Mauro Gianetti does not hesitate when asked whether Jonas Vingegaard has shaped the rider Tadej Pogačar has become. Speaking to RIDE Magazine in an interview published by WielerFlits, the UAE Emirates XRG team boss argues that rivalry — not dominance — has been the key driver behind cycling’s defining duel of the past decade.
Pogačar and Vingegaard have finished first and second in every Tour de France they have both started. Pogi has four under his belt, and Vingegaard two. “And they push each other higher every year,” the former pro said.
Gianetti and Pogačar
Gianetti first met Pogačar in late 2018, after winning the Tour de l’Avenir. Even then, he said, the teenager stood apart. “He was only 19, but he knew exactly what he wanted,” Gianetti told Wielerflits’ RIDE Magazine. “He listened more than he spoke, and he immediately wanted to know how to get better.” Physically, Pogačar was still raw —Gianetti admits he carried extra weight — but on long climbs he was already beating the best of his generation.
The turning point, in Gianetti’s view, came not with Pogačar’s first Tour win in 2020, but later, when Vingegaard began to beat him. The 2021 Tour, which Pogačar won comfortably, almost worked against him. “That victory was too easy,” Gianetti said. “He wasn’t forced to go deeper.” Vingegaard’s subsequent Tour triumphs changed that. “Because of Jonas, Tadej had to take everything more seriously. He had to go the extra mile.”
Former Italian pro slams De Vlaeminck’s ‘absurd’ attack on Pogačar
That lesson crystallized in defeat. The loss in the Combloux time trial and the collapse on the Col de la Loze in 2023 were definitely low points, he said. However, Gianetti called it a wake-up call for both rider and team. Equipment, positioning and preparation were all reassessed, for example. But more importantly, Gianetti said the mindset shifted. “You often learn more from losing than from winning,” he said.
For Gianetti, Pogačar’s response that day defined him. Rather than abandon the Tour, he fought on, won a stage days later, and secured second overall. “That showed who he really is,” Gianetti said. “Not just a great rider, but a great champion.”
Pogačar’s 2026 schedule
Pogi has also recently confirmed most of his plans for 2026. He kicks off the spring with Strade Bianche, Milan-Sanremo, and the Ronde van Vlaanderen. Then, he will turn his sights toward Paris-Roubaix. It’s a race he has yet to win and has been quietly targeting in early-season training. (I mean, he’s done it once and he was second, but it’s clear it’s a huge goal.)
After Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Pogačar switches into Grand Tour mode. However, next year he will take a slightly different lead-up. Pogi will ride the Tour of Romandie and Tour de Suisse, races he’s never done before. And although details of his post-Tour program remain vague, the world championships in Montreal are already on his radar. There, he will try and take a third straight rainbow jersey–on a course that suits him very much. The question is, after another spectacular 2025, can the world champion have an even better season? 2026 is around the corner…