Tour high-flyer Pogacar between phenomenon and doubts

His disillusioned competitors often only have one word for the achievements of Tour high-flyer Tadej Pogacar. “Incredible,” you hear from all sides of the peloton. On the rest day on Monday in Tignes they will probably have been racking their brains about how the man in the yellow jersey can still be endangered. After all, it's hard to believe what Pogacar has achieved so far in the Tour de France. After the chaotic start to the century, cycling has done a lot to be one thing again: credible.

Now this Slovenian phenomenon comes along and makes the other professionals among the favorites look as if they don't even come close to his level. “They attacked me and I respect that. In the end you need good legs,” said Pogacar stoically after the two Alpine stages. In cycling, something like this automatically raises questions and speculation. The answers from Pogacar's Sheikh Team UAE are the usual: Great talent, even greater will, hard training. But his outstanding time trial and the amazing solo over 30 kilometers and two mountains on the first Alpine stage leave doubters no peace. All records broken They then argue that Pogacar completed the Col de la Colombière in 21:55 minutes faster than the Dane Michael Rasmussen, who was later removed from the race due to doping suspicions, in 2007 and than the Schleck brothers and Alberto Contador in 2009. However, the comparison is flawed, as factors such as weather, wind, material development and tactics must be taken into account. In 2018, a group of 14 with Chris Froome, Egan Bernal, Tom Dumoulin and Alejandro Valverde drove just a second slower on the mountain.

In the fight against the clock, Pogacar clearly came out ahead of the Swiss specialist Stefan Küng. However, Küng was on a wet road, while the Slovenian's was dry. And in his previous three time trials this season, Pogacar has never finished worse than fifth. He described his performance on the tour as “perfect”, and – which is clearly visible – he had worked on his position on the bike.

However, Pogacar's team has doubts. UAE is the successor to the Lampre racing team, which had some quite dazzling doping cases. The team manager is Maruo Gianetti, whose former driver Riccardo Ricco caused several doping scandals. Tour director Christian Prudhomme once described Gianetti as a “manager of bad reputation” and the Swiss was considered persona non grata on the tour for a while. Dubious backers Pogacar receives the instructions from the team car from Adrej Hauptman. The Slovenian was banned from the tour in 2000 as a rider with an excessive hematocrit value that could indicate doping. It is undisputed that Pogacar's environment does not have the best CVs.

Pogacar's training is planned by the Spanish doctor Inigo San Millan. The doctor's plan is designed to increase mitochondria, i.e. cell components used to generate energy. This should give the 2020 Tour winner an advantage in addition to his undisputed talent. When he talks about Pogacar, San Millan waxes enthusiastic: “A man with absolutely incredible physiological parameters.” There it was again, this incredible one.

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Tour high-flyer Pogacar between phenomenon and doubts

Tadej Pogacar is providing the big one-man show at this year's Tour de France. On the one hand, the young Slovenian is admired, but on the other hand, he is also confronted with doubts.

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