Pogacar beaten! All-conquering world champion handed rare defeat by 40-year-old British amateur in charity event: “I tried to catch everyone, but I couldn’t”
Cycling
Tadej Pogacar has been virtually untouchable all season in 2025, but on Sunday afternoon, even the world champion couldn’t overhaul a flying British amateur on his home climb of Krvavec.
In front of thousands of adoring fans lining the road in support, 40-year-old British hill climb specialist Andrew Feather claimed a stunning win at Pogacar’s end-of-season charity ride, holding off the Slovenian to the summit.
Feather covered the steep ascent in 44:15.3 to take victory in the inaugural S Klanca v klanc Challenge. Pogacar, who started a few minutes behind the peloton, produced the day’s fastest climbing time at 40:44.5 but could only chase down 1,188 of the 1,189 participants. “There were so many people on the roadside — it was phenomenal,” Pogacar said afterwards on the Tour 202 podcast. “I tried to catch everyone, but I couldn’t. Hats off to the winner.”
A local climb, a global field
The event, held just 24 hours after Pogacar’s fifth straight victory at Il Lombardia, attracted 1,189 riders — the same number as the metres of elevation gained between Komenda and Krvavec. Around 40% of the field came from abroad, representing 36 countries, for the chance to test themselves against the world’s best.
The format was simple: mass start from Pogacar’s home village, with the world champion setting off several minutes later in pursuit. It was a familiar climb for the 27-year-old — Krvavec is where he claimed his first ever win as a youngster and remains a regular feature of his training when back in Slovenia. But on this occasion, even his blistering pace couldn’t reel in Feather, a multiple winner on Britain’s hill climb scene.
“Our team’s already quite full,” Pogacar laughed when co-host Igor Tominec joked that UAE Team Emirates - XRG might try to sign the Brit. “But guys who climb that fast could definitely be useful in races. Everyone has their own path — maybe he doesn’t even want to be a pro. I’ve got huge respect for riders like that.”
Memories of Zurich still stand out
Reflecting on the season in the podcast, Pogacar admitted his fondest win remains last year’s triumph in UCI Road World Championships in Zurich:
“We were just talking about it yesterday on the way back from Lombardy. Last year’s Worlds is still my best race. It’s hard to single out one moment, but that first world title wasn’t expected the way this year’s was. The atmosphere on the roadside was incredible. I really had to prove myself, and at the finish I was completely broken. I’ll never forget how exhausted I was after Zurich.”
Read also
A historic season for Pogacar
The 27-year-old Slovenian star capped off a dream 2025 season with his fifth consecutive victory at Il Lombardia, becoming the first rider in history to win any of cycling’s five Monuments five years in a row.
This season, he became the first rider ever to finish on the podium at all five Monuments in a single year – third at Milano–Sanremo, victorious at the Tour of Flanders, second at Paris–Roubaix, and winner of both Liege–Bastogne–Liege and Il Lombardia.
His dominance stretched across the entire calendar: he defended his world title, won the Tour de France for a fourth time, added a European title, triumphed at the aforementioned Monuments of Flanders, Liege and Lombardy, and also won the Strade Bianche and La Fleche Wallonne. He also passed the milestone of 100 career victories.
It was fitting, then, that he ended the year not with a press conference or parade, but on his bike at home – smiling, waving to fans, and being chased up his childhood climb.
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.
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- 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
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The crowd at Il Lombardia were going crazy for Tadej Pogacar 😍
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