{"id":346912,"date":"2025-12-14T06:10:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-14T06:10:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/346912\/"},"modified":"2025-12-14T06:10:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-14T06:10:11","slug":"same-lifestyle-that-contributed-to-sagans-decline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/346912\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Same lifestyle that contributed to Sagan’s decline’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tadej Pogacar<\/a> has dominated the world of cycling across virtually every terrain in recent years. In the Classics, only Mathieu van der Poel<\/a> appears capable of threatening him, while elsewhere the world champion seems untouchable. But how long can that level be sustained? Johan Museeuw and Axel Merckx<\/a> have their doubts, and not on a physical level. They fear that the Slovenian\u2019s mind may eventually struggle to keep up.Museeuw has never been Pogacar’s biggest fan. “You get the feeling that it\u2019s always the same rider who wins,\u201d he told La Derni\u00e8re Heure<\/a>.’You get the feeling that it’s always the same rider who wins,’ he told La Derni\u00e8re Heure<\/a>. \u201cWhat I find even more regrettable is that tactics play an increasingly small role in modern cycling. Simply put, everything at UAE Team Emirates is very straightforward. They control the race for three hours, then Pogacar attacks with 80 or 100 kilometres to go and wins solo.\u201d<\/p>\n

Merckx, by contrast, speaks with greater admiration. \u201cI prefer not to compare generations, but today he dominates the way my father once did. Beyond his incredible list of achievements, what impresses me most is the freshness he still shows after the finish. At the end of the last World Championships, when everyone else was completely exhausted, you almost wondered whether he had really spent more than six hours on the bike.”<\/p>\n

Continue reading below the photo!<\/p>\n

\"tadej-pogacar\"\/Concerns for Pogacar: ‘Even at the top, you need some rest’After 20 victories, the world title, the European title, the Tour de France and wins in three Monuments, it was time for Pogacar\u2019s off-season. But while many riders disappeared from view for a few weeks, the Slovenian was frequently seen at criteriums and ceremonial appearances, including events in Gran Canaria<\/a>. Museeuw believes that could be a mistake, and one that may come at a price.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my view, this period should mainly be a mental rest,\u201d The Lion of Flanders explained. \u201cHis mind needs to recharge, and I\u2019m curious to see how the Slovenian will handle all this. A few years ago, I think it was that same lifestyle that contributed to Peter Sagan\u2019s decline. Even when you\u2019re at the top, you need a bit of rest.\u201d<\/p>\n

Merckx agrees. \u201cEverywhere he goes, there\u2019s a constant level of attention focused on him, and that\u2019s what becomes so exhausting. I was too young to realise it at the time, but when my father talks about the end of his career, it was mainly the mental fatigue – far more than the physical fatigue – that affected him most. At a certain point, your brain tells your legs to stop.\u201d<\/p>\n

Continue reading below the photo!<\/p>\n

\"1122971871\"\/Van der Poel the only real threat: ‘It\u2019s that simple’<\/p>\n

That mental collapse is not expected to happen next season. In 2026, Pogacar will still start as the outright favourite in every race he enters, including Paris\u2013Roubaix and Milano\u2013Sanremo, where he was beaten by Mathieu van der Poel in 2025. Museeuw and Merckx hope the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider can once again provide genuine opposition.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest problem for Pogacar in La Primavera, but also in Paris\u2013Roubaix, is Van der Poel,\u201d Merckx states, drawing a blunt conclusion. “Without the Dutchman, Pogi would already have won all the Monuments. It\u2019s that simple. Fortunately for those who think Pogacar is too dominant, Mathieu can make life difficult for him in one-day races.\u201d<\/p>\n

Museeuw sees Van der Poel as a true Flandrien.\u201cIf I could reincarnate as a current rider in the peloton, I would choose Van der Poel without hesitation. Pogacar is obviously the best rider in the world, but I love the class Mathieu exudes and the fact that he only races to win. That\u2019s the only thing that interests him.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Merckx, Van der Poel also manages rest better than Pogacar. \u201cI really admire the way he approaches this aspect of his career.\u00a0Between the Classics, he returns to his apartment in Spain to enjoy a relaxed environment, he plays golf to clear his head after racing. He understands that the mind is just as important as the body.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tadej Pogacar has dominated the world of cycling across virtually every terrain in recent years. In the Classics,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":346913,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[64,63,191678,784,77973,85,6494],"class_list":{"0":"post-346912","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-axel-merckx","11":"tag-cycling","12":"tag-mathieu-van-der-poel","13":"tag-sports","14":"tag-tadej-pogacar"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346912","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=346912"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346912\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/346913"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=346912"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=346912"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=346912"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}