Tadej Pogačar dials in for Tour de France defense with monster Stelvio training ride
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This article originally appeared on Velo News
Tadej Pogacar is setting the tone for his Tour de France defense.
Pogacar logged two huge training rides through the Italian Alps this week as he revs the throttle ahead of next week’s Tour of Slovenia and the July Tour de France.
Five- and then six-hour rides in the thin air of Livigno and the Stelvio national park are Pogacar’s first publically visible outings on the pedals since his last race at La Fleche Wallonne mid-April.
A training session recorded on Strava on Friday saw Pogacar set the KoM on the infamous Gavia Pass before notching a series more records on the climb to Bormio 2000.
A grind over the 2,700-meter Stelvio and back up to Livigno rounded out a day clocking 5,500 meters of vert in an effort just as big as any Tour stage.
Also read: Where are the TdF favorites now?
Like many pros, Pogacar keeps his power and heart rate data off the grid, so the direct detail of Friday’s mega-ride is under wraps.
However, some reverse-engineering and number-crunching suggest Pogacar hit 6.6 w/kg in one 15-minute surge up the Bormio 2000 slope.
Road to Bormio 2000 ski resort
segment of 5.21 km, 8.45 %, 440 m
14:10, 22.07 Kph, VAM 1864 m/h, 6.6 W/kg (est.)
Calc with quite low CdA & light-weight bike. Training calcs are always a bit tricky cos total weight cannot be deduced precisely. More weight-higher power though.
-- ammattipyoraily (@ammattipyoraily) June 10, 2022
Longer race-winning efforts deep into grand tours typically see numbers somewhere north of 6.0 w/kg for anywhere up to 30 minutes. But no matter what the exact numbers or ratios, Pogacar’s ride show he more-than means business.
Like last year, the UAE Emirates megastar is choosing his home race Tour of Slovenia for his final tune-up event.
Archrival Primoz Roglic is currently six days deep at the Dauphine, while Ineos Grenadiers duo Daniel Martinez and Adam Yates take on the likes of Aleksandr Vlasov and Thibaut Pinot at the Tour de Suisse next week.
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Details also emerged of the new Colnago “Prototipo” bike Pogacar will have available for racing in Slovenia and France in the coming weeks.
The 23-year-old could have been training on the lighter, stiffer, do-it-all race machine in Livigno, and will likely put it to use at the Tour.
With Pogacar out of competition since April and no chance to see him face-off with Roglic and the rest in the June races, anticipation is building for his appearance at the Grand Depart.
After blazing through UAE Tour, Tirreno-Adriatico and Strade Bianche, as well as going shoulder-to-shoulder with Mathieu van der Poel in his Tour of Flanders debut, expect Pogacar to be very good this July.
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