"The only rider in the world who can win all races" – Former teammate sheds new light on how good Tadej Pogacar is
Cycling
Wieler Revue recently caught up with Matteo Trentin to discuss his relationship with Tadej Pogacar. The pair were teammates at UAE Team Emirates until Trentin made the switch to Tudor Pro Cycling Team last year, and Trentin gave some insights into how the world’s best rider trains.
The 35-year-old Italian, a stage winner in all three Grand Tours (including three victories at the Tour de France) shared his experiences training with the Slovenian superstar.
"Do I like training with him? Well, only when I'm in really good shape, haha. No, it's always fun with him. He doesn't surprise me during training anymore, you know. He used to, but now I know how good he is. A nice anecdote? Well, usually I get dropped on a climb and that's where my story ends, haha."
Trentin has witnessed firsthand Pogacar's relentless dedication, acknowledging the questions often raised about his incredible performances.
"All I can say is that he is really that good. I often get questions like: is it possible what he does, or is he really that good? During training he does the same as in the race. You sometimes saw champions from the past take it easier in training, but not Tadej. He is very professional and as strong as he rides in the race, he is also in training."
Now at Tudor Pro Cycling Team, Trentin is set to race alongside new signings Julian Alaphilippe and Marc Hirschi, with ambitions of challenging Pogacar in the spring classics. That will be no easy task, given that Pogacar secured the prestigious triple crown last season, and also won at Strade Bianche, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and Il Lombardia.
"You know, Tadej is Tadej. We haven’t seen a rider like him in the last 50 years, and we probably won’t see a rider like him in the next 50 years."
Pogacar's all-around abilities set him apart from the rest of the peloton, with Trentin believing that no other rider possesses the same versatility.
"He is the only rider in the world who can win all races. The first after the Eddy Merckx era. An important strength of Tadej is that he works very hard on his 'weak points'. Do I see similarities between someone like Tadej and Julian or Marc? I think Julian is in a way a bit more relaxed."
While Alaphilippe and Hirschi are both highly talented, Trentin sees a clear distinction in their approaches compared to Pogacar’s all-encompassing dedication.
"He doesn't have to win time trials and that's why he works less on them. Tadej has to be good at everything, because he wants to win Grand Tours. Marc is a bit in between in that respect, because he focuses more on riding classifications than Julian."
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- Funny that they shorten women’s races but have no qualms about letting U23 do the same distances.Jumpyjohn23-03-2025
- 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