<\/p>\n
That line became the spine of a wider discussion about whether the sport\u2019s biggest names are quietly adjusting their ambitions because of Pogacar\u2019s all-conquering dominance.<\/p>\n
Giro first, Tour later, and the Pogacar problemRoll opened the debate by questioning what Vingegaard\u2019s Giro debut might really mean. \u201cMy main question when I heard that was, has he given up on trying to beat Tadej Pogacar<\/a> at the Tour de France<\/a>?\u201d Roll said, before adding that he doubted that was literally the case.Van Garderen\u2019s response framed the Giro choice as both ambitious and pragmatic. \u201cHe\u2019s won the Tour twice. He\u2019s just won the Vuelta. He wants to complete the trifecta,\u201d he said. \u201cBut at the same time, Tadej Pogacar<\/a> has been so dominant. If you look at the last two Tours, Jonas wasn\u2019t even close. So if he wants to etch his name into the history books, he might have to start ducking and dodging a little bit. A little Floyd Mayweather style, pick the easier fights.\u201d<\/p>\n For van Garderen, the Giro is not a retreat, but a recalibration. A way of building a legacy without running head first into Pogacar every single July.<\/p>\n Roll pushed the idea further, suggesting that teams are increasingly realistic about what racing against Pogacar actually looks like. \u201cPeople are realising that with Tadej around, there\u2019s no such thing as a tight battle,\u201d Roll said. \u201cIf you\u2019re Visma and you\u2019re trying to maximise the exposure from your athletes that you pay a lot of money to race, maybe realising that Tadej is probably, barring catastrophe, going to win the Tour\u2026 why not start with Jonas in the Giro this year?\u201d<\/p>\n Is \u2018ducking and dodging\u2019 just smart racing?<\/p>\n Van Garderen was clear that this is not about fear, but about strategy \u201cIf you end the season with second at the Tour and a Giro win, that\u2019s not a failure,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m actually really curious to see if he\u2019s going to show up to the Tour better than he has the past couple of years with a Grand Tour in his legs.\u201d<\/p>\n He also floated the idea that Vingegaard may be copying a template that has already worked for others. \u201cMaybe he felt stronger at the Vuelta in 2025 and said, \u2018You know what, actually doing a Grand Tour set me up and my legs were amazing. Why don\u2019t I replicate that and do the Giro to try to be at my best for the Tour?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Roll agreed that the Giro could act as both a target and a test. \u201cI\u2019m going to be more motivated myself to watch how Jonas goes in the Giro and use a lot of that information looking forward to the Tour de France<\/a>,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Still, neither presenter pretended that the wider context could be ignored. Pogacar\u2019s presence changes everything. \u201cI think people are just realising that with Tadej there, there\u2019s no such thing as tight battles,\u201d Roll repeated. \u201cWe\u2019d like to see all the stars full strength, head to head in the Tour, but with Tadej there, it just doesn\u2019t work like that.\u201d<\/p>\n A sport quietly reshaping itself around Pogacar<\/p>\n What makes the discussion bigger than just Vingegaard is how often the same logic now appears across the peloton.<\/p>\n Van Garderen pointed to riders and teams increasingly shaping their programmes around where Pogacar is not, rather than where he is. \u201cEveryone is just trying to find wherever they can to maximise their own success,\u201d he said. \u201cYou want to end your career with the biggest palmares you can possibly get.\u201d<\/p>\n That doesn\u2019t mean avoiding competition forever, but it does mean being selective. \u201cI respect that 100 percent,\u201d he added. \u201cBut at the same time, I just want to see all these guys battling head to head.\u201d<\/p>\n The irony, as both men acknowledged, is that Pogacar\u2019s brilliance is making the sport more tactical off the bike than on it. Riders are not just racing rivals anymore. They are racing the probability of beating a once in a generation talent.<\/p>\n Whether Jonas Vingegaard<\/a>\u2019s Giro-first gamble proves inspired or misguided will only be answered on the road. The results in Italy will shape expectations long before the Tour de France<\/a> begins.But whatever the outcome, this debate has already revealed something important about the modern peloton. Calendar choices are no longer just about form or tradition. They are increasingly shaped by one unavoidable reference point. Tadej Pogacar<\/a> is that reference point.<\/p>\n Every major decision now carries an unspoken comparison to him. Some riders will go straight at that challenge. Others will look for different routes to build their legacies. Neither path is an admission of weakness. It is simply the reality of racing in an era defined by a once in a generation talent.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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