{"id":62187,"date":"2025-08-12T09:23:09","date_gmt":"2025-08-12T09:23:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/62187\/"},"modified":"2025-08-12T09:23:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T09:23:09","slug":"13-year-olds-are-doing-high-altitude-training-camps-tadej-pogacars-retirement-plans-understandable-due-to-tough-life-of-a-pro-cyclist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/62187\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201c13-year-olds are doing high-altitude training camps\u201d: Tadej Poga\u010dar\u2019s retirement plans \u201cunderstandable\u201d due to \u201ctough\u201d life of a pro cyclist \u201ctied to power meters and scales\u201d, says ex-Movistar rider; Bike theft emotional blackmail + more on the live blog"},"content":{"rendered":"

The very mention of the words \u2018Tadej Poga\u010dar\u2019 and \u2018retirement\u2019 has certainly sent the cycling world into a bit of tailspin lately.<\/p>\n

The very notion that the world champion is even contemplating his life after cycling was first uttered towards the end of last month\u2019s Tour de France, where Poga\u010dar cut a jaded figure as he eased, freewheeling and mouth closed, to his fourth yellow jersey, telling reporters \u201cI don\u2019t see myself going on for much longer\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And, speaking for the first time since the Tour at home in Komenda, Slovenia, where he took part in a crit organised in his honour at the weekend, Poga\u010dar elaborated on his thoughts about retirement<\/a>, and his reaction to the panic they generated across cycling.<\/p>\n

>\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m already counting down to retirement\u201d: Tadej Poga\u010dar brings up retirement again and says he has to be \u201cprepared to stop\u201d \u2013 but admits UAE Team Emirates won\u2019t be leaving him out of their Tour de France squad for a while yet<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIt may seem funny to most people that I\u2019m already counting down to retirement, but the fact is that a sports career isn\u2019t very long,\u201d he said. \u201cI started winning quite early and everything has been going strong ever since. Every year we train harder and faster, so I look forward to my future with pleasure.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the one hand, I know that my sports career will not be long, but on the other hand, I am aware that I can enjoy the level I am at now for a few more years. However, I expect that this level will drop at some point and that there will be no more victories in the season than now and that there will be a bad year at some point.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am prepared for everything that is coming, so I am all the more aware that I have to enjoy the moment. I have to be prepared to stop, say thank you and say goodbye to racing at the highest level.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Tadej<\/p>\n

Zac Williams\/SWpix.com<\/p>\n

Poga\u010dar\u2019s reference to the burden of training and racing at the highest level from such a young age \u2013 he burst on to the scene as a 20-year-old back in 2019, podiuming at the Vuelta \u2013 has been echoed by former Movistar pro Luis Pasamontes, who reckons the Slovenian\u2019s retirement daydreams are \u201clogical and understandable\u201d.<\/p>\n

Pasamontes raced as a pro for nine seasons in the 2000s and early 2010s, winning a stage of the Tour de Wallonie in 2007, before joining Caisse d\u2019Epargne (which later became Movistar), racing the Tour de France, Giro, and Vuelta for the Spanish squad.<\/p>\n

And the 45-year-old believes that this new generation of riders who have been successful from an extremely young age, such as Poga\u010dar, Remco Evenepoel, and Juan Ayuso, and the increasing professionalisation of aspiring teenage cyclists, could lead to quicker than expected burnout.<\/p>\n

\"Jonas<\/p>\n

Zac Williams\/SWpix.com<\/p>\n

\u201cPoga\u010dar is thinking about his retirement. For me, it\u2019s normal, logical, and understandable,\u201d Pasamontes said on X this week.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey live tied to the numbers of power meters and scales. They live between training camps and competitions, rarely at home. That\u2019s how it is, it\u2019s the moment they\u2019ve been given to live as professionals. It\u2019s tough.<\/p>\n

\u201c13-year-old cyclists training 200km and doing high-altitude camps, promoted by the team. Of course, also by the parents. Being the best in junior categories is not synonymous with doing things right.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t understand anything about cycling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Same Luis, same.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The very mention of the words \u2018Tadej Poga\u010dar\u2019 and \u2018retirement\u2019 has certainly sent the cycling world into a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":62188,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[64,63,784,85],"class_list":["post-62187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cycling","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62187","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=62187"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62187\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}