“From day one, you knew he was different”: Mauro Gianetti on the discovery of Tadej Pogacar

UAE Team Emirates - XRG boss Mauro Gianetti has opened up about the early days of Tadej Pogacar’s career in a candid interview with Dutch outlet RIDE Magazine. Speaking with the insight of someone who witnessed the Slovenian’s rise from the very beginning, Gianetti reflects on the moment they first recognised his rare talent — and what set him apart from the rest.

“Our Sports Manager, Joxean Matxin, had been following Tadej for quite a while,” Gianetti begins. “He’d seen something in him long before the wider cycling world took notice.”

That attention intensified in 2018, when Pogacar claimed a commanding victory at the Tour de l’Avenir — a race often seen as a stepping stone to greatness.

“He won the Tour de l’Avenir that year in absolutely dominant fashion — and he did it without the backing of a team,” recalls Gianetti. “Shortly afterwards, I met him for the first time at our headquarters in Milan. That’s where we signed his first contract.”

Even at 19, Pogacar left a lasting impression. “Right from the start, it was clear he had something special,” says Gianetti. “He had an open, inquisitive mind and a hunger to learn at pace. For someone so young, he was incredibly self-assured. He already knew exactly what he wanted.”

That year, UAE were in talks with several promising young riders — including Brandon McNulty, Mikkel Bjerg, João Almeida, and Marc Hirschi. But one name stood above the rest. “Tadej was by far the most mature,” Gianetti says. “He stood out in every way.”

What impressed the team even more was Pogacar’s composed and thoughtful nature. “He wasn’t someone who needed to talk a lot,” Gianetti explains. “He listened intently, took everything in, and had this ability to immediately assess the dynamics of any situation. He’d ask the right questions: ‘What can I do better?’ ‘How should I approach this?’ You could tell he was wired differently. There was an energy about him — a quiet confidence that made you think, ‘This guy is going to be a champion.’ And yet, there was no arrogance at all.”

“At that point, he still carried four extra kilos compared to his current race weight,” Gianetti notes, “but even then, he was already beating the top climbers in his age group.”

Asked if Pogacar reminded him of any other sporting greats, Gianetti doesn't hesitate. “He reminded me of the first time I met Roger Federer, back at the Sydney Olympics,” he says. “We were both part of the Swiss Olympic team. Federer was just 18 then and ranked 34th in the world — but when you spoke to him, you could feel it: there was something extraordinary there. I had the exact same feeling with Tadej.”