{"id":211358,"date":"2025-10-14T03:07:05","date_gmt":"2025-10-14T03:07:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/211358\/"},"modified":"2025-10-14T03:07:05","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T03:07:05","slug":"tadej-pogacar-admits-he-nearly-quit-during-hardest-tour-yet-despite-fourth-victory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/211358\/","title":{"rendered":"Tadej Poga\u010dar admits he nearly quit during \u2018hardest Tour yet\u2019 despite fourth victory"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tadej Poga\u010dar may have ridden into Paris in yellow for a fourth time, but behind the dominance was a rider on the brink. We cycling fans thought he was cruising every day on those tough stages. Turns out, there\u2019s more to it.<\/p>\n

In a very candid look on the Tour 202 podcast<\/a>, the 27-year-old revealed just how close he came to stepping off his bike. Pogi called the 2025 Tour as the toughest edition of his career.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was the fastest Tour ever. The course was brutal, full of traps and sharp finishes,\u201d Poga\u010dar said, noting that every team arrived at peak sharpness. While he controlled the race through the second week, highlighted by a commanding time trial, everything changed in the Alps.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted a big win there, especially revenge on the Col de la Loze,\u201d he said. \u201cBut after Ventoux, I started having knee problems. The weather was awful, freezing cold. I doubted if I\u2019d continue. My body was in shock.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the polished image of control, Poga\u010dar insisted every rider suffers deep into the third week. \u201cA three-week race is never easy. We\u2019re already tired after the first week, and then there\u2019s still so far to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

His domination has divided fans, something he\u2019s aware of. \u201cSome people like my racing. Others say the race is over too soon,\u201d he said. \u201cBeing at the top isn\u2019t easy. But I can\u2019t blame anyone for how they feel.\u201d<\/p>\n

With 20 victories this season, he credits his team\u2019s structure and rare freedom. \u201cI get a lot of flexibility at training camps. With Ur\u0161ka there, it often feels like home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking ahead, Poga\u010dar remains driven by the Monument hunt. He still dreams of conquering Paris\u2013Roubaix. The 27-year-old pro calls iit \u201cthe most beautiful race I\u2019ve ever ridden,\u201d even if its demands push him beyond his limits.<\/p>\n

However, with Il Lombardia and his Pogi Challenge event over\u2013now there is a short break. Btw, he absolutely demolished everyone at Lombardy, taking his record fifth victory in the Italian Monument.<\/p>\n

For now, he craves rest. \u201cI prefer being at home with Ur\u0161ka and my family. Those free days go by too fast.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s still one more \u201crace\u201d coming\u2013in Andorra<\/a>. On Sunday, Pogi, Jonas Vingegaard, Primo\u017e Rogli\u010d and Isaac Del Toro are doing a two-race event.<\/p>\n

A hill climb and crit\u2013but it\u2019s possible the racing may involve a bit of creativity. Will Canadian Cycling Magazine cover this? Maybe. Will we be snarky? Probably. Road racing is slowing down\u2013although the Tour of Guangxi begins Tuesday.<\/p>\n

There are a bunch of Canadians in the men\u2019s and women\u2019s racing, so stay tuned. After that, there\u2019s all kinds of awesome cyclocross racing on its way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tadej Poga\u010dar may have ridden into Paris in yellow for a fourth time, but behind the dominance was…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":193023,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[49,48,635,82,1422],"class_list":["post-211358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cycling","tag-sports","tag-tadej-pogacar"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211358","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=211358"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211358\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/193023"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=211358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=211358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=211358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}