"Pogacar's road bike was heavier than Vingegaard's time trial bike" - Dutch pundits on opposite choices for mountain time-trial

Mountain time-trials - specially those with flat sectors, as was the case during the Tour de France's 13th stage - are often interesting when it comes to the choices of material. Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard went into it with completely separate setups but with similar outcomes, something analysed by Tom Dumoulin and Thijs Zonneveld.

"UAE and Visma have been thinking about the climbing time trial all year. They came to completely opposite conclusions," Zonneveled said in the In de Waaiers podcast. The three flat kilometers were enough to make some difference, but most riders decided on a full road setup for the 10-kilometer ascent to Peyragudes.

"Vingegaard started on a time trial bike with open wheels, and Pogacar started on his standard road bike. Vingegaard with a time trial helmet, Pogacar with a regular aero helmet." But at the finish line they were separated by 36 seconds, the expected result. 

So it seemed like a time-trial where the setups were almost evenly matched, and it would ultimately come down to personal preference of the riders and how much they would be able to put the power out in the TT bike.

“I know the weights of both bikes that Pogacar and Vingegaard started on. Pogacar's road bike was heavier than Vingegaard's time trial bike," he argues. "So, Team Visma | Lease a Bike managed to take all the aerodynamic gains and still make a lighter bike. They couldn't have done much better, but you can see the result.”

Tom Dumoulin had a similar opinion in words for NOS: "I can understand both choices. Vingegaard wasn't riding his time trial bike, but a sprint bike with a time trial handlebar mounted on it. That must have cost time to get it to the right size". 

"If Pogacar can ride his time trial bike with the same power as his road bike, then the time trial bike would be faster. But that's not the case, so he opts for comfort because he rides his road bike all year round. I found that interesting. Vingegaard feels comfortable on the time trial bike and can ride with the same power on that bike as on the road bike, and you only see guys on time trial bikes in the top five, except for one champion."