{"id":484910,"date":"2026-02-17T03:28:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T03:28:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/484910\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T03:28:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T03:28:11","slug":"people-made-me-think-i-would-be-a-new-tadej-pogacar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/484910\/","title":{"rendered":"People made me think I would be a new Tadej Pogacar"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n\u201cIt was the race that gave me the opportunity to make the step up to the WorldTour. Super positive, of course, but maybe also a poisoned gift. From that moment on, I felt a lot of pressure on my shoulders. People made me think I would be a new Tadej Pogacar<\/a>\u201d, he confessed to wielerflits<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The excitement around his talent quickly turned into a permanent expectation. And, as he admits, living with that constant pressure can be difficult for a rider who is still developing. \u201cIf everyone tells me that, then secretly I\u2019m going to want to live up to it. But if you can\u2019t deliver what people expect afterwards, that causes an even bigger setback and bad feelings in your mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

The transition to the WorldTour peloton ultimately revealed a harsher reality than anticipated. His first year as a professional was marked by physical setbacks and an inevitable competitive shock. \u201cI had to deal with an injury at the start, followed later by a crash with quite an impact. It wasn\u2019t a dream start. I also had to conclude that the difference in level between the under-23s and the WorldTour is very big. On the other hand, maybe it was an important learning year, in which I immediately got to know the darker side of cycling. But that was also interesting. It\u2019s positive that I learned a lot, but I\u2019m not satisfied with the results. That really has to improve next year.\u201d<\/p>\n

That adaptation process became even more demanding because of outside pressure. The narrative that he should win quickly at the highest level does not match the natural rhythm of development many young riders need. \u201cFor sure. I think there\u2019s a lot of pressure on young riders. I certainly feel that too. Everyone thinks I\u2019m going to be a good rider, which is their right. But they also think I\u2019m going to turn pro and immediately win my first races. Of course, it doesn\u2019t work like that. Everyone has their own path of growth and career. I need to focus on myself and not listen to what people say. But that\u2019s difficult, because everyone wants me to win.\u201d<\/p>\n

At times, that psychological weight had a direct impact on his competitive output. \u201cIf I\u2019m honest, yes. I think it makes me perform less. If you don\u2019t win, it doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re doing badly. But that\u2019s how I sometimes feel. That was frustrating at a certain point. You start to think you\u2019re not good enough. That\u2019s really hard for a young rider. But now I\u2019ve found help within the team and they help me focus on myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Pablo<\/p>\n

Pablo Torres at the start of Giro Next Gen 2024<\/p>\n

Racing with Tadej PogacarWithin the UAE Team Emirates – XRG<\/a> structure, Torres has found important reference points, including World Champion Tadej Pogacar. Although direct contact is not constant, simply observing the Slovenian has been enough to draw valuable lessons. \u201cTo be honest, we don\u2019t spend that much time together. We\u2019ve done a training camp together a few times, and last year we raced together once at Tre Valli Varesine. It was a dream to race with him. And it\u2019s also interesting to see how relaxed he is before a race. That helps others relax. If you see that the leader feels good and enjoys it, he passes that on to the rest.\u201d<\/p>\n

The race plan for the future is not yet fully defined, precisely because the team believes his competitive ceiling is still to be discovered. \u201cIt\u2019s not 100% clear, actually. I\u2019ve never done a Grand Tour. They know I can still improve a lot, but they don\u2019t yet know how much. When I\u2019m in great shape, I have very good numbers. And if I do everything right, I have the right level. It\u2019s just that it\u2019s hard to deal with the pressure. I believe I can still become a very good rider. And the team does too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Goals for 2026<\/p>\n

The new season appears as another chapter in that gradual process. Torres feels physically stronger and more comfortable in the peloton, but he is still dealing with some physical issues that are holding back his progress. \u201cI trained well all winter. I already feel stronger in the group and a bit more comfortable in the peloton. This year I can build on last year\u2019s experience, but I\u2019ve been struggling with knee problems since my first races. It went away after resting a bit, but in Oman the problem came back. Now it\u2019s important to rest again and then build up to a good level.\u201d<\/p>\n

In terms of goals, the ambition is clear, but matched with realism. \u201cA level where I can take my first professional win. I know it will be difficult, but I train a lot to win. But don\u2019t worry, even if I don\u2019t manage it, I\u2019ll keep trying the year after. Step by step.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for the possibility of making his Grand Tour debut, the decision has not yet been made. \u201cIt hasn\u2019t been discussed yet. Maybe we\u2019ll wait, but maybe the Vuelta at the end of the year is an option. I won\u2019t push for it, but maybe it\u2019s a possibility. First, it becomes important to be more consistent in the smaller races and to free myself from my problems. Then we can think about the next step.\u201d<\/p>\n

For now, Torres\u2019 path continues to be built with patience, somewhere between obvious talent and the need for progressive growth. In a peloton that is increasingly demanding and impatient, the young Spaniard is trying to find his own rhythm, step by step, in a career that is still only just beginning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cIt was the race that gave me the opportunity to make the step up to the WorldTour.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":484911,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[64,63,784,190248,85,6494,220660,19805],"class_list":{"0":"post-484910","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-cycling","11":"tag-pablo-torres","12":"tag-sports","13":"tag-tadej-pogacar","14":"tag-tour-de-lavenir","15":"tag-uae-team-emirates-xrg"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/484910","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=484910"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/484910\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/484911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=484910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=484910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=484910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}