Is Tadej Pogacar getting too greedy? | Beyond the Podium | NBC Sports

Christian Vande Velde and Tejay Van Garderen react to Tadej Pogacar’s Volta a Catalunya victory, review the Gent-Wevelgem and preview the upcoming Tour of Flanders. #NBCSports #Cycling
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Is Tadej Pogacar getting too greedy? | Beyond the Podium | NBC Sports
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All right welcome back to beyond the podium today’s topics Volta Catalonia Tedy pacha’s complete dominance Belgian semi Classics E3 and of course gent wilam and look at this weekend’s tour of flounders and of course joined here by my friend and former foe TJ Varden TJ it’s great to see you my friend you’ve

Been now three years already post retirement and in the car so you had a first row seat in BTA Catalonia see Tedy just absolutely destroyed and not just by a little bit by a lot of bit I mean four out of seven stages I I know you

Have plenty to say so let’s just let’s just start right there yeah uh good to see you too Christian um yeah I mean catalunia it was uh I mean he just he just made us all look like children to be honest it was um kind of frustr trading I mean

Obviously you want to win like and he should win he’s the best in the world like okay I get that go ahead and win um like 2000 it was kind of it was a foregone conclusion like you’re gonna bring the Big Break back you’re gonna win the race there after that you know

You got guys 10 minutes down DC going in the breakway and his team was still just keeping him in a minute because he just wanted to win again and then uh again on stage it was like you know we had guys there were two guys up the road both a half an hour

Down and uh he’s just him a minute just because you know like he just wants he just wants to win again there’s a there’s kind of a difference between um if if if someone else pulls the break back tactically because they want to win

The stage and the win is up for grabs go ahead and win it you don’t want to Gift Anyone anything but you know how it is like if if like the group is a half an hour down on GC it makes no sense tactically for you to pull you don’t have to

Pull he he’s not making a whole lot of friends in the bunch right now by uh by pulling all these back and it’s gonna pay back it’s gonna it’s gonna pay off or it’s gonna come back to bite him in the future I mean he

Gets an unly flat or a crash or a puncture you think anyone’s going to wait for him no then as they shouldn’t but at the same time maybe they he shouldn’t be holding back either I mean real quick with you in the car you know knowing that you’ve won stages in Volta

Catalo we’re like what what’s it’s not that hard guy I mean how how are you doing in the car holding your tongue at times when you know obviously the the level’s very high I’m not making light of anything uh but how is it in the car

And I mean have you are you like one of the typical directors who forgets how hard it is out there and you’re asking what’s what’s wrong no I mean I’m uh when I look at those guys out there I looked at my time when I won on volter 2000 it was easily

Like eight or nine minutes slower than Tod time I’m like when I look at these guys I’m like how are you like I would have been gretto I was like how the hell you guys going this fast man the speeds are just incredible these

Days so I I look at I look at it more and like I’m I’m glad I stopped when I did well okay we we’ll come back to T and his dominance and little how you not so psyched with the way he’s going about things but you did have some some bright

Spots there with Marine Vandenberg winning the stage that was huge first big win for him so how was that I mean was a team are you you guys quite confident going to that stage or was that surprise I mean we we had a lot of faith

In uh Marine um I mean I remember when I was racing catalunia not a lot of sprinters go to that race um you know it’s so climbing heavy sprinters are just kind of you know they’re up north or they’re doing the thing um in other races but it really is

Like uh it’s like a gift shop for sprinters if there’s a flat stage you’re not you don’t have a whole lot of competition there um so we decided to bring Marion uh we saw three potential opportunities for him um he came close on another stage which was a super

Exciting stage but we’re really happy that we banked one with him that’s huge well okay so going back to what we were saying there I mean let’s just talk about the time gaps so second place was 341 back last year Ninth Place was 332 so I mean it’s kind of like what you’re

Saying here with your times going up to voler I mean it was a nasty race let’s you know first of all the weather was was that I mean it was just a rough and then of course t a really racing like this was the last race he’s ever

