Ex-DS claims Tadej Pogacar is lacking in racing strategy: “He’s just so strong that he rarely has to think about how to win"

Tadej Pogacar has been the standout rider of the last couple of years, winning almost every race he has targeted. Could it have been even better for the Slovenian though? Well, according to former Lotto sports director Herman Frison, despite Pogacar's success, the UAE Team Emirates - XRG leader sometimes lacks a little bit when it comes to racing strategy.

“He didn’t need to respond to that attack from Julian Alaphilippe, and if he was going to anyway, then he should’ve tried to keep Alaphilippe with him for longer," begins Frison in conversation with Het Nieuwsblad, noting a recent example of Pogacar not riding as smart as he perhaps should have last Sunday at the 2025 Amstel Gold Race. "You know the saying from De Cauwer: 'Eat from someone else’s plate first, then your own.' But Pogacar always goes straight for his own plate. And sometimes, he pays the price for that.”

Whilst obviously, this perceived lack of nous hasn't done much to hold Pogacar back in his career, Frison insists that the Slovenian won't be able to get by purely on his strength forever. “He’s just so strong that he rarely has to think about how to win. It’s been like that since he was a kid, and he’s mostly been able to carry that over into the pros. And from what I hear, he’s the same in training," he notes. "Group training doesn’t really exist for him - he just leads the whole session from start to finish.”

“Look at how many races he’s already done - that kind of effort builds up over time. I think he may have hit his limit a bit, and that’s exactly when you need to start riding smarter," concludes Frison, offering up some advice. “It definitely worked for us with Philippe Gilbert back in the day. In the heat of the race, you have to let guys do their thing, but if Pogacar attacks with more than 40 kilometres to go, someone in the team car has to dare to tell him to do it differently.”