"When you see what Pogačar does, it’s obvious we have to try to understand it" - Visma coach on Pogacar's 'new skill'

Tadej Pogacar enters the summer of 2025 as the undisputed best rider in professional cycling. With three Tour de France victories, a Giro d’Italia title, the rainbow bands of the world champion, and a string of Monument wins behind him, the Slovenian seems untouchable. Part of this comes from his ability to resist fatigue late into the race.

“Durability has had to become a much bigger focus of how we train,” said Dan Lorang, head of performance at Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe. Speaking to Velo, Lorang explained how racing has shifted. “It’s not the rider who can push the most when they’re fresh who wins races. It’s who can push the most after five hours and many thousands of kilojoules of work. That’s totally changed in the past few years.”

“The crazy big attacks are going earlier, and the whole peloton is at a higher level,” Lorang said. “Racing is made hard, all of the time. That means the energy requirements have totally changed. We have to adapt to that in everything we do for preparation – in nutrition, psychology, training, all of it.”

It’s a sentiment shared across the peloton. At Team Visma | Lease a Bike, the staff working with a super team including two time Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard and Matteo Jorgenson, are also shifting their mindset.

“We are seeing that durability is something that we have to understand. Not just as a coaching community, but specifically within the team,” said Tim Heemskerk, Jonas Vingegaard's coach. “When you see what Pogačar does, it’s obvious we have to try to understand it.”