{"id":329875,"date":"2025-12-07T07:41:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-07T07:41:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/329875\/"},"modified":"2025-12-07T07:41:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-07T07:41:09","slug":"tadej-pogacar-reminds-me-of-myself-french-cycling-icon-jeannie-longo-sees-no-downside-to-dominance-of-slovenian-superstar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/329875\/","title":{"rendered":"“Tadej Pogacar reminds me of myself” \u2013 French cycling icon Jeannie Longo sees no downside to dominance of Slovenian superstar"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Longo went further, arguing that Pogacar wins because he refuses to follow a predictable script. \u201cI think that tactically, he does things that I used to do \u2014 original things,\u201d she explained. While the sport often expects leaders to wait for a specific climb or a final lap, Longo believes Pogacar succeeds precisely because he does the opposite.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou shouldn\u2019t attack where everyone expects you to. And that\u2019s what Tadej does,\u201d she said. \u201cHe has a tactical side that I really like: brave, unpredictable. And he does 80-kilometre time trials!\u201d<\/p>\n

That blend of aggression and unpredictability is, in her mind, cycling as it should be ridden.<\/p>\n

French cycling\u2019s \u201creal nation\u201d status and the rise of new starsLongo also spoke proudly about the current wave of French talent in both the men\u2019s and women\u2019s peloton. From Pauline Ferrand-Prevot\u2019s Tour de France<\/a> triumph to the rapid rise of Maeva Squiban<\/a>, Paul Magnier<\/a> and Paul Seixas<\/a>, she sees a country more invested in cycling than at any point in her long career.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there are a lot of cyclists,\u201d she said. Living on a mountain road, she sees the boom daily \u2014 and crucially, sees far more women on bikes than in the past. \u201cFrance is equipping itself with good bikes; there\u2019s a whole population of riders now.\u201d<\/p>\n

But she also cautioned that talent is only the start. \u201cReaching high-level competition is always difficult: you have to set priorities, you have to decide to be a top-level athlete. It\u2019s not easy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"tadej<\/p>\n

French prospect Paul Seixas podiumed alongside Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel at the European Championships<\/p>\n

On Seixas, French expectations and public support<\/p>\n

Longo believes Paul Seixas can one day ride the Tour de France, but warns against rushing him. \u201cHe\u2019s young, you shouldn\u2019t burn him out,\u201d she said. \u201cHe needs to take things step by step. But why not the Tour? Yes, he can do it, but you have to spare him.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also reflected on what French fans respond to most. \u201cThe French public likes French riders who win,\u201d she said. \u201cWhether it\u2019s a woman or a man, it\u2019s the same.\u201d In her own era, the yellow jersey brought big crowds to her side \u2014 and she sees the same now with Ferrand-Prevot, who was \u201cextremely well supported\u201d last summer.<\/p>\n

For Longo, the long wait for a French male Tour winner is real but normal. \u201cNot everyone wins the Tour de France \u2014 there\u2019s only one winner a year. It\u2019s not easy.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the end, Longo\u2019s reflections paint a picture of a legend who still follows the sport closely, still recognises the traits that define true champions, and still takes pride in seeing French cycling flourish around her. And while her own competitive days are long behind her, her voice \u2014 sharp, experienced and unmistakably her own \u2014 remains very much part of the conversation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Longo went further, arguing that Pogacar wins because he refuses to follow a predictable script. \u201cI think…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":329876,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[49,48,635,145486,28798,136301,141519,82,1422,636,20364],"class_list":["post-329875","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cycling","tag-jeannie-longo","tag-maeva-squiban","tag-paul-magnier","tag-paul-seixas","tag-sports","tag-tadej-pogacar","tag-tour-de-france","tag-womens-cycling"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329875","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=329875"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329875\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/329876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=329875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=329875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=329875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}