"Tadej is that kind of person" - Michael Matthews explores his brotherhood with Pogacar
Cycling
Michael Matthews recently spoke with Wieler Revue about what it’s like to train alongside Tadej Pogacar, the triple crown winner. The two share a strong friendship, and Matthews sees reflections of his younger self in the Slovenian star.
"A few years ago I saw myself in him," the Australian explains. "He had the same attitude as I had when I was in my early twenties. He helped me mentally go back to that time, because the rivals I was competing against then are now retired."
Now 34 years old, Matthews has enjoyed a decorated career, winning stages in all three Grand Tours and claiming the green jersey at the Tour de France in 2017. Training with Pogacar, he says, helps him stay motivated and engaged with the sport.
"Tadej helps me to stay focused and to keep enjoying the sport. When you are surrounded by people who love the sport and are passionate about what they do, it gives you positive energy. Tadej is that kind of person."
Despite Pogacar’s dominance, Matthews is one of the few riders who can match him during training. "I'm not the only rider, but I'm one of the few who can ride at the same speed with Tadej all day long, and talk at the same time. For me, it doesn't feel like we're training with him."
"That's what makes it so easy. It's effortless. We're two friends who challenge each other and have fun. Yes, we also do sprints regularly. Those are the only times I can beat him, so I want to do as many as possible, haha. I'm a bit faster, but he wants to work on his speed that way. It helps him, and because I win often, I get more confidence. It's a win-win situation, haha."
Despite their friendship and training partnership, Matthews emphasises that they maintain a strictly professional approach during races. "We have never helped each other in the race, or anything like that. I don't expect anything from him, and he doesn't expect anything from me. That is our professional attitude, because we just have to do our job."
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- Why is that relevant when discussing speed?Mistermaumau23-03-2025
- But he wasn’t the only one ;-)Mistermaumau23-03-2025
- Obviously the questions are more important to some here than to them or the team so I suggest looking for answers instead of asking questions between ourselves. We’ll probably get them unless someone actually goes to ask the protagonists themselves. Here are some starters : They like riding together; they have their own rivalry that helps bring out the best in both; they might get more points helping each other compared to racing separate races. In any case, unless we hear MJ complaining about it, I don’t think it’s going to change, it’s the Sepp Kuss syndrome all over again, fans lobbying against the will of the rider.Mistermaumau23-03-2025
- Mine goes to MVDP for entertaining us all year round :-) Stellar race, Ganna impressive in his own way as many predicted after some oddly lacklustre times.Mistermaumau23-03-2025
- i remember when not too long ago mathieu was regarded as a real tactical knucklehead. i’m not sure that was ever quite accurate, but it’s certainly the case that over the years he has become a real master tactician. in the biggest races, van der poel rarely makes choices that don’t fully optimize every specific advantage he has.OCexile23-03-2025
- Whatever the result, I believe the strategy by UAE to launch Pogacar was absolutely the right one. Unfortunately, they just were not able to execute it the way they must have planned, being all over the place at the start of the Cipressa.Cooldude23-03-2025
- They are without doubt not just the best two classics riders of this generation, but amongst the best of all time. MvdP is more suited to MSR and PR (which Pog has yet to race), while Pog is now almost untouchable at LBL and Lombardia. RVV is the only one where both basically have an equal chance to win.Cooldude23-03-2025
- bravissima!
maria2024202423-03-2025 - According to Tadej's Strava upload, he went up the Cipressa at an average speed of 37.6kph. Rocket ship! He did the 5.63km verified 'Cipressa' Strava segment in 8:59 minutes, which has a 4.3% average grade and total elevation gain of 229m. Naturally, he got the Strava KOM.Pogboom23-03-2025
- In Track and Field, there's Usain Bolt in the sprints and Kenya's Kipchoge in the marathon. Though Bolt can quite easily beat Kipchoge in the 100m dash, he probably won't even finish a marathon. Tadej won't beat Mathieu in a sprint, yet he wins the TDF while MVDP languishes in 50th place. Both are great champions in their respective fields, but my admiration goes to Tadej for trying.FredMan23-03-2025