Simply put, the race was so aggressive all day long, along with really the race as a whole on the flats, that basically by the time the peloton was taking in the climbs, they were cooked. This was further exacerbated by the wet conditions."[57]
After the Tour de France, Pogačar won the bronze medal in the men's road race at the Olympic Games after finishing behind Wout van Aert in the sprint for the silver medal.[58] At the end of July, UAE Team Emirates announced that they had agreed a one-year extension to his contract, committing him to the team up to the end of 2027.[59] Pogačar took a break from racing following the Olympics, returning to competition at the Bretagne Classic Ouest–France at the end of August,[60] where he initially managed to follow an attack by Alaphilippe on a gravelled climb 60 km from the finish along with Mikkel Frølich Honoré and Benoît Cosnefroy, but was dropped by the other escapees who went on to take the podium places.[61]
In September he competed at the European Road Championships in Trentino: in the road race, after a number of breakaways had emerged and been caught by the peloton, he was able to follow an attack by Matteo Trentin to form part of a lead group which expanded to include ten riders, however he was unable to keep pace with a further attack from this group 23 km from the end of the race, with a three-man selection of Remco Evenepoel, Sonny Colbrelli and Cosnefroy dropping their rivals and securing themselves the medals.[62] At the Road World Championships in Flanders later that month, Pogačar finished 37th in the road race.[63] He then moved on to Italy in October to compete in the autumn classics held there: although he failed to finish the Giro dell'Emilia, he made an impression at Tre Valli Varesine, animating the race with a long-race attack from 120 km: although he lost contact with the head of the race due to a puncture he won the sprint in the chase group to finish third.[63] At Milano–Torino, Pogačar managed to keep pace with the other favourites for most of the day, emerging from the peloton's fragmentation in crosswinds 65 km from the end as part of a front group which absorbed the day's early breakaway, and remaining in contention for the win until losing contact with Adam Yates and Roglič in the closing kilometres of the final climb up Superga: he subsequently lost the two-up sprint for third place to João Almeida.[64]
A few days later, Pogačar won his second monument at Il Lombardia, responding to an attack by Vincenzo Nibali by dropping the Italian and the rest of the lead group 30 km from the finish: although he was subsequently joined at the front of the race by Fausto Masnada, Pogačar won the resulting two-man sprint at the finish line. He became the third rider after Fausto Coppi and Eddy Merckx to win two monuments and the Tour in the same year[65] and just fourth rider to win the Tour de France and the Tour of Lombardy in the same season, after Coppi, Merckx and Bernard Hinault, and the first to do so in 42 years.[66]
As the 2021 offseason began the director of the Giro d'Italia, Mauro Vegni, challenged Pogačar to complete the Giro-Tour Double. Vegni stated, "If I'm not wrong, Pantani was the last. So perhaps it's time for a rider to add their name to the roll of honour." Pogačar did state he plans on attempting to win the Giro at some point in the future, but not in 2022.[67] The only riders to complete any grand tour double since Pantani are Alberto Contador in 2008 and Chris Froome in 2017.
