"How ridiculously hard he rides in training" - Teammate on Tadej Pogacar's training and mentality with UAE
Cycling
Tadej Pogacar is the greatest of this generation and there is the overall interest by many to know how he is off the bike in his personal life, and also how he trains to reach such a high level. In a small way, both were answered by his teammate Florian Vermeersch, who has spent quite a bit of time with the World Champion in his first year at UAE Team Emirates - XRG.
"On the bike, Tadej is a killer, a cannibal. But he's also a super chill guy and an incredible team player," Vermeersch said in words to Bahamontes. "That's how I got to know him right away when we went out with the riders for a few evenings on our own during the first team days in Abu Dhabi last year. He loves to foster a sense of community."
A key to Pogacar's performances is to have a loyal group of riders who are willing to sacrifice their chances for him, despite their great quality. And in the words of the Belgian classics specialist, Pogacar does a great job at achieving this, sharing for example a story from this year's Strade Bianche.
"The day before Strade Bianche, at Tadej's urging, we went to play football with the whole team in the hotel garden. It was fantastic for team spirit. And the next day, Tadej won, Tim Wellens finished third, and I rode one of the best races of my life. The best proof that having fun is important."
But on the bike, there is not as much fun, specially when training with the best in the world. He knows this by experience. "During the first training camp, I was with the squad for the classics. Tadej was with the Tour team. The Pogacar group was riding two kilometers per hour faster than ours every day, and I thought we were already going more than fast enough."
Then he learnt just how fast they go with his own eyes. "During [the preparation for] the Tour de France, I trained with Tadej every day for two weeks in the Sierra Nevada mountains and saw how ridiculously hard he rides in training". Vermeersch was a reserve for the Tour lineup and didn't end up making it into the '8', but was present training with the men that would go on to win the Tour de France.
"There was one day when Nils Politt and I were on his wheel the whole time, even though it wasn't even uphill. After twenty minutes, we had to drop out, completely exhausted, while Tadej was still joking. His base wattage is so high..."
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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