Turns out, we are not the only ones in constant awe of Tadej Pogačar’s superhuman feats on the bike. In fact, double Olympic gold medallist Remco Evenepoel was so nonplussed after the front row seat to Pogačar’s fireworks in the season-ending monument Il Lombardia, that he asked him to share his power meter data.
In the interview with Het Nieuwsblad, the 24-year-old Belgian rider was asked what was his last message with Pogačar, to which he replied: “It was about an Instagram post from Velon with his average wattage of the last hour and a half in Lombardy. That couldn’t be right, because I had the same wattage and was three minutes behind.
“So I sent him: ‘I want to know what you really pedalled.’ Tadej didn’t tell me, but it was a joking and even a bit sarcastic question. We send jovial messages every now and then, for example, when one of us has a birthday. He’s not my best friend, but he is a good colleague friend.”
Remco Evenepoel and Tadej Pogačar, 2024 Giro dell’Emilia (Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
The last hour and half of the race would mean the section beginning after the descent of Madonna del Ghisallo, followed by the highest and most difficult mountain of the Italian monument, Colma di Sormano, surrounded on both sides by Lako Como and Lake Lecco.
And from Pogačar’s Strava post, we can see that Pogačar basically has a KOM through most of the segments, with Evenepoel, who eventually finished second behind the all-conquering Slovenian, falling just short of his time in quite a few of those segments.
Besides, Evenepoel also revealed that he’s eyeing up a possible tilt at a Giro-Tour double for 2025, saying that he wants to regain that “feeling of winning a Grand Tour”, just a few weeks after the idea was tabled by his team boss, Patrick Lefevere.
> Remco Evenepoel wants the “feeling of winning a Grand Tour again” as he eyes possible Giro-Tour double attempt for 2025 – but rules out “Paris-Roubaix idea” after getting “taste” for the Tour
“[In 2024], the Giro-Tour combination wasn’t possible if you wanted to be in top form for the Olympics. Now we can consider it, but we will first wait and see what the course is like,” the Soudal Quick-Step star told the Belgian paper.
“If I ride the Giro, I will not ride Ardennes classics such as La Flèche Wallonne or Amstel Gold Race. I will never skip Liège-Bastogne-Liège if I am healthy. [Paris-Roubaix] was an idea. But that was before I had tasted the Tour. I won’t be riding the Tour of Flanders next season. Milan-San Remo is still an option, depending on whether you choose Tirreno-Adriatico or Paris-Nice.
“We haven’t actually talked about specific programmes yet. We have talked about ideas and goals.”
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5 comments
Do floating bus stops work?
They work very well as a form of transport infrastructure in Europe
They work extremely well as a battlefront in the latest anti-cycling culture wars in the UK
Which league do they play in?
RE: “They work fine in Europe so why not here?”: Are floating bus stops a “non-issue” or is there scope for design improvement?
Obviously they don't work here because we're not in Europe!
The one in the video is the 2nd or 3rd rate design (apparently called a "Copenhagen-style" one here - apparently common in Copehagen, see detailed article here). That is definitely inferior to the style more commonly seen in NL (see a whole article and video on those ones).
The "problem" with the latter style is it needs a bit more space. Very often in the UK this space does actually exist - why aren't we willing to "find" it? "Of course we can't have other traffic waiting behind a bus!" or the more subtle "we can't narrow the main carriageway - because of the width required by buses!" (bus companies lobby too).
Plus some recent noise from lobby groups on bus stops - with a range of opinions from "these are untried in the UK and we have concerns" to "NO! It's an assault on the elderly, blind and those with disabilities!"
Some concern is valid - those in the latter three groups are normally more affected by changes. It will probably take a generation of "new problems" e.g. some "conflict" (startled, angry and upset people and probably even crashes) until everyone has adapted and adopted new social conventions around cycle infra. Just like when cars appeared. Sadly this is further delayed by the UK's mixing of pedestrians and cyclists, inconsistent infra designs and glacial rate of deploying new infra.
Pogacar team use Shimano powermeters that are well known for their lack of accuracy from what I hear...
I'm more curious about Remco taking amphetamines (for his ADHD) these drugs are powerful performance enhancers!
woah, Remco has a TUE for amphetamines? Oh come on...