Stephen Roche on Tadej Pogacar's Giro d'Italia: "It’s not his fault that he is currently so far ahead"
Cycling
Tadej Pogacar has won the Giro d'Italia with a dominant performance, and this opens up the way for other possible big achievements for later in the year. One of them being winning the Giro and Tour de France on the same season. Stephen Roche, one of those who has achieved this, analyses the past and following month.
“Pogacar is very good. It’s not his fault that he is currently so far ahead. There simply wasn’t enough competition for him in the Giro," Roche said to Cyclism'Actu. "What speaks in his favour is that he didn’t have to tap into his reserves for the Tour de France. Even though he has achieved some great performances. He came out of the Giro with a victory and in a good mood. All indicators are green for a repeat in the Tour.”
Roche holds a record dating back to 1987, when he won the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and World Championships. This hasn't happened since, but the chance does exist for Pogacar to do this in 2024.
“Not because there were no riders to do it, but because the conditions weren’t right. Miguel Indurain, Lance Armstrong, Marco Pantani or Chris Froome could have done it," the former Irish pro continues. Regarding the Tour, he certainly seems to be the main favourite currently. But the World Championships, taking place in a hilly Zurich course this year, will likely also see the Slovenian as a big favourite to take the rainbow jersey.
"If you arrive at the World Championships on a flat course, you have a handicap. But Pogacar is one of the best riders of all time. He climbs well, he descends like the best, he can ride fast and sprint. He can do it all," Roche says. "And luckily he dares to combine the two [grand] tours. Many riders are afraid of that. Not only physically, but also because the sponsors are desperate to win the Tour de France.”
“I don’t think he will be too tired at the start of the Tour. His competitors, such as Jonas Vingegaard, lack competitive rhythm. But a lot can happen. We will only know more at the first time trial or the first mountain stage. If I were Pogacar, I would try to create as big a gap as possible in the first week, because the others will probably be even stronger in the last week.”
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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- I would love to have his inconsistency. How many wins this year? 2 TdF stages, a WC, a Euro championship, San Sebastian, multiple wins early year. Monument podiums. I'd take it. I don't think he has a chance in the TdF, but he is still amazing.mij04-11-2026
- He's not going to win the TdF. Maybe if they make every single stage a TT he could win. But I still believe Tadej would just sharpen his TT skills and win.mij04-11-2026
- You beat me to it. Should he make a full recovery (likely) and go light early in the year. One, two, three. Don't ask me, I don't give a damn. Should he be on a Feel-Like-He's-Fixin'-to-Die High.Yepperoni04-11-2026
- The deciding factor may be the (TBD) number of (any type of) kilometers without Pogacar.Yepperoni04-11-2026
- Unexplained chronic fatigue is an all too common bitch. The hard to find definitive answer may lie buried in gut mechanisms. A mystery of the deep.Yepperoni04-11-2026
- It's weird to say Evenepoel would be making a "serious mistake by adding the 2027 Giro d'Italia to his calendar, warning that such a decision could even be interpreted as a lack of confidence in his ability to win the Tour de France." It may well be a mistake but with so many commentators (of all sorts) continuously claiming almost everything Remco does as being a mistake, almost nobody should care what the pundits and the disparagers should say. His team may not want him to do the Giro, and that matters. But it's possibly or probably up to Remco to decide and it may not have to be decided on until a month or so ahead of the race. Yes , Remco is inconsistent much like the majority of the best riders but he's enjoying a period of not having been recently injured (or sick). Whatever he does he need not be concerned with critics who will second guess any perceived failure no matter what. I suspect he will have enough other races on his schedule so he won't be considering it. But the worst reason to not race it is because of what some will say - humorous that be.Yepperoni04-11-2026
- I'll say clean sweep all grand tourZamorano04-11-2026
- And the place he calls home is in Slovenia with his parents.RidesHills04-11-2026
- I think Tadej will be working on his new C7 TT position for the Tour de France :-)frieders304-11-2026
- Every great cyclist has at least two Giro/Tour doubles, and in modern cycling or what we call modern cycling, Miguel Indurain is the only guy to do it twice. I think Tadej should go for it and commit if he is putting up good numbers somewhere around January/February.awp04-11-2026
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A dream come true. Thanks to everybody who made it possible. Grazie Mille Italia❤️
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