Cycling, Pogacar: "I'm improving, thanks to new training methods"

Rome, 28 January 2025 – Tadej pogacar the special observation: the exponential growth of the Slovenian's performance in 2024 has opened a debate with no holds barred and with various hypotheses, not exactly a novelty in cycling. The final piece to the story was added by the person directly involved, who spoke to the microphones of CyclingWeekly He talked about his new training methods.

Pogacar's statements

We start from the change of coach (from Inigo San Milan a Javier Alone) following the two Tour de France lost and gone to jonas vingegaard. "Javier talks to me every day and so I can't afford to relax for even a second. Not that I would have, but it's still nice to have someone you can trust and communicate with in a positive way." Not only an obvious different psychological approach: in the growth of pogacar the new training methods brought by also play a role Sola. "We work in a more specific way, focusing more on the closest races. There is a great sharing of ideas and methods between us and for now everything is going well. Last year we did a lot of training on the VO2 Max and 2 Zone, therefore working on resistance to fatigue and, not surprisingly, this is the area in which I have improved the most. When I am more tired I no longer lose my explosiveness and also - concludes the Slovenian - I have started to take my nutrition more seriously". In fact, both improvements shown by pogacar come back: from the growth of performance in long climbs, in particular those of the Tour de France, to a weight loss visible even to the naked eye.

Van Der Hoorn's statements

In today's cycling, speeds are also increasing, a topic on which not everyone agrees: the last voice to express itself is that of Taco Van Der Hoorn, which to the microphones of CyclingNews went slightly against the grain of what was previously said by Wout van aert, eager to limit the gear ratios. "Personally, I don't have a very high cadence and therefore I prefer to pedal pushing the hardest gear. For me, therefore, this possible change would not be positive and, in general, I believe that speed is part of cycling. After all, if you ban gear ratios, you also have to ban bodysuits and aerodynamic bikes". The Dutchman, victim of a serious accident at Giro delle Fiandre 2023 which has kept him away from racing for over a year, opens another debate. "I think the greatest dangers are created by the fixed supply zones. All the runners are agitated in search of the masseur and the water bottles and in those chaotic moments many accidents happen. In my opinion - he concludes Van Der Hoorn - it would be better to keep the riders as separated as possible and other colleagues I have spoken to think exactly like me."

Read also - Napoli, new attack for Garnacho. Adeyemi the alternative. Biraghi in the background