2022
Pogačar started the season off by defending his title at the UAE Tour, winning both mountaintop finishes in the process.[68] Afterwards, Pogačar went to Italy for an Italian block of racing, starting with the Strade Bianche. Despite getting involved in a crash with around 100 kilometres to go, Pogačar attacked on the longest sector of the race, the Monte Santa Marie, with around 50 kilometres remaining. Pogačar gradually built his advantage to more than a minute before holding off the chasers to win the race solo.[69] Two days later, Pogačar started his title defense at Tirreno-Adriatico. He won the uphill finish on stage four before dominating the queen stage. Pogačar won the general classification by almost two minutes over Jonas Vingegaard as well as winning the points and young rider classifications.[70] A week later, Pogačar rode Milan-San Remo, where he attacked several times on the Poggio before finishing in fifth.[71]
A few days later, Pogačar rode his first cobbled classic, the Dwars door Vlaanderen. He was caught in a bad position when the winning group escaped from the peloton and despite his attempts to bridge up to the lead group, he was unable to do so and he finished in tenth.[72] Afterwards, Pogačar rode the Tour of Flanders, his debut at a cobbled Monument. Pogačar attacked on the second ascent of Oude Kwaremont and the Koppenberg to pull ahead of the peloton with a select group of riders. He accelerated twice more on the final ascent of Oude Kwaremont and the Paterberg and only Mathieu van der Poel was able to go with him. The duo rode slowly inside the final kilometre as they prepared for the sprint but this action allowed Dylan van Baarle and Valentin Madouas to come back in the final few hundred metres. Pogačar ended up getting boxed in during the sprint, causing him to finish fourth as van der Poel took the win.[73] Following the race, Pogačar shifted his focus to the Ardennes classics starting with the Flèche Wallonne, where he finished twelfth.[74] Pogačar was supposed to defend his title at Liège–Bastogne–Liège but he skipped it after the death of her fiancée's, Urška Žigart's, mother.[75] Pogačar returned to competition at the Tour of Slovenia, his final race before the Tour. He and Rafał Majka dominated the race, winning two stages each with Pogačar winning the general classification ahead of Majka.[76]
Pogačar started the Tour with a third place in the first stage's short individual time trial, gaining time on his rivals for the general classification.[77] On stage 5, which featured cobbles as part of the route, Pogačar rode an aggressive race to gain 13 seconds on the rest of the favorites.[78] The following day, Pogačar won the uphill sprint to Longwy to move into the yellow jersey.[79] On stage 7, which featured the race's first summit finish at La Planche des Belles Filles, Pogačar attacked inside the final kilometre. In the final few hundred metres, Jonas Vingegaard put in an acceleration that was only followed by the Slovenian. Pogačar moved past Vingegaard near the line to win his second successive stage, extending his lead to 35 seconds over the Dane.[80] The next stage, Pogačar finished third in another uphill sprint to gain four more bonus seconds, extending his lead to 39 seconds over Vingegaard.[81]
On stage 11, the race headed to the high mountains with a stage featuring the Télégraphe-Galibier combo before a summit finish at Col du Granon. On the Col du Télégraphe and on the lower slopes of Col du Galibier, Primož Roglič and Vingegaard began to repeatedly attack Pogačar but the Slovene was able to respond each time. Pogačar responded by attacking towards the top of Galibier, bringing only Vingegaard with him. After the rest of the reduced peloton caught the duo on the descent, Vingegaard attacked on the Col du Granon with four kilometres left. Pogačar was unable to respond as he cracked on the climb, losing three minutes and the yellow jersey to Vingegaard, who won the stage.[82] Over the next five stages, Pogačar repeatedly attacked Vingegaard but the Dane was able to respond each time. The race headed to the Pyrenees with Pogačar facing a deficit of almost two and a half minutes to Vingegaard.
