The story of Tadej Pogacar's mysterious bicep device from Strade Bianche reaches a conclusion
Cycling
Tadej Pogacar and Strade Bianche is a combination that keeps on delivering. For a third year in a row, the Slovenian left no room for doubts about who's the king of Italian sterrato roads with a 79-kilometer solo, just a tiny bit shorter than in 2024. His dominance was without question; however, speculations arose as a mysterious device was spotted on Pogacar's biceps, hidden under the white jersey, as the UAE Team Emirates - XRG superstar raised his hand to the air after crossing the finish line.
The podcast panel from Het Nieuwsblad joined many TV viewers who were wondering about the noticeable black box under Pogacar’s dusty rainbow skinsuit. Yet the tension did not last too long.
Following Whoop's Instagram post regarding Pogacar's power data from Saturday's race, it made analysts wonder how his heart rate, fatigue, and sleep quality were measured without the typical wrist Whoop wearable visible on the Slovenian's arm next to the $300,000 Richard Mille watch.
As coincidences are scarce, the two pieces of information inevitably correlated with the solution to this mystery, turning out to be rather simple. UAE Team Emirates - XRG have confirmed to Velo that it was indeed a less-spread version of the Whoop device bicep alternative for users who don’t get on with clutter at their cuffs, or were struggling with unreliable readings. Still, most riders wear the tracker on their wrist, including Pogacar's rival Mathieu van der Poel.
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- Congrats! It is done so now is time for CX.averagecyclist15-11-2026
- It's going to happen at some point. It will happen to Tadej as well, we all get older. Jonas was in pretty great form at the tour. I still consider him a top two or three cyclist in the world, until he's not.awp15-11-2026
- mij, I am not so sure of that. I have been on a spine ward at a Denver hospital that had quite a few spinal injuries from mountain biking.BDBigGuy15-11-2026
- Pogi takes care of his teammates in races and training. Tadej Pogačar is widely praised within the cycling peloton for his fair and egalitarian leadership, actively supporting his UAE teammates both on the road during races and behind the scenes at training camps. Rather than acting like an untouchable superstar, he has intense team loyalty by sharing daily chores, giving up personal glory to help domestiques, and publicly praising their sacrifices. Unlike some Grand Tour contenders, like Vingegaard, who occasionally train away from their squads, Pogi consistently attends team training camps alongside his domestiques, making the exact same sacrifices to build friendship. I love how Pogačar shares his teammates-domestiques, either when they succeed or win in races or when they simply just do a good job for him. It has to be a great moral boost for them. And then they work even harder and go even deeper for Pogi. This is teamwork.PogiSloFans15-11-2026
- Yeah, what he said!Lozza15-11-2026
- I’m sure Jasper Philipsen would disagree with you.Lozza15-11-2026
- Article says he was “out for a spin around the town”, implying not off-road.Lozza15-11-2026
- let’s be honest, Alpecin is all about one rider - MVDP. I’m sure he gets whatever he needs, the rest get the scraps.mij15-11-2026
- there are more vicious injuries on a road bike than a mountain bike far and away.mij15-11-2026
- That'll be one crazy rider
Rafionain-Glas15-11-2026
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