{"id":195130,"date":"2024-03-04T22:45:07","date_gmt":"2024-03-04T22:45:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=195130"},"modified":"2024-03-04T22:45:07","modified_gmt":"2024-03-04T22:45:07","slug":"2024-strade-bianche-pogacar-is-one-of-the-greatest-cyclists-of-all-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2024\/03\/04\/2024-strade-bianche-pogacar-is-one-of-the-greatest-cyclists-of-all-time\/","title":{"rendered":"2024 Strade Bianche: Poga\u010dar Is One of the Greatest Cyclists of All Time"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tadej Poga\u010dar called the shot and then kept his promise as he won the 2024 Strade Bianche with an 81-km solo. Even he was impressed by his performance, saying after the race, \u201cI must say it was really one of my best experiences. Every race, every victory has its own story, and I will never forget this one.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Before the race, the 25-year-old UAE Team Emirates leader was asked when he would take off on his solo run, and he replied, \u201cOn Monte Sante Marie,\u201d referring to an 11.5-km gravel climb (avg. slope 1.3%) that begins about 87 km from the finish of the 215-km race. But he was smiling when he said it, and his interviewer also laughed, as if the two were sharing a joke. And, Poga\u010dar later admitted, they had been.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was not the plan but the race went differently than we expected,\u201d he said after the race. \u201cIt was a harder race [than I expected]. There was a really big rain, a hailstorm, and it was already \u2018nerves on\u2019 before Sante Marie, so there was no big group and not many riders left. I knew that if we didn\u2019t make the difference there, it was going to be hard to get away solo later.\u201d He went on to say that the rides after that gravel section did not suit him, so he had to make a decision. \u201cI decided to push it and see if somebody came across or not. I had also [teammates] Isaac del Toro and Tim Wellens behind in the group, so I knew if I ran out of gas, we still have two guys that could race for the team.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Strava<\/a>, Poga\u010dar set the record for the quickest ascent of the Monte Sante Marie with a time of 19:08 and for the fastest average speed of 36.0 km\/h. He had won the Strade Bianche in 2022 with a solo ride of some 50 km but this was on another level. It began with a stunning burst of speed and power in a torrential downpour. Sepp Kuss (Visma\u2013Lease a Bike) tried to follow but he soon realised that he had no chance.<\/p>\n

\"Tadej<\/a>
Tadej Poga\u010dar’s astonishing 81km solo attack to secure victory at the Strade Bianche was a feat that left many speechless, including the Slovenian rider himself. \u00a9 Profimedia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After 2 km, Poga\u010dar already had a lead of 26 seconds. After 8 km, it was up to 56 seconds. The lead ballooned to an astonishing 2:41 after just 22 km of solo racing, with only Maxim Van Gils (Lotto Dstny) in pursuit. He was eventually joined by the Latvian Lidl-Trek rider Toms Skuji\u0146\u0161 with 20.5 km to go, and the two fought an exciting duel for second place won by Skuji\u0146\u0161 who finished 2:44 behind the winner. Van Gils came in a further 3 seconds behind. Tom Pidcock, not exactly a slouch of a rider, finished fourth at 3:50.<\/p>\n

Poga\u010dar\u2019s biggest lead was an astounding 4:02 with 27 km left to race but he either tired or slowed a bit to enjoy the scenery, as far behind him the two pursuers continued doggedly and a third pursuing group of some 12 riders began working together. As he headed for a historic victory, the 25-year-old two-time Tour de France winner showed he is almost as much a showman as he is a genius of a cyclist, as he high-fived his coach, smiled for the cameras, waved to the large crowds lining the sides of the road and shook his fist in triumph.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a really beautiful atmosphere out on the road,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was incredible. I\u2019ve never seen so many people at an Italian race like today.\u201d When asked if it was his most beautiful victory ever, as many commentators had suggested, he replied, tongue in cheek, \u201cMy most beautiful victory? I don’t think so because I was so dirty.\u201d<\/p>\n

As remarkable as the performance was, it\u2019s even more impressive when you consider that this was Poga\u010dar\u2019s first competitive race of the year. That means he can only get better. And the race was anything but easy, as it included 3,669 m of climbing, with slopes up to 18%. Poga\u010dar\u2019s primary Tour de France rivals \u2013 Jonas Vingegaard (Visma\u2013Lease a Bike), Remco Evenepoel (Soudal\u2013Quick Step) and Primo\u017e Rogli\u010d (BORA-hansgrohe) \u2013 have therefore been put on notice that they will be facing him in what looks, at the moment, to be the best form of his life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tadej Poga\u010dar called the shot and then kept his promise as he won the 2024 Strade Bianche with an 81-km […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":99,"featured_media":195131,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[329],"tags":[7657,6961,1771,3415],"global-categories":[3366],"class_list":["post-195130","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-road-cycling","tag-2024-strade-bianche","tag-maxim-van-gils","tag-strade-bianche","tag-tadej-pogacar","global-categories-cycling"],"yoast_head":"\nPoga\u010dar Is One of the Greatest Cyclists of All Time<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Tadej Poga\u010dar called the shot and then kept his promise as he won the 2024 Strade Bianche with an 81-km solo. 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