"He's so full of charisma and that joy he brings it makes it an absolute spectacle" - Tadej Pogacar's dominance far from boring according to Bob Roll
Cycling
Tadej Pogacar had a season from the heavens in 2024. Everything the Slovenian leader of UAE Team Emirates touched turned to gold. For some though, this suffocating dominance Pogacar held over the peloton made the racing boring. In experienced American expert Bob Roll's opinion though, this criticism is way off base.
"If it was anyone else in the pro peloton, it could have gotten a little monotonous," Roll, himself a a three-time Tour de France competitor in the 80s, analyses on the latest episode of NBC Sports Cycling's Beyond the Podium podcast. "But for me, he's so full of charisma and that joy he brings makes it, for everybody, an absolute spectacle."
Across the course of 2024, Pogacar claimed numerous notable and memorable victories including Strade Bianche, Liege-Bastogne-Liege, Il Lombardia, the Giro d'Italia, the Tour de France and the men's elite World Championship road race in Zurich. "It was a spectacular season that he had, but with anyone else, can you imagine the same amount of enthusiasm people generally have for what Tadej did this season?" Roll asks co-host and compatriot Christian Vande Velde.
"You're not wrong!" Vande Velde answers with a smile. "He IPogacar ed.) could easily have sat back and let the UAE Team Emirates train just go and steamroll every stage, making it just so boring, but he's attacking full gas and risking everything. Like on the descents! How fast does he rip those descents? The motorcycles can't even keep up with him."
"What he did four days into the Tour de France this year was just nuts," Vande Velde recalls, having had the unique perspective of being on the back of one of the camera bikes. "I was so glad that I was so far ahead of him that I didn't have to risk our lives staying ahead of him!"
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Watching Tadej Pogacar win bike races never gets old.@ChristianVDV | @bobkeroll pic.twitter.com/lo89idkj6y
— NBC Sports Cycling (@NBCSCycling) November 8, 2024
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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