Tadej Pogacar has won both the 2020 and 2021 Tour de France, and heading into 2022 he was the man to beat after a storming season. Whilst he had to settle for second place behind Jonas Vingegaard, he admits that he doesn't hold bad emotions regarding it.
“I don’t believe in revenge. This is only sport, just a game. You don’t need to take revenge against anyone. You play and if you lose, you lose. If you win, you win. I always try to be the best, better than everyone else. And I try to get better, but it’s not a revenge," Pogacar said in an interview with El Mundo. The Slovenian won the Madrid Criterium this weekend, and has talked to the media afterwards.
After winning the UAE Tour, Strade Bianche and Tirreno-Adriatico consecutively, and fighting for the win at both Milano-Sanremo and the Tour des Flandres where many other riders were better suited on paper, it was no surprise that the Slovenian was the number one man to win the Tour de France as long as he avoided any major mishaps. He has, but one difficult day on stage 11 at the Col du Granon brought down a possible third title.
“It was a great Tour. Finishing second for me was a new experience. I do not accept that it was a loss," Pogacar continued. “I also gained some new fans, and I believe I can be happy with how things turned out. I take a lot of positives out of it. It was the best way to lose the Tour.” Although he looked at his best throughout the rest of the Tour, he was unable to dislodge Jonas Vingegaard who was consistent throughout the whole race and had a very strong Jumbo-Visma collective.
“I learned a lot from the Tour. There were some errors, some things I would have done differently, things I could do better, but nothing catastrophic. Just small things. In every race you do there are good things and bad things. In the end, you bring this all together and go into the next race even better prepared. That’s why I believe that for 2023 I can be very, very confident and motivated to be even better than this year," he added.
With the addition of riders such as Adam Yates and Jay Vine it is certain that Pogacar will have even more climbing support to rely on, whilst the signing of Tim Wellens could provide more support for the cobbled classics if that is the plan the team set up to do.
Pogacar is now beginning to build up for 2023, with a team camp scheduled for later this month. He's been to the UAE and Colombia over the off-season on holidays, but is ready to restart the work towards another ambitious year.
“It was a different off-season than others, and I would say that I really relaxed my mind and my body. It was a great break from the bike. And now I am more than ready to start my training for next season," he concluded.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
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.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
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)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- What a race! I didn't expect Vanthourenhout to collapse like that, and Wyseure did take the fight to Nys, but there was no doubt at the end. I also wonder what Aubin Sparfel would be capable of were he to race in the elites now. In the U23 ranks he is making good work of Giel Lejeune, who himself is among the better riders in the elites, and a top 10 contender in the big races (3rd at Kleebergcross, 8th at Berencross and 5th at Heerderstrand). In the French Cup, Sparfel is significantly better than Romain Debord (8th at Koppenbergcross and 10th at the Euros) and Rémi Lelandais (12th at Koppenbergcross and 19th at the Euros).
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
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Madrid Criterium went well 😎. Cold day in 🇪🇸 capital but nevertheless perfect day and teamwork with @juann_ayuso and @solermarc93 🥶♥️
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