“He throws away the victory” – Ex pro Michael Rasmussen criticises a rare Tadej Pogacar defeat
Cycling
Danish former pro Michael Rasmussen, who secured four Tour de France stage victories during his career, has voiced criticism over a rare defeat suffered by Tadej Pogacar this season. Now a cycling expert for Viaplay, the 50-year-old spoke candidly about a rare blip in Tadej Pogacar’s otherwise impeccable season, back in the second week of the Tour de France.
"If you have to put a finger on Pogacar's season, he actually throws away the victory on the 11th stage, which Vingegaard wins. There was no doubt that Pogacar was light years stronger," he said, in an interview with Feltet.
According to the ex-pro, it was a critical error in nutrition that cost Pogacar the stage. "But he simply forgets to eat and drink in his zeal. When the stage was over, Frans Maassen sat and thought, 'no, no, we could have lost the Tour by a minute and a half already if he (Pogacar) had remembered to eat.'"
He went on to analyse Pogacar’s uncharacteristic performance during the final sprint. "It's a style study in stepping squarely. I have never seen Pogacar stand up and sit down again so many times in one sprint. In 99 out of 100 times, he beats Vingegaard in a sprint," he observed.
Despite the setback, this defeat was a mere blip in Pogacar's otherwise dominant season. The Slovenian star claimed the prestigious triple crown, leaving his competition far behind, except for this one notable exception.
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- Doesn't mean anything. In 2023 he was only 3rd at Paris-Nice but then won the toursomeeffingname17-03-2025
- MSR is the race that brings the Spring', proper for better or worse...
leedorney17-03-2025 - Not sure that’s the whole story otherwise babies would be a lit more susceptible to nose bacteria too. Obviously cyclist breathe far more than average humans which should help keep things cleaner, on the other hand if you don’t clean your nose well or use an infected finger … and then why bacteria and not viruses? I would prepare mentally for more testing if this doesn’t solve things. Teeth and gums are the most overlooked entry point for infectious agents. Ears and eyes can also be easily contaminated.Mistermaumau17-03-2025
- Yeah, sorry, some people forget a few facts like him being in a similar age category as Tadej, Jonas, Remco, Tom and that there are plenty of promising younger riders developing too so it’s really quite far-fetched based on current givens.Mistermaumau17-03-2025
- If they learnt from 2024 MVDP/JP strategy, yes, possibleMistermaumau17-03-2025
- Name another race with 20 different winners in the last 30 years. This is probably the single most influential fact that points towards Tadej, or will it be Mads, or a « newcomer »?Mistermaumau17-03-2025
- Nobody asked you and you have very little future prediction precedent. 20 years ago no-one predicted Slovenian cycling domination, Tadej, Trump, Manchester United replaced by City, the recent serial UK Tory leadership or the drastic demise of German Olympic performance. Unfortunately JJ probably won’t be around much longer so can’t be held « accountable » if wrong.Mistermaumau17-03-2025
- Also, note how fast a counter article appeared, either naturally or as part of a comm. strategyMistermaumau17-03-2025
- Not sure, remember where he is saying it and what this person did for him. Perhaps he was coaxed into saying something to stimulate US interest or provocative to improve you know who’s media significance.Mistermaumau17-03-2025
- Quite annoying to get all these silly partial arguments to predict results. If betting companies calculated odds this way, none would survive. If you look at MSR Tadej’s record isn’t great, 4 attempts without a win, he still needs to prove he has what it takes to win in the exact conditions that race provides. MVDP has and has shown he can counter Pog here. I think MVDP hasn’t done an early season stage race since 2021 and much has changed for both since, wouldn’t draw ANY conclusions except to say they both have good chances and everyone else don’t. But then again, it’s racing, anything can happen as time shows time and time again.Mistermaumau17-03-2025