The seventeenth stage featured four climbs including a summit finish at Peyragudes. Mikkel Bjerg set a fast pace on the second climb before Brandon McNulty set a furious pace on the third climb, dropping everyone but Pogačar and Vingegaard. On the final climb to Peyragudes, McNulty continued to set the pace before the top two on GC battled it out in a sprint. Pogačar was able to outsprint Vingegaard to win his third stage in the race but the Dane still retained a lead of 2' 18" at the end of the day.[83] The next stage, the race's final mountain stage to Hautacam, Pogačar attacked multiple times on the penultimate climb, the Col du Spandelles, but Vingegaard was able to respond each time. On the descent of the Spandelles, Pogačar crashed but he was able to quickly get back up. Vingegaard waited for Pogačar, with the two shaking hands afterwards.[84] On the final climb to Hautacam, Pogačar was dropped by Vingegaard, with the help of Wout van Aert who was in the breakaway. Pogačar lost more than a minute to Vingegaard, who won the stage to consolidate his yellow jersey.[85] On the penultimate day individual time trial, Pogačar finished third to consolidate his second place on GC before the final stage to Champs-Élysées.[86] Pogačar finished the stage safely to officially finish second on GC as well as taking the young rider classification in the process.[87]
After the Tour, It was confirmed by Javier Guillén, the director of Vuelta a España, that Pogačar elected to skip the 2022 edition of the race.[88] Pogačar returned to racing at the Clásica de San Sebastián, where he was unable to keep up with the pace before climbing off.[89] After a one month break, Pogačar rode at the Bretagne Classic and GP Québec, with the Slovene being unable to battle for the win in both races.[90][91] At the GP Montréal, Pogačar was part of the five-man lead group that contested for the win. At the finish, Pogačar outsprinted van Aert to take his fourteenth win of the season.[92] Afterwards, Pogačar travelled to Australia to compete at the World Championships. Pogačar finished sixth in the individual time trial before crossing the line in 19th at the road race.[93][94]
To finish the season, Pogačar went to Italy for the autumn classics. At the Giro dell'Emilia, Pogačar finished second after he was dropped by Enric Mas on the final climb of San Luca.[95] As his final preparation for his title defense at Il Lombardia, Pogačar rode at the Tre Valli Varesine, where he outsprinted the lead group to win the race, his fifteenth of the season.[96] Pogačar ended his season at the Il Lombardia, the final Monument of the year. After his team controlled the majority of the race, Pogačar attacked on the climb of Civiglio with around 20 kilometres left. The only ones who were able to follow his move were Mas and Mikel Landa. On the final climb, the San Fermo della Battaglia, Pogačar and Mas dropped Landa before contesting the win in a two-up sprint. At the line, Pogačar outsprinted Mas to successfully defend his Il Lombardia title.[97] With 16 wins, Pogačar ended the season by being the rider with the most wins in the 2022 season in the men's peloton.
Comparisons with Eddy Merckx
While many had been hesitant to make comparisons between Pogačar and Merckx following his first Tour victory, before he even started his second Tour, Cyrille Guimard, a former rival of Merckx and a Directeur Sportif of Greg LeMond, as well as of former Tour champions Van Impe, Fignon and Hinault claimed that Pogačar was above the level of both Merckx and Hinault.[98] Then, following his performance on stage eight, former Tour de France winner Joop Zoetemelk compared the young Slovenian to Merckx.[99] By the end of the race Merckx himself said that he regarded the Slovenian as "the new Cannibal", in reference to his own nickname, also suggesting that "If nothing happens to him, he can certainly win the Tour de France more than five times".[100] After the 2021 Il Lombardia, Merckx said that he has heard plenty of cyclists called "the new Merckx", but none of them ever fulfilled the promise. In Pogačar's case he thinks it is finally true because of the races he has already won.[101] Ernesto Colnago said that, according to his experience, Pogačar will be "the only one following Eddy Merckx".[102]
Personal life
Tadej was born and grew up in Komenda, 20 km north of the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana. His mother Marjeta is a teacher of French and his father Mirko formerly worked in management at a chair factory before joining Tadej's former team Ljubljana Gusto Santic as part of their management team in 2021. Tadej is the third of four siblings.[18]
