“I think that he can still improve a little bit" - UAE trainer warns Tadej Pogacar has not yet hit his peak

Tadej Pogacar in 2024, was as good as any cyclist in the history of the sport. The Slovenian took two Grand Tour victories along with 12 stage wins, a pair of Monument titles and the World Championship Rainbow Jersey in Zürich. According to UAE Team Emirates - XRG trainer Javier Sola though, there is still room for improvement for the Slovenian.

“We haven’t made serious changes. Obviously, he has a good background. Basically, we introduced a little bit of strength training in the gym. Also, he has improved his body composition compared with other years,” Sola says of Pogacar's training ahead of the 2025 season, in quotes collected by Velo. “I think that he can still improve a little bit, but I cannot predict how much. I don’t have a crystal ball.”

Talk of Pogacar improving even further is sure to send shivers down the shine of the Slovenian's rivals in the peloton but according to Sola, there is one area in which Pogacar can definitely work on and that is his strength. “I think he can still progress in his strength training. So, we’re focusing on that now by including a little bit more compared with last year,” he explains. “Also, we try to do a little bit more intensity for the classics. We will see if he can manage the load and keep progressing. This is a process. We improve something every year.”

One of Pogacar's biggest targets in 2025, is the elusive Milano-Sanremo. Would success in the Italian monument require specific training? “It’s nothing crazy,” Sola says of his plan. “Probably we did a bit more high intensity in some periods. Also I think the strength training – on and off the bike – has been key for him.”

“The demands of the race of a one-day event like Tour of Flanders are not the same as the Tour de France. So now we only focus on the classics in the beginning, and the Grand Tours after," he adds. “We will focus very specifically on each type of race.”