"Pogacar stays hungry by staying in love and engaged with the game" - Tom Danielson impressed by Slovenian's focus
Cycling
Tadej Pogacar is quite unique in many ways. One of them is his out-going attitude and warm approach to fans that makes him even more popular than his impressive victories.
Tom Danielson notices that some critique points out that the world champion makes winning look too easy sometimes. "I find it crazy to hear Pogacar being criticized for the way he handles himself while being so dominant," the former professional shares his opinion via X.
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The American can't wrap his head around people under the impression that Pogacar might be too relaxed, or perhaps it's just their jealousy? "First off, we are talking about bike racing. It’s a show and that’s it. We want real people showing real personality, it’s more entertaining."
Danielson is actually amazed by Pogacar's composed approach to racing. "Second, ironically, it is his calm, clear, and lack of obsession around the others that give him an advantage over them. Also this mindset enables him to remain so hungry despite constant success."
"I know from experience that when you win, or find success, comfort creeps in. You feel this relief that you accomplished what you worked so hard for. That relief can almost trick you to think that it will stay around forever. This often relaxes you in a bad way because you start to only want the relief instead of all the pain that comes before it."
You don't notice anything like that with the Slovenian. Victories only make him hunger for more and that's precisely why the world champion is inevitably launching towards his 100th professional victory this summer.
"But Pogacar stays hungry by staying in love and engaged with the game. That game is trying to find a better level tomorrow than you were today. So while people try to judge his actions in relation to others, they are completely missing one of the key separators between him and the others: that his win is only dependent on his performance."
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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- 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
- Blah Blah Blah !frieders308-11-2026
- MS said she was changing gears so that caused her slight deviation. Nothing was intentional.frieders308-11-2026
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