“As soon as Pogi was out of sight, our mechanics pounced on his bike” - Patrick Lefevere reveals secret inspection of Tadej Pogacar’s bike
Cycling
Patrick Lefevere has revealed how four Soudal – Quick-Step mechanics secretly weighed, measured and analysed Tadej Pogacar’s bike after the Slovenian innocently left it in their care.
Pogacar had asked whether his Colnago could be stored inside the team’s bike room while he spent time with his partner, Urska Zigart. He expected the rival mechanics to keep it safe until he returned. They instead used his absence to begin a detailed examination.
Lefevere’s revelation comes as Pogacar dominates discussion around the 2026 Vuelta a Espana following the Stage 8 crash that ended his commanding pursuit of the red jersey. UAE Team Emirates – XRG remains uncertain whether the five-time Tour de France winner struck a stone or fallen GoPro, while Pogacar begins recovering from a concussion, displaced collarbone fracture and stable C7 vertebra fracture.
The inspection recounted by Lefevere took place two years ago at a winter hotel used by Quick-Step. Pogacar had travelled there by bike to visit Zigart, who rides for the Belgian team, before the couple went to the sauna.
Quick-Step mechanics seize their opportunity
“He had ridden his bike to our hotel so that he could go to the sauna with Urska,” Lefevere recalled in his weekly column for Het Nieuwsblad. “He asked our mechanics whether he could leave it in our bike room for a while.”
The request placed the equipment and setup used by cycling’s leading rider inside the workspace of a team accustomed to competing against him throughout the WorldTour calendar. “As soon as Pogi was out of sight, our mechanics pounced on his bike,” Lefevere revealed.
Four mechanics gathered around the Colnago and made full use of the opportunity. “They weighed, measured and analysed everything,” Lefevere said. “It had never occurred to Pogacar for a second that he might be giving away possible ‘trade secrets’, but naturally, no mechanic with any professional pride is going to leave the Tour winner’s bike sitting untouched in the corner.”
Lefevere finished the story with a joke about one thing they did not discover: “It turned out that Pogacar’s bike didn’t contain a motor.”
Lefevere was the founder and long-time boss of Soudal - Quick-Step before retirement
Pogacar away from the cameras
The story also offered Lefevere a glimpse of Pogacar far removed from the ruthlessly ambitious competitor who won three of the opening seven stages at the Vuelta and established a 3:50 advantage before crashing out.
Despite occasionally encountering Pogacar around Quick-Step’s winter hotel, Lefevere does not claim to know him personally. “I have never really spoken to Pogacar in my life,” he admitted. “I can’t say that I know him. But I have seen him a few times away from the cameras. That is when you also see the straightforward guy who could just as easily be your neighbour.”
Without the crowds and television crews that surround him during races, Pogacar could apparently pass through the hotel almost unnoticed. “You will see a couple sitting in the lobby, and anyone who isn’t into cycling would never suspect that the guy in the hoodie is the best cyclist in the world,” Lefevere said.
That was the Pogacar who handed his Colnago to rival mechanics without apparently considering what they might do once he had walked away.
“I cannot find Pogacar unlikeable”
Lefevere believes cycling has not seen anyone with Pogacar’s appetite for victory since Eddy Merckx. The Slovenian rarely offers gifts to opponents during races, but his dominance has not made the former Quick-Step boss resent him.
“Try as I might, even after 130 victories, I cannot find Pogacar unlikeable,” Lefevere said. “You could say that he manages his public relations well, but it only works because, in my opinion, it isn’t PR.”
The account has now made the mechanics’ curiosity public two years after Pogacar left them alone with one of the most closely scrutinised bikes in professional cycling.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- ❤️Lozza15-11-2026
- The greatest ever is a crazy claim. But in discussions about sport in our local media, among people with no particular interest in cycling, he has been the first person they've thought of when giving examples of exceptional athletes.Hills3315-11-2026
- Urska may be less keen on a cafe if keeping it afloat will fall to her, so maybe just a nice dream!Hills3315-11-2026
- Raise thine hand if the money you have made for retirement slips away on poor investments.Most of us will outlive our financial comforts because we don't have the financial acumen to ensure a comfortable lifelong retirement and that is a statistical fact not my opinion.Many millionaires have pissed their money away or had it taken away by so called conniving "financial advisors".The world of wealth is a dangerous place that most of us will never experience nor appreciate.
Brucegel15-11-2026 - You are interested in Pogi for one reason only, you feel like you are somehow related because you share some vague geographical identity. Other than that you have very little interest in cycling as all your posts show, if it can’t be connected to Pogi you have nothing to post. That said, recent activity here shows we are attracting quite a crowd from his region.Jumpyjohn15-11-2026
- From knowing past cycling stars with shops I can only say, think it through. Not only is it mundane after a while but it really doesn’t take you out of the limelight, in the end you’ll be trying to stay away from the place yourself whilst all your fans keep coming for you.Jumpyjohn15-11-2026
- Careful investment? I think he can live very comfortably with zero investments, what does he need more? The world would do well if more people set a target for how much they need or would make them “happy” and then stop worrying about perpetually having to make more.Jumpyjohn15-11-2026
- Yes, Roglic could theoretically have beaten Sepp. Jonas must have had complete confidence that he could come back and win the Vuelta another year. Visma had not allowed Roglic to ride the Tour that year, so his future did not look so bright, despite his narrow Giro win..Hills3315-11-2026
- So far, a good series about riders before my time, even if the text feels AI generated like so much on this site. About the rider, he seems like one of many who are active fan favorites but don’t survive in the stories of cycling, a few decades later - I didn’t really know anything about him and this was a good read, thank you!RidesHills15-11-2026
- A calm, honest documentary, a bit of hagiography but mostly not too much. When he talks about a coffee shop, it aligns with several things in his world - he might want calm, but he does (more than a little bit) have someone near him (his fiancee) who makes sure that things happen the way he expects. Many atheletes have retired only to find out just how much others were taking care of their lives for them. If they work out (I'm old, things happen), I am sure it will take a renegotiation, which is a good thing. I truly enjoyed watching it, seeing him, seeing her, seeing the whole system built around him.RidesHills15-11-2026
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