<\/p>\n
It is a striking statement, not from a pundit or former champion, but from a rider who has lived inside Pogacar\u2019s daily working environment.<\/p>\n
Inside a superteam where only one leads<\/p>\n
Fisher-Black\u2019s most revealing insight is not about Pogacar\u2019s results, but about what life looks like around him. At UAE, hierarchy is rarely ambiguous. \u201cWhen Tadej is at the race, there\u2019s only one cook and everyone knows it,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
Yet that clarity does not remove tension. Instead, it reshapes it. \u201cIt\u2019s this next level in that team, it\u2019s just completely stacked,\u201d Fisher-Black said. \u201cThere\u2019s only three Grand Tours and everyone wants a chance. They\u2019ve got a handful of guys that can win a Grand Tour on that team. So naturally, there are always going to be some heated moments.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is a blunt description of modern superteams, where depth creates opportunity and friction in equal measure. Fisher-Black does not present it as a problem, simply as reality.<\/p>\n
Why Pogacar rarely has bad days<\/p>\n
Beyond hierarchy, what impressed Fisher-Black most was Pogacar\u2019s ability to cope with chaos. \u201cIn cycling, you almost need to have a relaxed mindset because so much goes wrong that you need to be able to adapt,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd he\u2019s just brilliant at that.\u201d<\/p>\n
That adaptability, in Fisher-Black\u2019s view, explains why Pogacar appears so resistant to the off-days that haunt even elite riders. \u201cThe guy doesn\u2019t really have many bad days and it\u2019s kind of because he can adapt so quickly to any attack or crash or anything that\u2019s thrown at him.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is a technical explanation disguised as simplicity, and one that reframes dominance as problem-solving rather than invincibility.<\/p>\n
Fame beyond the bunch<\/p>\n
Fisher-Black also touched on a side of Pogacar that rarely features in race analysis. As his profile has grown, so too has the attention. \u201cPeople who don\u2019t watch cycling know who he is now,\u201d he said, recalling moments where teammates tried to form a protective bubble just to reach a caf\u00e9 counter.<\/p>\n
That visibility carries a cost. \u201cMaybe he is getting a bit fatigued from that side of things, from being really at the top for a number of years now,\u201d Fisher-Black admitted. Yet he was careful to separate fame from motivation. \u201cAs soon as the flag drops, he loves racing. That\u2019s never going to go out.\u201d<\/p>\n
From juniors to Tour winners<\/p>\n
Pogacar was not the first superstar Fisher-Black encountered. Before his UAE years, he raced alongside Vingegaard at what was then Jumbo-Visma, before the Dane\u2019s rise to Tour de France dominance. \u201cThey\u2019re just normal guys,\u201d Fisher-Black said. \u201cThat\u2019s the thing you realise when you have dinner with them.\u201d<\/p>\n
For a rider arriving from New Zealand, the adjustment was significant. \u201cI\u2019d only seen these guys on TV,\u201d he said. \u201cSo it was a big shock at first to be like, okay, now I\u2019m riding for them.\u201d<\/p>\n