Pogačar lives in Monaco with his partner, fellow Slovenian professional cyclist Urška Žigart.[103] They became engaged in September 2021.[104] His role model is Alberto Contador.[105] He was also an admirer of Fränk and Andy Schleck while growing up.[18]
In addition to his native Slovenian, Pogačar speaks fluent English and Italian.[106]
Major results
Road (58 pro wins)
- 2016
- 1st Time trial, National Junior Championships
- 1st Overall Giro della Lunigiana
- 1st Points classification
- 1st Stage 3
- 1st Stage 2b Course de la Paix Juniors
- 3rd Road race, UEC European Junior Championships
- 2017
- 2nd Raiffeisen Grand Prix
- 3rd Time trial, National Under-23 Championships
- 3rd Overall Tour de Hongrie
- 4th Overall Istrian Spring Trophy
- 5th Overall Tour of Slovenia
- 1st Young rider classification
- 5th Overall Carpathian Couriers Race
- 1st Young rider classification
- 7th Piccolo Giro di Lombardia
- 8th GP Laguna
- 9th GP Capodarco
- 9th Croatia–Slovenia
- 10th Giro del Belvedere
- 2018
- National Under-23 Championships
- 1st Road race
- 1st Time trial
- 1st Overall Tour de l'Avenir
- 1st Overall Grand Prix Priessnitz spa
- 1st Mountains classification
- 1st Young rider classification
- 1st Stage 3
- 1st Overall Giro del Friuli-Venezia Giulia
- 1st Young rider classification
- 1st Trofeo Gianfranco Bianchin
- 2nd Gran Premio Palio del Recioto
- 3rd Overall Istrian Spring Trophy
- 4th Overall Tour of Slovenia
- 1st Young rider classification
- 4th Poreč Trophy
- 4th Raiffeisen Grand Prix
- 5th GP Laguna
- 7th Road race, UCI World Under-23 Championships
- 8th Giro del Belvedere
- 2019 (8)
- 1st Time trial, National Championships
- 1st Overall Tour of California
- 1st Young rider classification
- 1st Stage 6
- 1st Overall Volta ao Algarve
- 1st Young rider classification
- 1st Stage 2
- 3rd Overall Vuelta a España
- 1st Young rider classification
- 1st Stages 9, 13 & 20
- 4th Overall Tour of Slovenia
- 1st Young rider classification
- 6th Overall Tour of the Basque Country
- 1st Young rider classification
- 6th GP Miguel Induráin
- 7th Gran Premio di Lugano
- 2020 (9)
- National Championships
- 1st Time trial
- 2nd Road race
- 1st Overall Tour de France
- 1st Mountains classification
- 1st Young rider classification
- 1st Stages 9, 15 & 20 (ITT)
- 1st Overall Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
- 1st Young rider classification
- 1st Stages 2 & 4
- 2nd Overall UAE Tour
- 1st Young rider classification
- 1st Stage 5
- 3rd Liège–Bastogne–Liège
- 4th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné
- 9th La Flèche Wallonne
- 2021 (13)
- 1st Overall Tour de France
- 1st Mountains classification
- 1st Young rider classification
- 1st Stages 5 (ITT), 17 & 18
- 1st Overall Tirreno–Adriatico
- 1st Mountains classification
- 1st Young rider classification
- 1st Stage 4
- 1st Overall UAE Tour
- 1st Young rider classification
- 1st Stage 3
- 1st Overall Tour of Slovenia
- 1st Mountains classification
- 1st Stage 2
- 1st Liège–Bastogne–Liège
- 1st Giro di Lombardia
- 3rd Road race, Olympic Games
- National Road Championships
- 3rd Time trial
- 5th Road race
- 3rd Overall Tour of the Basque Country
- 1st Stage 3
- 3rd Tre Valli Varesine
- 4th Milano–Torino
- 5th Road race, UEC European Championships
- 7th Strade Bianche
- 10th Time trial, UCI World Championships
- 2022 (16)
- 1st Overall Tirreno–Adriatico
- 1st Points classification
- 1st Young rider classification
- 1st Stages 4 & 6
- 1st Overall UAE Tour
- 1st Young rider classification
- 1st Stages 4 & 7
- 1st Overall Tour of Slovenia
- 1st Points classification
- 1st Stages 3 & 5
- 1st Giro di Lombardia
- 1st Strade Bianche
- 1st Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal
- 1st Tre Valli Varesine
- 2nd Overall Tour de France
- 1st Young rider classification
- 1st Stages 6, 7 & 17
- Held after Stages 6–10
- 2nd Giro dell'Emilia
- 4th Tour of Flanders
- 5th Milan–San Remo
- 6th Time trial, UCI World Championships
- 10th Dwars door Vlaanderen
- 2023 (12)
- 1st Overall Paris–Nice
- 1st Points classification
- 1st Young rider classification
- 1st Stages 4, 7 & 8
- 1st Overall Vuelta a Andalucía
- 1st Points classification
- 1st Stages 1, 2 & 4
- 1st Tour of Flanders
- 1st Amstel Gold Race
- 1st La Flèche Wallonne
- 1st Clásica Jaén Paraíso Interior
- 3rd E3 Saxo Classic
- 4th Milan–San Remo
General classification results timeline
| Grand Tour general classification results | |||||||
