What do Tadej Pogacar, Simon Yates, Primoz Roglic and more have in common? Grand Tour racing has already changed in front of our eyes
Cycling
Grand Tour racing is an art, that does not only require riders to have their very best climbing and time-trialing level in order to fight for wins, but also the ideal preparation. What was almost unthinkable a decade ago now seems to be the most efficient way of preparing for a Grand Tour. Simon Yates has used a formula previously used by the likes of Tadej Pogacar and Simon Yates to conquer the Giro d'Italia.
This is regarding the training-racing relation before the start of the Grand Tours. It is now not uncommon to see riders taking on only one day of racing - Liège-Bastogne-Liège - before starting the Giro d'Italia aiming for victory, but what we see now is that Yates - like more riders - chose to not race at all in anticipation to the Giro.
The idea of racing to get the 'race rhythm' nowadays is completely different in the peloton. Whilst for classics riders and sprinters it may differ, more and more Grand Tour contenders rely fully on training when it comes to the preparation for their biggest goals of the season. And the idea of racing beforehand to 'get sharp' and get that race rhythm seems to be fading into cycling's history books.
Whilst it is something that many will likely stick to until the end of their careers, the truth is more and more riders are doing the opposite, and with great success. This has become clear in week-long stage-races, but more so in Grand Tours now as well. The biggest question mark to the effectiveness of this method was the 2024 Tour de France.
Tadej Pogacar rode the Giro d'Italia, which in theory would've create a large amount of fatigue that could then become an issue during the Tour. What we saw was a Pogacar literally stronger than ever at the Tour, dominating a race with the strongest possible field of rivals. Not only did he not look fatigued, but his climbing performances broke records.
And the same applies to Jonas Vingegaard, who crashed at Itzulia Basque Country and spent almost three months away from racing before returning to the peloton at the Tour itself and right from the first days put in extremely high wattages. Both riders have, at Plateau de Beille, reached power numbers that continue to send shock waves through the peloton - arguably career-best performances for both them and Remco Evenepoel.
More and more though this is becoming the norm, riders simply do not race before the Grand Tours they go on to win. Sepp Kuss has won the 2023 Vuelta a España after completing both Giro and Tour where he played pivotal support roles for his leaders. In 2024 Primoz Roglic crashed out of the Tour de France, spent over a month in doubt of participating in the Vuelta in the first place, but arrived with stellar form and won the race outright.
At the Giro we have the same. Back in 2021 Egan Bernal raced Tirreno-Adriatico in mid-March and then spent almost two months away from the peloton before going on to win the Giro. Primoz Roglic has done similar in 2023, racing the Volta a Catalunya before taking the pink jersey with a memorable time-trial up Monte Lussari. This year, although they have abandoned, both Roglic and Juan Ayuso - the initial main contenders for the overall win - raced Catalunya and then exclusively trained ahead of the Corsa Rosa.
This year Richard Carapaz, Einer Rubio and Egan Bernal did the same towards the Giro amongst those who finished in the Top10, and... Simon Yates. The Briton rode Tirreno-Adriatico and the Volta a Catalunya in March and nothing else. His performances were modest in the spring, but his racing in the Giro then seemed to benefit from the freshness that he might have come into the Giro.
Most likely, besides lowering the risk of crashes, riders now opt to do so in order to have tailor-made preparations, which nowadays are able to mimic the stimulus of racing in peloton. But most importantly, they likely come as a way to keep the riders both physically and mentally fresh into the final week of Grand Tours.
Compare that with the year 2020 (a special one, of course) where Tadej Pogacar in the month leading up to his maiden Tour win raced Strade Bianche, Milano-Sanremo and the Criterium du Dauphiné all at a high level.
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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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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