Rafal Majka on captain Tadej Pogacar: "What I see is a terminator. He wants to kill everything"

Rafal Majka has in the past been a right-hand man for Alberto Contador, became a leader himself, and has gone full circle as he returned to being a luxury domestique in recent years for Tadej Pogacar. The Polish climber's longevity as a top climber remains impressive, and a lot of that is due to the level and motivation he finds in UAE Team Emirates.

"When there is a captain like Pogacar and you find yourself in front with twenty riders, you know that if you accelerate, he will go away. This is a phenomenon, guy," Majka said in an interview with Bici.Pro. Majka became a domestique right away in 2021 when he signed with the team, and won the Tour de France where he was a key helper for Pogacar. The team has signed many quality riders since which makes it harder for Majka to be in the absolute best races, but he was once again a permanent figure alongside Pogacar in the mountains of the Giro d'Italia last year.

He was then first in line to be at the Tour in case anyone fell ill or injured. "... I was also preparing for the Tour, as first reserve. I have already been to France twice with Tadej and one even won it, the one in 2021. However, the final word was up to the team and we had very good riders both for the flat and others for the climb. Not everything always works perfectly, I would have liked to go too, but the important thing is that Tadej won anyway. He won the Giro, the Tour and then also the world championships.

Majka turned into a brilliant domestique, who has a lot of experience and is very reliable in the mountains. Linking up with Pogacar is one of the things that has kept him motivated to retain his high level that he has sustained already for over a decade.

"Before I was a captain, now I enjoy riding my bike. I have a very high level captain, I have never seen someone like him in my life. He is also a humble guy, because I spent many days racing with him, even in my room," he says of the World Champion. "It is impressive how humble and stable he is, he is always the same. However, when he sets off on his bike, what I see is a terminator. He wants to kill everything. He is the one who tells me when to leave and I wait for nothing else".

"He made the choice to change his coach (into the 2024 season to Javier Sola, ed.) and you can see the difference. When after a couple of years of working the same way you feel the urge to change, the team supports you. From 2025 I'll change too, I've been with the same one for four years. I need to do different jobs and this team can give me the support I need, between training, cycling and nutrition. Everyone thinks it's easy, but you have to know how to choose the riders to work with and those to win. It's Matxin's job, and he does it well".

Majka enjoyed his years as a leader in Tinkoff and BORA, fighting for Grand Tour results on multiple occasions, winning stages on several of them and many more, but there came a time in his career when he did not want the weight and responsibilities of being a team leader anymore. "After Bora and after eight years as the leader, mentally it had become heavy. I'm not saying I wasn't well, because that wouldn't be true, but it was a constant load of stress. It attacked me and interfered with my relationships with my family, I couldn't be in perfect balance".

The switch to UAE, in this regard, kept his career going: "Instead, these four years have passed without me even noticing. It's incredible. Matxin and Gianetti give me confidence and even this year when I renewed the contract with Mauro at the Giro, there was nothing to complain about. We immediately found an agreement, even with Matxin for my role. I work 100 percent for the team, but next year I want to win a race".

The 35-year old is starting yet another season at the World Tour, where he's been since 2011, and is quite motivated to perform. He will race the Giro d'Italia later this spring and hopes to find space to have a win of his own. "...The important thing, as I told him, is that I want to start off more relaxed and finish well, because I want to do the Giro d'Italia. Because I like it and I think that doing the Giro with Ayuso will be different from doing it with Pogacar".

"Juan has grown a lot, especially after this season. I saw it when I raced with him in the Tirreno. He’s a guy who wants to win and you know how a young guy who wants to win is, he’s raring to go," he says of the Spaniard. "I, on the other hand, am a rider who does what the directors on the bus tell him. They are two different leaders, but there’s a team that pays you and you have to do 100 percent what they tell you. I think Ayuso can finish in the top three. You know how cycling is, never say never because anything can happen, but he can do well".

"I hope to find space to win a stage. I won three at the Tour and two at the Vuelta, I'm missing one stage at the Giro. I will definitely go and work 100 percent for the guys, but if I have the opportunity I will try," he concludes. "First we think about working and then when we have a good lead and after we have done everything the team asks, we will try to bring one home".