Underachiever Posted September 20, 2020 Share Love this article. Tadej Pogacar broke all the rulesby Caley Fretz Tadej Pogacar broke all the rulesby Caley Fretz September 20, 2020 "There are rules in bike racing. Tadej Pogacar broke them. You aren’t supposed to win the Tour de France without a good team, with your highest-placed domestique over two hours back, with a round-tubed road bike that doesn’t know a wind tunnel from a wind-up toy, nor does it want to. You aren’t supposed to win the Tour as a 21-year-old, in your first shot at the race. You aren’t supposed to win the Tour on the last day, stunning your own countryman, stunning the whole peloton. Stunning, well, everyone. Pogacar knows the rules. The rules, for him, offer protection. For others, they are a burden, the source of expectation. The rules that say Pogacar can’t do the things he did are also the rules that allowed him to ride into Saturday’s time trial without pressure, because none of this was supposed to happen anyway. “I’m just a kid from Slovenia,” he said, still dazed by it all. The first Tours he remembers watching were contested by Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador. He did then what we do now. “Watching television all day and then riding afterwards,” he said. On Saturday, he needed 57 seconds. The time trial would take nearly an hour. The difference between a good day and a bad one would be a three-minute swing in either direction. There was only one choice: Go out hot, and try to hold on. If he failed, he would just end up right back where he started. The rules said that was the most likely outcome. If he succeeded, he’d win the Tour. At the first time check, 14km in, he was up 13 seconds on Roglic. At the second, 30km in, the base of the climb, Pogacar had another 23 seconds over the yellow jersey. Thirty-six total now, just 21 seconds left to take. An entire Tour de France, all 90 or so hours, can fit inside the smallest moments, all balled up and compressed like the universe ahead of the Big Bang. These moments can come anywhere. At the top of climbs, in corners made or missed, in bitter crosswinds, in flat tires. They come in time trials, too, when a rider is all alone with nothing but a police motorbike to guide them through screaming crowds, time checks barely audible on the radio in their ear. It wasn’t clear, at first, whether Pogacar was doing enough. Or if he was doing too much. The clocks ticked and slowly the bike race emerged. With roughly 3km to go, on one of the particularly heinous little pitches of La Planche, came this Tour’s moment. The gap to yellow was down to 10 seconds, then five. Two. One. Tied. Pogacar shrugged off time loss in the crosswinds. “It’s only a minute,” he said. He attacked in the first week, ignoring the looming realities of the last. He lost his two most important super domestiques, Fabio Aru and Davide Formolo. He shadowed the world’s best Grand Tour team as they rode a perfect race, end-to-end, and then he waited until there were no teams anymore, just him and another kid from Slovenia on the slopes of La Planche des Belles Filles. Then he won. Without a strong team, without experience, without marginal gains. With watts and aggression. The rules don’t apply to Tadej Pogacar. At least not this year."Stunning!! DieselnDust 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gen Posted September 20, 2020 Share Pikey, betaboy, Mntboy and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaper Posted September 20, 2020 Share [emoji4] Wayne pudding Mol 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DieselnDust Posted September 20, 2020 Share https://twitter.com/Colnagoworld/status/1307558984220659712 Beatiful and no stupid lying marketing applies.just a kid and a bike made by a guy who makes champions bikes. EDDY must be super proud Mntboy, Underachiever and ChrisF 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s14phoenix Posted September 20, 2020 Share Colnago had to go and check the colour code for TDF yellow - they haven't painted a bike like that in ages... nor was expecting to... Rowl, splat and Bonus 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s14phoenix Posted September 20, 2020 Share Not taking anything away from the great effort the youngster put in today (it was a great ride) but I see that Lantern Rouge was having a go at Jumbo for the way they failed to attack Pogacar throughout the race, taking little wins along the way and leaving the door open for today’s great effort.This echoes something I was saying on here a while back already, perhaps they have themselves to blame. Agree 100% - everyone is watching only the big GC teams and the favourites... the fact that "nobody saw it coming" should be the PK to all the teams who think this way... The Ghost and betaboy 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DieselnDust Posted September 20, 2020 Share Agree 100% - everyone is watching only the big GC teams and the favourites... the fact that "nobody saw it coming" should be the PK to all the teams who think this way... The possibility was there. 87 secs at the start of week 2 wasn't a lot and his confidence grew everyday they got closer to stage 20 without losing more time.The USPostal/Sky/Ineos strategy of maintaining a high pace on the front wasn't going to work this year especially when the last racing stage was an ITT that played to the fresher of the protagonists . I asked this question in the first week already "Why is Jumbo spending so much energy controlling the race?" Mopkop 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kosmonooit Posted September 20, 2020 Share Although TJV tactics did work by and large, no one expected the surge of Podg yesterday. This uphill ITT being what it was played into his strengths, lets just say he "rose" to the occasion, Incredible performance. As I have said, Rodg must be regret letting him go up the road in the Pyrenees. Where to from here? He is going to have massive expectations loaded onto him, hope he can cope. Vetplant, DieselnDust and dsw 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kosmonooit Posted September 20, 2020 Share ...Right now the young man has to keep it upright, cross the finish line so he can send Fabio to the bottle store for a few beers and champagne (he's not old to buy alcohol in France).Probably has to make some time to lose his virginity too lolI think a post-party visit to the Moulin Rouge is in order DieselnDust 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kranswurm Posted September 20, 2020 Share Although TJV tactics did work by and large, no one expected the surge of Podg yesterday. This uphill ITT being what it was played into his strengths, lets just say he "rose" to the occasion, Incredible performance. As I have said, Rodg must be regret letting him go up the road in the Pyrenees. Where to from here? He is going to have massive expectations loaded onto him, hope he can cope.I would not worry too much about him coping.He has been on an upward curve for a few years now and is on a good team with a contract until end 2023. Gen 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s14phoenix Posted September 20, 2020 Share Not only a big day for Colnago but also Campagnolo... Shimano has killed them for a few years DieselnDust and splat 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_ Posted September 20, 2020 Share Looks like 2 of the UAE bikes have disks, others rim. Strange Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJuice Posted September 20, 2020 Share Looks like 2 of the UAE bikes have disks, others rim. StrangeEarly stages more used the disk bikes, think even in the Pyrenees. Aru`s pay check is now transferred to Pogacar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_ Posted September 20, 2020 Share I can't believe Carapaz didn't go for the kom points just as a laugh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisF Posted September 20, 2020 Share Where is GEN ? Missing our turn-by-turn updates .... Mntboy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gen Posted September 20, 2020 Share Where is GEN ? Missing our turn-by-turn updates .... Lol..I was adulting.. nothing quite like finding a leak in a water pipe on a Sunday . Vetplant and ChrisF 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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