Rigoberto Urán, on leaders like Remco Evenepoel or Tadej Pogacar: "Respect has been lost because the leaders are 20-year-old children"

Veteran Rigoberto Urán has talked about how today's star riders like Tadej Pogacar or Remco Evenepoel are very different from the ones he knew in the past. He believes the change in training that emphasizes the importance of watts has changed everything.

"People only look at watts anymore and no one talks to a group mate. Now everyone pushes from the first kilometer. Nobody talks, there's a lot of stress. Everything has evolved and the averages are getting higher and higher. You can't stay like this for many years. There will be cases, but to pass 32 years as a professional cyclist is going to be very difficult," said the EF Education-EasyPost rider in statements reported by Antena 2.

He also talks about the behavior of the leaders of the peloton today compared to when he started racing: "Another aspect that has changed a lot is that before, when you were 20 years old, if you got too close to Cipollini or another star in a race, they would send you to hell. Now a 20-year-old kid goes to the Tour with the aspiration of winning it. I've seen a legend like Chris Froome and a young guy from a small team was going to nail him with his elbow. When I started, if you did that, you knew where you were going to end up."

"Respect has been lost also because the leaders are also 20-year-olds and that hierarchy has already changed. There is no global leader, every two years one stands out. They are riders with big structures behind them that invest a lot of time and money to protect them," concluded Urán.

Article written by Juan Larra.