The usually dominant Poga\u010dar was well off the mark in the 17.4km test against the clock. Perhaps it was no surprise that world time trial champion Evenepoel won, but everyone was stunned after Poga\u010dar lost 49 seconds to the Belgian, and nearly a half-minute to eternal rival Vingegaard.<\/p>\n
Even Matteo Jorgenson \u2014 who stopped the clock for third \u2014 was faster than Poga\u010dar. That\u2019s the only time the American star has even ridden faster than Poga\u010dar in a pro time trial.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what Poga\u010dar said after the effort:<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t do the perfect TT today, I think I probably got the pacing slightly wrong,\u201d Poga\u010dar said. \u201cI started out on the first section a bit too conservative and should have pushed a bit more there. But it\u2019s okay \u2013 that\u2019s why we are here, to tune up before the Tour and improve.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are still three big stages to come here and I\u2019m looking forward to it,\u201d he said. \u201cThe team is working well and with the rivals we have here, it\u2019s the best place to test ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
OK, fair enough, even the generational GOAT can have a bad day.<\/p>\n
Or did he?<\/p>\n
Could Poga\u010dar have purposely soft-pedaled the time trial course in what would be a next-level game of subterfuge and Cold War-level game ahead of the Tour de France?<\/p>\n
One observer thinks so.<\/p>\n
Danielson doubts Poga\u010dar was racing to win
\n![\"Pogacar\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2219651020-720x515.jpg\")
Poga\u010dar gave up rivers of time in Wednesday\u2019s TT, but was that strategic? (Photo: Dario Belingheri\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Tom Danielson<\/a> \u2014 for the former U.S. pro who now runs a coaching business \u2014 shared an interesting take on social media.<\/p>\n It\u2019s worth taking a longer look because he might be on to something.<\/p>\n \u201cPogacar was 4th place! How in the world could that have happened? It\u2019s funny\u2014if it were anyone else, everyone would say, \u2018That\u2019s pretty good, and it\u2019s still like 1.5 months to the key TDF stages.\u2019 But it\u2019s Pogi, and he normally wins,\u201d Danielson wrote on X<\/a>. \u201cSo is it possible there\u2019s more to the story? I think there is.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m going with my gut \u2014 which may sound like a conspiracy theory \u2014 but I think he purposely rode a controlled pace aligned with training, knowing he would finish behind Jonas. I agree that he normally only goes to races to win, but this one is different because Jonas, his direct rival, is there.\u201d<\/p>\n My thoughts and bold predictions from the Dauphin\u00e9 Stage 4 TT:<\/p>\n 1. Remco\u2019s TT win is more than just another victory. Sure, he should win because he is the best. But man, he looks good on the bike. He looks extremely lean, powerful, and explosive. He also beat, by a good margin,\u2026<\/p>\n \u2014 tom danielson (@tomdanielson) June 12, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n That\u2019s an interesting take and one that plays out when you consider the larger context.<\/p>\n Poga\u010dar almost always races to win, and it seems that attack is the only word in his tactical vocabulary.<\/p>\n Yet bluffing and selectively soft-pedaling at choice moments of a race are long part of cycling\u2019s strategic playbook.<\/p>\n Sophisticated and sometimes risky? Yes, but a bluff can pay a big jackpot when deployed selectively and with precision.<\/p>\n Did Poga\u010dar pull the wool over rivals\u2019 eyes? Did Poga\u010dar just pull the first major bluff of his career? Maybe.<\/p>\n Daniel adds a bit of context to the time trial post-mortem, suggesting that Poga\u010dar and the brains inside the UAE wheelhouse didn\u2019t want to give away a massive data store to his direct rivals just weeks before the Tour de France.<\/p>\n \u201cThe other side of it is how Jonas and Visma focus so much of their efforts around Tadej,\u201d Danielson continued. \u201cKnowing this, I just don\u2019t see any world where Tadej shows up three weeks before the Tour and goes all out, dropping a massive data point showing where his performance level is. A TT performance can be easily examined and dissected.