Tadej Pogacar's agent Alex Carera: "For his value and for everything he does, he still doesn't earn enough"

During the Tour de France, all eyes are on the yellow jersey Tadej Pogacar who has been headlining news all year long. His agent Alex Carera is in France keeping up with his rider's success and has talked about finances within cycling and the success of his other riders at the Tour.

"An athlete is rich when he goes to the supermarket and does not have to look at the price of the products. Cycling is a modest sport in which you should not look at money. If you are the best in the world, the money will come automatically," Carera said in words to Sporza. "Five, six, eight million [million per season]... Nobody has ever been paid as much as he (Pogacaer, .ed) is. But I don't think anyone can say that it is unfair. I can say that he earns very well, but for his value and for everything he does, he still doesn't earn enough."

Safe to say Pogacar's popularity and quality make him an invaluable figure of the sport, and perhaps the best cyclist in the current peloton and modern cycling history. The fact that he is in the wealthy structure of UAE Team Emirates also adds to the fact that he is able to have a salary that is unmatched in the sport. Carera of course has a big say in the negotiations and he has a very negative opinion when it comes to the proposal of a budget cap in cycling teams to balance out the quality among World Tour outfits.

"That makes no sense. If you limit a budget, that is the same as giving Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard or Remco Evenepoel extra weight during a mountain stage," he argues. "Because riders who climb more slowly could then ride uphill with equal weapons. When did Red Bull join? And Tudor? And Decathlon? That's because cycling is more popular these days. We need to work on that and not set limits. That's really stupid".

However Carera, part of A&J All Sports, has other riders present at the Tour and among them the two sprinters that are dominating the Tour's sprints and fighting for the green jersey: Jasper Philipsen and Biniam Girmay. 

He shares a brief comment on all three: "I know him (Pogacar, ed.) best. He is a very simple guy who likes peace and quiet, but is also very original. Jasper, on the other hand, caught my eye when I first met him in person at a party. He is an extremely sociable person, likes to laugh and loves to win. And Biniam is surprised every time he arrives in Europe. By the chances he can get here and the possibilities that are there. They are three great champions, but above all three great men".