Going to be a part of in wanting to go for the juggler at all times I mean if you’re looking at his his schedule going forward it might as well be like just all right put everything in the bank go deep every day because I don’t have to race now till

The and then after that the jro so if he’s gonna race as seldom as he is compared to what he did last year then I think he’s just gonna go for it TJ and I’m I’m gonna play Devil’s Advocate in your your argument here and say like

Look I mean you look at you know last year in the AG still in the age he crashed hard broke his wrist he was out almost until the the tour to France apart from his national championships so you never know what tomorrow’s going to hold so if you’re in that kind of

Position I don’t know TJ knowing you as well as I do if you had that kind of form where you could just hit the nitrous button at any time you would be dunking on people so don’t give me this don’t give me this stuff you’re just you’re just mad because you’re in the

Pink car look look look there big difference man I mean first of all in in one week stage races you’re right like usually you kind of have to nickel and dime people things are won on time bonuses things are won by like small margins it’s not until you get to the grand

Tours that you see those big gaps right now we’re seeing those huge gaps in these onewe stage races because he’s just so dominant and like I said I have no problem with the winning um if if I think back to like when Lance gifted uh

Penton the the stage of on to I’m not saying give any gifts I’m not saying soft pedal to the line and let someone else win um because that’s that’s for everybody like Marco was pissed uh Lance I’m sure regrets it to this day um you know that’s just don’t do that but

What you need to do is Bluff a little bit you need to say like look we’re not interested in pulling this break back if someone else wants to pull it back go ahead like it’s your stage to lose but he just said like you know what

I want to win everything I’m going to use my team I’m going to ride them into the ground and make sure that no breakway no group gets anything because I want to win everything okay I see where you coming from there yeah so of course like if I if I

If I see a Finish Line and I have the form of course you know me like it’s it’s not that I want I’m not putting myself in the same category not even pachar okay I I won a couple of races in my day but like if if I could

Win I won don’t get me wrong but like there is a difference yeah I get that um really quick what about sep cus visma Lisa bike obviously this is his home race okay it is I was gonna say kind of no it is his home race I know there’s a

Lot of hype around sept coming into this race he didn’t perform but again if I look at last year’s results he’s actually did better than last year okay they he was riding for his teammate Primos rogich who won the entire race um but I think a lot people at least at

Home in the United States were were hoping for a little bit more but for myself I’m not concerned about that but what do you see from your side with the team’s performance and sep yeah it’s time for sep to put his big boy pants on I mean um he look he’s

An amazing riter and he’s a great kid I love the guy um but he’s been too comfortable working for these big stars like he’s working for yonas he’s been working for rogich um you know he won of Welter last year which was kind of a surprise but like let’s be honest he was

Kind of playing with house money he had uh he had just the previous jro and tour winner on the team had he had rogich and yonas really raced for it and he had gotten third it still would have been all fine like he didn’t have a whole lot of pressure now

That he’s stepped up and Rog is gone that’s made a little more space for him um now like I don’t actually remember other times that set lined up as the man this is the first time I can really remember and now they lining up as the man I’m

Like C can you handle it you got the keys to the car now and this is this is a shiny car this is this Melisa bike I mean they win everything this is this isn’t like a Volkswagen facade this is this is a Ferrari that you got the keys

To now so um I don’t know like it might take him some getting used to I mean I I think he’ll be fine in the long run um but maybe maybe he he got a little bit of those nerves n maybe maybe maybe not

I mean at the same time it’s not in his character first and foremost you know that was completely out of out of his character I remember him coming across the finish line and seeing his wife and her pleading to him you’re not going to

Ever do this to me again I he was like no I’ll never do this again I thought that was so set you know um at the end of the the vulta last year uh but you know thinking about maybe even just the way his trajectory is within

The calendar year for example a lot of people no matter how hard they train they just can’t really go on all cylinders until May for example or July or you know they come into into form later on I mean SE what he did last year

Is still insane I mean had Co during the jro sat in the bus in a in the team car by by himself for weeks and then still saved the race for Primos in the last week I mean he’s an enigma um so I I hate to put pressure on him just because