| Grand Tour | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giro d'Italia | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| Tour de France | — | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||
| Vuelta a España | 3 | — | — | — | |||
| Major stage race general classification results | |||||||
| Race | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | ||
| Paris–Nice | — | — | — | — | 1 | ||
| Tirreno–Adriatico | — | — | 1 | 1 | — | ||
| Volta a Catalunya | — | NH | — | — | — | ||
| Tour of the Basque Country | 6 | 3 | — | — | |||
| Tour de Romandie | — | — | — | — | |||
| Critérium du Dauphiné | — | 4 | — | — | |||
| Tour de Suisse | — | NH | — | — | |||
Classics results timeline
| Monument | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milan–San Remo | — | 12 | — | 5 | 4 |
| Tour of Flanders | — | — | — | 4 | 1 |
| Paris–Roubaix | — | NH | — | — | — |
| Liège–Bastogne–Liège | 18 | 3 | 1 | — | DNF |
| Giro di Lombardia | — | — | 1 | 1 | |
| Classic | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| Strade Bianche | 30 | 13 | 7 | 1 | — |
| Milano–Torino | — | — | 4 | — | — |
| E3 Saxo Bank Classic | — | NH | — | — | 3 |
| Dwars door Vlaanderen | — | — | 10 | — | |
| Amstel Gold Race | DNF | — | — | 1 | |
| La Flèche Wallonne | 53 | 9 | DNS | 12 | 1 |
| Clásica de San Sebastián | DNF | NH | — | DNF | |
| Bretagne Classic | — | — | DNF | 89 | |
| Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec | — | Not held | 24 | ||
| Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal | — | 1 | |||
| Giro dell'Emilia | — | — | DNF | 2 | |
| Tre Valli Varesine | — | NH | 3 | 1 | |
Major championships results timeline
| Event | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olympic Games | Road race | Not held | 3 | Not held | ||||
| Time trial | — | |||||||
| World Championships | Road race | — | — | 18 | 33 | 37 | 19 | |
| Time trial | — | — | — | — | 10 | 6 | ||
| European Championships | Road race | — | — | — | — | 5 | — | |
| Time trial | — | — | — | — | 12 | — | ||
| National Championships | Road race | — | 6 | 7 | 2 | 5 | — | |
| Time trial | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | — | ||
| — | Did not compete |
|---|---|
| DNF | Did not finish |
| NH | Not Held |
| IP | In progress |
Cyclo-cross
- 2018–2019
- 1st National Championships
- 2021–2022
- Slovenian Cup
- 1st Ljubljana
- 2022–2023
- Slovenian Cup
- 2nd Ljubljana
Awards
- Vélo d'Or: 2021[107]
- International Flandrien of the Year: 2021,[108] 2022[109]
References
- ^ "Tadej Pogačar – the wonder boy who stunned the cycling world". Slovenian Tourist Board. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
- ^ "Here's what the stars said about the 2022 Tour de France courses". Velonews. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
- ^ "About me – Tadej Pogačar". tadejpogacar.com. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
Height 1.77 m / 5 ft 9.5 in Weight 66 kg / 140 lbs
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- ^ Race day with Tadej Pogačar on YouTube
- ^ "UAE Team Emirates". UCI.org. Union Cycliste Internationale. Archived from the original on 2 January 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
- ^ Marshall-Bell, Chris (18 May 2019). "Record-breaker Tadej Pogačar wins Tour of California after Cees Bol takes stage seven". Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
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- ^ "Slovenia tops UCI ranking as Pogačar first to top 6,000 pts". Slovenian Press Agency. 5 April 2022.
- ^ Hood, Andrew (24 July 2021). "Olympic Games notebook: Tadej Pogačar makes history in Tour de France-Olympic double". VeloNews. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
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- ^ Ostanek, Daniel (1 September 2019). "Vuelta a España: Pogacar wins stage 9". CyclingNews. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
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- ^ Ostanek, Daniel (14 September 2019). "Vuelta a España: Pogacar solos to third stage win on Plataforma de Gredos". CyclingNews. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
- ^ "Vuelta a España stage 20: Tadej Pogačar takes third stage win of the race with 40km solo move". 14 September 2019.
- ^ "If Aru feels really good we'll go for the yellow jersey and I'll support him 100%." Fletcher, Patrick (17 December 2019). "Pogacar to make Tour de France debut in 2020". Cyclingnews.com.
