Is Tadej Pogacar the most genetically gifted cyclist ever? He... might, according to a new study on the Tour de France champion

Tadej Pogacar is without a doubt the fruit of an incredible cyclist who has found himself fitting perfectly in the requirements of the sport. But at the same time, he is incredibly gifted, genetically speaking. The Slovenian is a perfect mix of many factors that work in his favour and a new study carried out regarding his performances suggest he may have the highest VO2 max out of any Tour de France winner ever recorded.

Norwegian researcher Ole Kristian Berg developed a study on the topic of Pogacar for the Journal of Science & Cycling and his findings suggest that besides what has been previously said and reported of the Slovenian, his VO2 max is also certainly the highest out of any modern Tour de France winner - of those who had been measured. This a value that is a key component for pro cyclists' performance, as it interprets the ability to turn oxygen into energy - key for any endurance sport.

Pogacar's exact numbers are not publicly known, but Berg argues that they must be between 91 and 96ml/Kg/min. Chris Froome's was 88, Greg LeMond had 93 and is argued to be the highest amongst all measured top pro riders. This was based on Pogacar's climbing performances throughout the 2024 and 2025 seasons. Very accurate power estimates are calculated immediately after such performances in top cycling nowadays, and Berg's study takes into consideration those power values.

But the study from the Norwegian leaves room for improvement for the upcoming year taking into consideration what he believes is Pogacar's physiological ability: “Let's hope to see more feats pushing the limits of human physiological performance in the 2026 Tour de France.”

UAE Team Emirates - XRG soigneur and masseur Joseba Elguezabal joked last year that "Tadej is so exceptional that when it comes to a massage even his muscles are in a class of his own. It’s not just me that says that. All the soigneurs on the UAE team give massages to all the different riders when we’re at training camp, and they’ve all noticed the same thing about Tadej. I was giving him a massage after Vallter in the Volta a Catalunya, a stage where he’d attacked in the rain and gone solo to win, and in barely a minute he was back to normal. It was just staggering".

Recently Slovenian coach Tim Podlocar argued too that the World Champion's genetics must be almost seen in pro cycling: "His physiology seems completely unimaginable to me. It is incredible how he can maintain such high numbers, such a strong rhythm, for so long, and still not arrive at the finish totally exhausted".