"It's hard to tell Tadej Pogacar to be conservative" admits UAE Team Emirates sports director
Cycling
Continuing to ignite the 2024 Giro d'Italia, even on what was expected to be a relatively routine sprint-friendly stage 3, Tadej Pogacar went on the attack. With such a long time remaining in the Giro and a Tour de France to follow this summer, is the Slovenian spending his energy unwisely?
When Pogacar himself was quizzed about this topic in his post-stage 3 interview, the UAE Team Emirates leader responded with a quip. "So far I haven’t spent any Euros," Pogacar said with a wry smile. "I’m on a paid holiday since six days."
Nevertheless, the urge for Pogacar to ride with more conservatism, especially given the fact he already holds a 46-second advantage over Geraint Thomas in the race for the Maglia Rosa, isn't just coming from outside voices. Speaking to Cycling News, UAE Team Emirates' sports director Fabio Baldato admitted he'd prefer his leader to save himself for the moments that matter.
"To be conservative, but it's hard to tell him," Baldato laughed when asked what advice he can give to someone like Pogacar. "I don't want him to minimise his effort, but I want him to keep the effort for the moments when he's really alone and when he doesn't have teammates to use."
"We've had a plan from the start and it's quite clear," adds UAE Team Emirates sports manager, Joxean Matxin to Cycling News. "We've defined the stages where we can attack and where we can give the responsibility to the sprinters' teams and so on. And when you make a plan, you make that plan with the riders too, which is as it should be."
"Since the start of the Giro, we've been talking only about the Giro and not thinking about what comes afterwards," he concludes. "Even so, this isn't a one-day race like Strade Bianche, where you can attack from 80km because you know you're not racing the next day. This is the Giro, and we know it's three weeks long."
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.
claps 2visitors 2
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- 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
Loading
1 Comments