Have experts found potential Tadej Pogacar weakness in the time trial? "His centre of gravity is too far forward”

Tadej Pogacar stormed to another dominant win last week at the 2025 Criterium du Dauphiné, excelling in the high mountains and sending a real message to his rivals ahead of the upcoming Tour de France. Whilst the Slovenian does look almost unbeatable though, is there cause for concern in Pogacar's time trial 'disappointment' on stage 4?

The disappointment mentioned there is of course in relative terms, because for almost all of the peloton, a place 4th finish would be a positive. For Pogacar however, losing 48 seconds to Remco Evenepoel and 28 seconds to Jonas Vingegaard was a genuine surprise.

Looking at the technical aspect of Pogacar's time trial, Stefan Deckx, a movement analyst at the University of Antwerp believes he might have found out why the UAE Team Emirates - XRG leader is slipping time to the likes of Evenepoel and Vingegaard. “Pogacar’s centre of gravity is too far forward,” Deckx begins in conversation with Knack. “His elbows rest on the bars in a way that means he can’t put enough pressure on the rear wheel. At high speeds, that becomes a serious issue — especially when cornering.”

“With Evenepoel, if you draw a line from his shoulder through his elbow and another through the front fork, they intersect right at the hub of the front wheel. That’s perfect geometry. With Pogacar, that intersection point is behind and above the front hub,” the expert continues. “The bike becomes less stable, harder to steer, and his whole position starts to work against him. He also transfers power from his upper body less efficiently — he’s not pressing his bike into the ground, the way a Formula 1 car generates downforce.”

In comparison to Evenepoel, there is a marked difference according to Deckx. “Because of a backward tilt, there’s more strain on the lower back, and he’s unable to properly engage the posterior chain — the glutes, hamstrings, and lower back,” he explains. “His pedal stroke is also less effective. He pedals more flatly, with less of that rearward angle. Compare it to sprint blocks in athletics — angled blocks give you power. He’s effectively pushing from a flat surface.”

According to Deckx, the issue may be the fault of UAE. “I suspect they’ve focused too much on aerodynamics and not enough on biomechanical force lines,” Deckx concludes. “It’s possible Pogacar looks more aerodynamic on the bike now — but that doesn’t make up for the loss in biomechanical efficiency.”