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you look at Jonas\u2019s performance in relation to Remco\u2014and assuming Remco is better than he was in last year\u2019s Tour\u2014Jonas finished about where Tadej would have finished given last year\u2019s level. At this moment, Visma has confirmation of the improvement from Jonas, as well as Matteo, but they do not have a clear understanding of where Tadej is. This is just my opinion from the couch, so take it for what it\u2019s worth.\u201d<\/p>\n Remco dominates the time trial<\/p>\n The Belgian wins Crit\u00e9rium du Dauphin\u00e9 Stage 4 time trial and puts significant time into his GC rivals.<\/p>\n Sprint Cycling \u2014 Velon CC (@VelonCC) June 11, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Of course, there could be other factors at play.<\/p>\n Some have mentioned on the ground that Poga\u010dar might be suffering from seasonal allergies. There were also strong headwinds on the flats or perhaps Poga\u010dar simply didn\u2019t want to take any unnecessary risks. He\u2019s already won a stage and he doesn\u2019t need to go into the red.<\/p>\n There\u2019s also some chatter that his time trial setup was far from ideal. In that case, the vehicle \u2014 not the motor \u2014 would be the problem.<\/p>\n Or maybe \u2014 just maybe \u2014 he had a bad day.<\/p>\n Again, Danielson has his doubts.<\/p>\n \u201cSo what are the signs I see that make me think Tadej purposely held back? The first is his body language and cadence,\u201d the ex-pro said. \u201cHe started slow, used a much lower cadence than normal, didn\u2019t sprint out of corners, and didn\u2019t empty himself on the way to the line. The second is how much time he lost in the first 9k. Tadej off the couch is not going to lose that much time if he\u2019s trying to win.<\/p>\n \u201cIf he were trying to win and lacked fitness, or blew up, it would have looked like an even start followed by bleeding time. He had the time splits from the riders in front of him, so if he held back too much but still wanted to try and win, he had the time and information to correct it. But he didn\u2019t attempt to change his pace.<\/p>\n \u201cThe third sign was his cadence. He rode a significantly lower-than-normal cadence for the entire race,\u201d he wrote. \u201cOne might need to do this if depleted, but he went straight into the low cadence right from the start. He barely sprinted up to speed and then settled into a pace that looked, to me, like a controlled interval rather than a race.\u201d<\/p>\n Risking to lose the Dauphin\u00e9 to win the Tour de France Danielson \u2014 who also lauded both Evenepoel and Vingegaard for their respective performances \u2014 also points out other tale-tell signs that Pogi was up to some high-level spy craft.<\/p>\n He asked why Poga\u010dar would race such a short TT with a water bottle and wondered why Poga\u010dar purposely swerved the media after the stage, and only released canned quotes from the team\u2019s PR department.<\/p>\n Even Poga\u010dar\u2019s coy examination of Vingegaard\u2019s time trial bike seemed part of a larger plot of deception.<\/p>\n \u201cThat checks out and aligns with what happened, in my opinion\u2014it just was intentional,\u201d Danielson concluded.<\/p>\n Some interesting points indeed.<\/p>\n If Poga\u010dar was soft-pedaling, it would signal a new tactical level of sophistication and longer-range vision from him. His deception will scramble the minds of his direct rivals and their coaching staffs.<\/p>\n A bluff would mean he\u2019s willing to risk losing the Dauphin\u00e9 \u2014 one of the few major titles that are so far missing from his near-perfect palmares \u2014 to not give away too much information to his rivals.<\/p>\n Tadej Poga\u010dar on his time loss in yesterday\u2019s time trial at #Dauphin\u00e9<\/a>: \u201cI would prefer not to have lost so much time, but thinking about the whole picture for the Tour de France, I think there is no stress\u201d<\/p>\n Full story at Domestique: https:\/\/t.co\/TxDZwmRzPm<\/a><\/p>\n\n
\n![\"Pogacar\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2219772648-720x480.jpg\")
Poga\u010dar chills before the start of stage 5. (Photo: Dario Belingheri\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n\n
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#Dauphin\u00e9<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/gR1Ukh30Nq<\/a><\/p>\n
\n![\"Pogacar\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2219260726-720x480.jpg\")
Poga\u010dar\u2019s Dauphin\u00e9 started like this. How will it end? (Photo: Dario Belingheri\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n\n