Tadej Pogačar takes his fourth overall victory in the Tour de France today, and it's worth analyzing what makes the 26-year-old Slovenian the best multi-day rider in the world.
UAE Team Emirates - XRG team performance sports director Jeroen Swart admitted that Pogačar needs new challenges and that the hunt for a fifth Tour overall victory and other titles will only continue as long as the rider himself wants it.
"I think Pogačar is really at his peak now. The question now is how long we can keep him at this level, and it's not about age anymore, it's about motivation," Swart said. "The most important thing for Pogačar is to keep his enthusiasm. He likes new things, like trying Paris-Roubaix or Milan-San Remo. In a way, the Tour is like a puzzle. You have to be good at tempo riding, in the mountains, staying healthy and not crashing - but there's nothing new about it. That's why he wanted to do the Giro and now that he's done it, he wants to win Roubaix to stay motivated and keep his level."
Swart believes that one of the reasons for Pogačar's top form in recent seasons is a change of coach - in 2023, Javier Sola began coaching him instead of Inigo San Millán. Success came quickly - in 2024, Pogačar won the Giro d'Italia, the Tour and World Championship gold. Swart confirmed that this year's Tour is very close to the level of 2024, where Pogačar also dominated and defeated Vingegaard convincingly.
"Actually, Pogačar is almost at the same level as last year. The biggest development came in 2023-2024, when he changed coaches," Swart said. "We made a lot of changes then, and the difference is clearly visible today. Tadej has just maintained his level. I think Jonas Vingegaard was at his best last year and this year he is not as strong. Tadej has not necessarily improved, but the others cannot compete."
Swart particularly praised Pogačar's resilience and ability to adapt both his body composition and training to transition from the Classics to the Tour. "Along with Javier (Sola) and the entire UAE team, we realize how incredibly lucky we are to be able to work with him," he added. "He's the first person with that level of skill. It only happens once in a generation - it's like working with Roger Federer or Tiger Woods. It's just incredible what they can achieve."
Swart says cycling has evolved tremendously in the past decade. "I started coaching in 2003, and when I look back, what we do today is light years ahead of what we did ten or twenty years ago, and it's constantly evolving because of the data," Swart added. "Look at the equipment. In five years, we went from 23mm or 25mm tires to 30mm or even 31mm tires - it's helped improve speed and aerobic performance so much that it feels like someone is pushing you and you gain four to five kilometers per hour. Personally, I'm only an amateur, but I feel the difference. Imagine the benefits for professionals. We see it in our tests: on a 40-minute climb, the equipment makes a difference of two to three minutes."
Arriving in Paris tomorrow. #TDF2025
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