"The 90s was the era of super fuel. That has been replaced by altitude training" - Tadej Pogacar's record breaking Tour de France numbers not concerning insists Serge Pauwels
Cycling
It is no exaggeration to say that on stage 15 of the 2024 Tour de France, Tadej Pogacar put in one of the greatest climbing performances of all time, destroying Jonas Vingegaard and building up a massive general classification advantage en route to another stage win.
Obliterating the previous climbing record of the Plateau de Beille, set by Marco Pantani, Pogacar ascended the brutally steep slopes at the quite incredible time of just 39:44, nearly four minutes quicker than Pantani's record. Given Pantani's questionable past in regards to his use of performance enhancing drugs, this has led some to question how Pogacar can be so much better whilst clean. In response, ex pro turned Sporza analyst Serge Pauwels has come up with an explanation.
"He pedaled 6.8 or 6.9 watts per kilogram. Without a doubt, it is one of the toughest climbs ever in a race. It is a world-class performance," begins Pauwels on the Sporza Tour podcast post-stage before he looks to explain the circumstances surrounding Pogacar's climb, in comparison to Pantani's.
"Back then, Pantani mainly rode alone, which meant he had little shelter. Today, Pogacar gets the lead-out of his life. First Matteo Jorgenson rides full on from the foot. Then Vingegaard, the second best rider in the world, keeps riding at a high pace. Then Pogacar adds his best fifteen minutes. All conditions were good to ride a fast time," Pauwels explains. "The 90s, that was the era of super fuel. That has been replaced by altitude training."
Another notable factor is the difference in equipment over the last quarter of a century. "Back then a bike weighed 8 kilograms, now it's all of 6.8 kilograms. That's the minimum weight," says Pauwels. "And they're now digesting 120 carbs an hour. Back then they weren't even thinking about it, maybe only 50 or 60 carbs an hour."
Pogacar put in a climb for the ages to boost his hopes of reclaiming the Maillot Jaune
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- Mathieu and Wout!!! You must start in CX this winter! (hope you reading comments here...) ;-)averagecyclist12-11-2026
- Who made you site boss?Lozza12-11-2026
- This shows so well you’ve never ventured out to a cycling event and checked out spectators.Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- I preferred the one about amateur riders and passing (perhaps to explain why he can’t ride at 220 which would probably be more effective to return to shape).Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- Not just ManU, far worse in some minority sports ventures.Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- From your writing it sounds like you’ve been sharing your views with people here for quite a while, quite presumouptuous for a new profile.Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- Which is amazing given his weight and size, though, unlike in boxing and some rare instances we haven’t a clue what his fighting weight was. Anybody know why these “public” figures floated around are considered as being accurate?Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- That’s a first point, everyone can have an off year or just stagnate before a new upward cycle. What would have been more interesting is including Skjelmose’s performance into the discussion, things have also been expected from him after several performances in the past but he hasn’t really progressed either, his TdF was basically what you would have expected but he’s 26 and been kind of stuck at this level for at least 2-3 years. Maybe he’s a late developer or maybe he needs something to change but as manager I’d be just as demanding and worried about both. Perhaps the recruitment concept was to have enough talent so at least one every year would be in shape and they’ve just been unlucky. Don’t want to rub it in but you could even say Mads lost a notch, so is it the riders or is it more to do with the team?Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- Bingo...I was also going to say that young pretty women are obsessed Pogi fan girls... who are chasing him. All glossy "____" (blank) about Tadej. PS: You can all fill in the "blank" yourselves, whatever you prefer. The definition of glossy is: It looks unusually shiny, glazed over, watery, or vacant/unfocused.PogiSloFans12-11-2026
- Are you able to discuss ANYTHING without making a reference back to your Special 1? It’s almost as if you’re paid by his marketing team to improve his ranking in search results.Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
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