"Pogacar just wanted to make friends" - Tadej Pogacar did not encounter anything such as a bad day on stage 14
Cycling
Tadej Pogacar stands firm as the overall leader of Tour de France after two weeks of racing, although some doubts have arised after the fourteenth stage. The Slovenian didn't lose time, didn't even seem out of control at any moment, but just the fact that he allowed Thymen Arensman cruise towards a victory while riding patiently in Jonas Vingegaard's wheel. But it was enough to nurture speculations.
"People seemed to think he had an average or bad day because he didn't win," Philippa York returns to stage 14. "He had a lead of four minutes so he didn't need to attack. He had ridden to his maximum the two previous stages and with the Alps still to come, saving energy might be a good idea, even for Pogacar."
"It's an intelligent approach to Grand Tour racing, where making friends and keeping them happy is also a vital tactic," York points out a key aspect of why Pogacar didn't gobble up stage 14 to complete a hattrick.
That way, he made sure that INEOS Grenadiers won't hold any hard feelings towards the Slovenian and could indirectly help if needed. "The other teams need to get something out of the race too, Pogacar and UAE don’t need to anger everyone by winning everything everyday. Let the others race and if they survive to the end then sometimes that’s OK."
The first two positions in GC seem relatively sorted out, but further down the standings after two weeks lies a lot of potential for exciting battles. Florian Lipowitz and Oscar Onley have pretty comfortable positions at the moment, but that could change in a blink of an eye.
"Oscar Onley looks good for a top five if he continues to perform," York writes in her Cyclingnews blog, "but from current in fifth place Kevin Vauquelin to Ben Healy in tenth anything could happen."
"One good day for Primoz Roglic and he can move up dramatically but the inverse is true as well. Felix Gall and Tobias Johannessen will be watching Carlos Rodriguez and Healy a bit more closely even though they are six minutes adrift of them on GC."
That's a part of race York really looks forward to: "The race within the race always throws up some peculiar tactics as Paris gets nearer."
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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- 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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