"I've never seen an athlete with that capacity" - Tadej Pogacar's former coach explains what makes him so good
Cycling
Iñigo San Milán was one of Tadej Pogacar's coaches early in his career and a key figure in his development. The Spaniard has talked about his former tutor yesterday regarding his current Tour de France and the sheer genetic ability of the World Champion, with nothing but praise thrown in his direction.
In words to the El Partidazo podcast from Cope he recalled his work with the Slovenian who took his 100th pro win yesterday in Rouen, attacking on the final climb, but then beating Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogacar in the final sprint.
"In 2018 when he moved to pros and I started working with him as performance director at Team UAE with a mission to elevate that team to be one of the best internationally. I quickly saw that it was going to be another level. I saw it clearly and told him so," San Milan said.
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Right from the start it had been clear the Slovenian was going to be big. "Tadej was one of the best in the amateur world, he had done good races, but he had to improve different areas: how he planned, training, nutrition, recovery, monitoring.... And, well, that's where we started working with him and we quickly saw that he had huge potential."
Asked about Pogacar's physical characteristics that make him different from the others, San Milan answered the following: "He has a great capacity, very important metabolic efficiency. When the rest of the riders go at 8,000 revolutions per minute he keeps going at 3,000. So he has 2,3,4 gears more than the average".
This is regarding the Slovenian's ability to produce energy and also recover from big efforts. "It's all about mitochondrial activity. Mitochondria is where energy is produced in the muscle and where lactate is cleared. It has an incredible lactate-clearing capacity. I've never seen an athlete with that capacity. That allows that muscle to function at a much higher level at higher intensities than the rest."
This was a talent that Pogacar had, which was then developed further as a pro in UAE. He has since become already an historical figure in the sport and the absolute headliner of the current peloton. "In amateur he was one of the best, but not the best, we had to polish him and the moment we started to do it he started to grow and grow and he continues to grow. It's a pleasure to watch him," he concluded.
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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- Bruyneel, for all his faults, guided a team to seven straight TdF victories. He's got his bona fides. Criticizing him on his tactical nous or team strategies seems a bit weak. He's entitled to his opinion.Occam12-11-2026
- You don't have to calculate it. Just watch "Anatomy of a G.O.A.T." and you will have all the numbers but... ... if you are Ford and you will calculate numbers of Lamborghini it will not help you. Just saying..averagecyclist12-11-2026
- anybody can calculate the numbers of Tadej , its not secret. We already have the parcour distance elevation data, we have the strava data of a number of riders for reference, we have Pogi's time vs distance. Form there Pogi numbers on every climb can be calculated. Having numbers means nothingabstractengineer12-11-2026
- Again completely stupid. THere is a reason Pogi is Goat, nobody can match his performances, it is physiologically impossible for a rider to equal thru training , nutrition(Pogi has better or equal) and equipment.(Pogi has better or equal) . its mainly genetic.abstractengineer12-11-2026
- Mathieu and Wout!!! You must start in CX this winter! (hope you reading comments here...) ;-)averagecyclist12-11-2026
- Who made you site boss?Lozza12-11-2026
- This shows so well you’ve never ventured out to a cycling event and checked out spectators.Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- I preferred the one about amateur riders and passing (perhaps to explain why he can’t ride at 220 which would probably be more effective to return to shape).Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- Not just ManU, far worse in some minority sports ventures.Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- From your writing it sounds like you’ve been sharing your views with people here for quite a while, quite presumouptuous for a new profile.Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
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