INTERVIEW | Tadej Pogacar on the key to his development - "You have rituals everyday that you focus on"

Tadej Pogacar is an exceptionally talented rider, of a level that has not been seen in modern cycling. There is a lot of work behind the scenes for the UAE Team Emirates rider to reach such a high level, but in words to CyclingUpToDate he shares what he believes are the key details to evolve despite being the best in the world.

The World Champion turned pro in 2019 as a huge young talent, and in 2020 he won his first Tour de France. This was a huge surprise at the time for Pogacar, but the truth is he was stiill far from his best level at the time. He would go on to win the Tour again in 2021, and although he found a suiting competitor in Jonas Vingegaard who beat him twice in 2022 and 2023, Pogacar returned to the very top in 2024.

Not only did Pogacar win the Tour de France, with a set of incredible performances by all standards, but also he has thrived throughout the entire year, winning everything from one-week races, monuments and one-day races. The World Championships were the cherry on top of the cake as he, for the first time, added a rainbow jersey to his palmarès - next year in Rwanda he has another opportunity, which he terms his main goal alongside the Tour de France.

Milano-Sanremo is also a big one, although there is not yet a decision on the team that will be taking to the start. Joxean Matxin earlier confirmed he would race the UAE Tour to open up his season; followed by Strade Bianche, Milano-Sanremo, E3 Saxo Classic, Gent-Wevelgem and the Tour of Flanders - before tackling the Ardennes classics.

In words to our microphones, the Slovenian responded to what is the most important detail of his performance. "I think the consistency. The focus on the training, being healthy, nutritious, sleeping..." he responded.

Besides the training and attention to all details, largely worked alongside the team, it's the peace of mind, consistency in his recovery and rituals at home that allow him to recover extremely well - UAE's Jeroen Swart praised earlier the ability of Pogacar to recover from huge training loads as a massive weapon in his arsenal.

"This consistency, rhythm that you have rituals everyday that you focus on what you want to do and without any disturbances. That's the best thing to improve," he concluded.