"Nothing is a given" - Marc Madiot warns that Tadej Pogacar doesn't automatically win next year's Tour
Cycling
Tadej Pogacar left no room for doubts with his dominant performance in the first two weeks of Tour de France and successfully defended his 2024 title. With four Tour de France titles to his name now, the Slovenian is already high on the all-time ranking, but at the age of 26, he can take his record to a completely different level in years to come.
"He was the best, the strongest, the most complete. It's not illogical that he would be the winner," Groupama - FDJ manager Marc Madiot summed up the Slovenian's victory at Cyclism'Actu.
Now four-time winner of Tour de France, Tadej Pogacar is only one step away from joining the all-time greats Jacques Anquetil, Bernard Hinault, Miguel Indurain and Eddy Merckx who all have in common to have won the Grande Boucle five times. At the moment it does seem likely, if not certain, that the Slovenian should join this prestigious club. Sooner rather than later. But Madiot warns:
"Based on the current situation, we'd like to say yes, it's going to be easy and simple to achieve. But beware of time, habit, and relaxation. Nothing is a given. Remember, in the past, many victories were predicted for certain riders: Jan Ullrich, who was predicted to win several times, only won one. So: observation and prudence are the right words."
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- Just do it, and put up with the consequencesJumpyjohn08-11-2026
- "was a headliner at the Tour de France" Nobody cared about Piddie. Only rivals that were there for Pogi, Jonas, Remco, Sexias, Lipo, Del Toro and they were all expected to lose. Piddie was not even in any conversation.abstractengineer08-11-2026
- exactly, he had an amazing season, but with these overstatements they don‘t do him good.Ketterechts08-11-2026
- More to the point, it isn't his remaining goal.Renz08-11-2026
- lol yeahmij08-11-2026
- I know, their headlines can be so misleading. Pidcock had a great season with 5 wins. and some solid 2nds. no reason to take away from that with a fake headline.mij08-11-2026
- You can clearly see the the posture change from slightly sitting to again out of the saddle while changing of gears in the video of the sprintabstractengineer08-11-2026
- He has already beaten Pogi twice in the TDF. the achievement is over. He cannot beat Pogi now and he only has a few years left at the top. Win Giro and compete in the TDF, maximise palmares.abstractengineer08-11-2026
- Just looked again at the photo. Yeah I stand by that. If MS had fallen over in Brands direction I don’t even think she would have hit her. You must be a UCI race commissioner. I’ll be sure to check my sock height should I ever see you on a ride. Looks like everyone else on here sees what I see.mij08-11-2026
- I said looking at the photo it doesn’t appear she deviated. Chill out, not stating my word is the final judgement. Just commenting that based on the photo I don’t see it. And BTW the Dutch coach even said she didn’t impede her.mij08-11-2026
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