- ^ Weislo, Laura (9 February 2020). "Valenciana: Pogačar secures overall victory". CyclingNews. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
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- ^ Ostanek, Daniel (11 September 2020). "Tour de France: Martínez wins stage 13". CyclingNews. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
- ^ Fletcher, Patrick (13 September 2020). "Tour de France: Pogacar wins stage 15 atop Grand Colombier". CyclingNews. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
- ^ Weislo, Laura (16 September 2020). "Tour de France: Miguel Angel Lopez wins stage 17 atop Col de la Loze". CyclingNews. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
- ^ Ostanek, Daniel (19 September 2020). "Pogacar storms to maillot jaune in stage 20 as Roglic's Tour de France bid collapses". Cycling News. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
- ^ "Tour de France 2020 Decisive Time Trial". The Guardian. 19 September 2020.
- ^ Ostanek, Daniel (20 September 2020). "Tadej Pogacar wins the 2020 Tour de France". Cycling News. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
- ^ "Tadej Pogacar seals Tour de France triumph as Bennett wins final stage". The Guardian. 20 September 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
- ^ Long, Jonny (27 September 2020). "Julian Alaphilippe the new world champion after sensational road race victory at Imola 2020". Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
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- ^ Ryan, Barry (30 June 2021). "Tour de France: Pogacar smashes stage 5 time trial". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
- ^ "Tadej Pogacar crushes rivals on mountainous stage 8". Cycling News. 3 July 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Ostanek, Daniel (4 July 2021). "Tour de France: Ben O'Connor moves back into contention with victory in Tignes". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
- ^ Ryan, Barry (7 July 2021). "Tour de France: Tadej Pogačar shows weakness on Mont Ventoux". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
- ^ Windsor, Richard (14 July 2021). "Tadej Pogačar takes step closer to Tour de France 2021 victory with stage 17 win". Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
- ^ Ryan, Barry (15 July 2021). "No gifts as Tadej Pogačar puts a seal on Tour de France at Luz Ardiden". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
- ^ Whittle, Jeremy (17 July 2021). "Tadej Pogačar set to retain Tour de France title after stage 20 time trial". theguardian.com. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
- ^ Julien Pretot (15 July 2021). "Pogačar closes in on Tour title, doping suspicions hit race". Reuters.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Tadej Pogačar Understands Doping Questions, Does Not Plan To Publish His Power Data". Eurosport. 13 July 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b Shane Stokes (15 July 2021). "Jonathan Vaughters on Tadej Pogačar's Dominance, Tour de France Prep and Releasing Power Data". Velo News.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ . olympics.com. Archived from the original on 25 July 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
- ^ "Tadej Pogacar extends UAE Team Emirates contract through 2027". cyclingnews.com. 30 July 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
- ^ "Tadej Pogačar returns to action for first time since Olympics at Bretagne Classic". cyclingnews.com. 27 August 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
- ^ Lloyd, Owen (29 August 2021). "Cosnefroy pounces to win Bretagne Classic". Inside the Games. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
- ^ Marshall-Bell, Chris (12 September 2021). "Sonny Colbrelli outwits Remco Evenepoel to become European men's road race champion". Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
- ^ a b Farrand, Stephen (5 October 2021). "Tadej Pogacar rips up the race script with long-range attack at Tre Valli Varesine". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
- ^ "Primoz Roglic claims victory at Milano–Torino". cyclingnews.com. 6 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
- ^ "Imperious Tadej Pogačar Joins Fausto Coppi and Eddy Merckx In History Books After Stunning Win". Eurosport. 10 October 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Giro di Lombardia: Tadej Pogacar adds title to Tour de France success". bbc.co.uk. 9 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
- ^ Ryan Dabbs (15 November 2021). "Giro d'Italia boss challenges Tadej Pogačar: 'It's time for a rider to win the Giro-Tour double'". Cycling News.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ MacLeary, John (26 February 2022). "Tadej Pogacar lands second stage win to secure overall victory at UAE Tour". The Telegraph. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
- ^ "Tadej Pogacar wins Strade Bianche with 50km solo attack". CyclingNews. Future plc. 5 March 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
