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.
It should be studied how Pogacar only seems to forget eating when against Jonas, huh? Perhaps people should consider it's nothing to do with that, but rather that Jonas can tire him out in a way no one else can. I also think I remember UAE specifically saying nothing had gone wrong with his nutrition that day.
Not always against Vingegaard, though! At the world’s, he missed a single hand off of a bottle and suddenly was losing a little of his lead. It made the last loop a nail biter, exactly because of past knowledge of how much he relies on fuel during his races.