- ^ "Pogačar defends Tirreno title for 3rd straight victory". WTOP. Associated Press. 13 March 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Ostanek, Daniel (19 March 2022). "Matej Mohoric wins in late attack at Milan-San Remo". CyclingNews. Future plc. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
- ^ Marshall-Bell, Chris. "Mathieu van der Poel wins Dwars door Vlaanderen after thrilling finale". Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
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- ^ "Tadej Pogačar pulls out of Liège–Bastogne–Liège following death of partner's mother". Eurosport. 23 April 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
- ^ Fletcher, Patrick (19 June 2022). "Tadej Pogacar seals Tour of Slovenia with victory on final stage". CyclingNews. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
- ^ Dabbs, Ryan (1 July 2022). "Yves Lampaert storms to yellow jersey with Tour de France stage one time trial victory". Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
- ^ Weislo, Lauren (6 July 2022). "7 Most Striking Moments from Cobbled Tour de France Stage". Cycling News. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
- ^ Fletcher, Patrick (7 July 2022). "Tour de France: Pogacar wins stage 6, takes yellow jersey". CyclingNews. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
- ^ "Pogačar wins Tour de France stage 7 to extend lead". San Diego Union Tribune. Associated Press. 8 July 2022. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
- ^ Hart, Adam (9 July 2022). "Tour de France 2022: Wout van Aert powers to victory on stage eight with perfectly timed sprint". CyclingWeekly. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
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- ^ Dabbs, Ryan (20 July 2022). "Tour de France 2022: Tadej Pogačar triumphs on stage 17 mountain sprint but Jonas Vingegaard retains yellow jersey". CyclingWeekly. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
- ^ Hood, Andrew (21 July 2022). "Tour de France: Tadej Pogačar crashes on descent and Jonas Vingegaard waits: 'We respect each other a lot'". Velo News. Outside Magazine. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
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- ^ Ortega, Adrian (26 July 2022). "Javier Guillén: "La ausencia de Pogacar en La Vuelta es grande": El director de la carrera ha lamentado la baja del ciclista esloveno en la presentación de un evento de Ecovidrio, "Por una Vuelta Sostenible"". AS. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
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- ^ Frattini, Kirsten (11 September 2022). "Pogacar beats Van Aert in breakaway sprint to win Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal". CyclingNews. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
- ^ Cash, Dane (18 September 2022). "Tobias Foss stuns favourites to win World Championships time trial". CyclingNews. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
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- ^ Puddicombe, Stephen (8 October 2022). "Tadej Pogacar take repeat victory in Il Lombardia". CyclingNews. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
- ^ Johnny Long (30 April 2021). "Tadej Pogačar is Above the Level of Hinault and Merckx". Cycling Weekly.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Pogacar me rappelle Merckx», affirme Joop Zoetemelk, ex-vainqueur du Tour de France". Le Parisien. 4 July 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Pretot, Julien (18 July 2021). Sarkar, Pritha; Davis, Toby (eds.). "Cycling-'Baby Cannibal' Pogacar claims vintage Tour de France title". reuters.com. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
- ^ "Mercks e Pogacar, in DMT incontro tra fenomeni". TuttoBiciWeb (in Italian). 11 October 2021.
Ho sentito dire tante volte "questo è il nuovo Merckx" senza che poi le premesse si realizzassero, ma con Tadej penso che stavolta ci siamo davvero.
- ^ "Colnago. "Festa con Pogacar? E' l'unico che può eguagliare Eddy Merckx"". TuttoBiciWeb (in Italian). 16 December 2021.
- ^ Vanbuggenhout, Kevin (29 June 2020), "GELUK IN DE KOERS EN DE LIEFDE VOOR POGACAR ÉN VRIENDIN: SAMEN KAMPIOEN", wielerkrant.be
- ^ "Pogacar Engagement". Instagram. 23 September 2021. Archived from the original on 23 December 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
- ^ Kayser, Sebastian (22 September 2020). Wunderkind oder Wundermittel?. Bild. p. 11.
- ^ "intervista a Tadej Pogačar – Sottotitoli in italiano". DMT Cycling Shoes. Retrieved 23 July 2022 – via YouTube.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Tadej Pogačar awarded Velo d'Or 2021 prize". CyclingWeekly. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
- ^ "UITSLAG INTERNATIONALE FLANDRIEN 2021. Tadej Pogacar bekroont uniek seizoen met individuele prijs".
- ^ "Remco Evenepoel en Lotte Kopecky zijn ook de Flandrien(ne) van het Jaar". Sporza (in Dutch). 18 October 2022.
External links
- Tadej Pogačar at ProCyclingStats