Again I don’t think a lot of times it’s in his character even I don’t think he’s it’s not what he signed up for and I think that yeah of course on a different team he could be that guy but I don’t think he wants to be TJ I think he’s

He’s psych just doing what he does you know and he’s just a happy go-lucky he’s one like you said one of the nicest dudes in the world and he’s just got talent coming out of his pores and he could do things that no one else could

Do and without an ego you know and I think that’s maybe maybe that’s the the difference right the doesn’t have maybe all the Killer Instinct sometimes um that eagle is completely detached there is none he’s just happy to be out there and racing his bike so anyways what what

About going forward with those boys I mean they’re it’s a little bit different I mean it’s a lot of bit different you know we got W missing out some races do we’re going to go into the classics after this um you know without Primos there it would have been a complet

Different ball game that have been an incredible battle by the way the two sylvanians going back head-to-head with t and Primos but it it doesn’t matter they they don’t have that guy so it’s a different team this year how do you see them evolving into into the classics and

Then of course the tour to France well I mean they still got the reigning uh two-time tour to France Champion so I think uh the tour that’s that’s clear what they’re going to do there the classics they got vaner um and they’re I don’t know like I know that he

Went the old school Sky route with uh doing a big altitude Camp I don’t know about that I don’t think that altitude is something that really helps with the classics I mean we’ll see he looked good in E3 um and I’m not GNA question W because he I mean he’s he’s a star

So um but I just think that like those those super high um super super intense efforts that you get at sea level where you can just go like Full Throttle you don’t altitude I just see is more of a that’s more of a grand tour game or or a

Climbers game but I mean we’ll see maybe he surprises all in he wins Flanders but from what I saw in gen wavel gum and E3 uh you know definitely vanpool is looking like a little better there and i’ like to apologize for TJ’s internet connection he’s in a third world country

We’ll get a go fund me for you and Jessica to upgrade your your Wi-Fi package in Mya um regardless we’re already into E3 and get wolon we’re starting to talk about that um I I think even before we go anywhere into wout and Matthew Vanderpool which was awesome to watch an

E3 on Friday let’s talk about Matteo I mean going from winning perise having a week off and then being able to do what he did coming in fifth place which you know I don’t think even the classification at the end of the day really tell the told the tale of how

Strong he was in that race as well so Mato he’s he’s for real man and he could be a massive Danger Man or at least a joker you know whenever all eyes are on his teammate W he could be one of those guys if he goes up the road good luck

Trying to get Mato back um so that’s that’s a big one and then number two though for that Squad is the lack of Kristoff leaport man does it shine a massive light on how big of a deal that guy Guy is when he’s not there I mean we

Kind of take him I think many people take him for granted what he does in the Twitter France and Lead outs for wout going for the green jersey and then of course in these Classics that dude is a stud I mean he is so darn good and what

A signing from kofidis over into y but he’s not going to be there he hasn’t been there throughout this whole last week he’s got a fever he’s not going to be in fers at all so that’s a big hole um going forward nonetheless E3 harck

And was a great race I felt TJ at least in my eyes that E3 crazy enough felt like a bigger race than gent wum just because you had these two gigantic people there and and I know that you were in a different planet you were you’re in a bike race in a different

Country so you had all focus on this you probably didn’t see as much as I did sitting at home it’s a lot easier for me to to see both at the same time but it was it was awesome E3 was insane and that’s really the mini flounders one of

The coolest races there it’s like instead of 27 some kilometers it’s only 200 kmers all smashed in with all the same climbs it’s awesome vanderp was incredible I mean he was incredible um Sten was very good on light Leal Trek and then W was really kind of the best

Of rest in third place and of course like we said Mato in fifth place so still a very strong ride um but man vandero was terrifying TJ I mean what he was doing on something and from how far what he was doing oh my goodness like you said those vicious attacks I mean

Who could do that man I mean is is he going to be up to the task with W or is just going to be all tactics going forward for flounders I mean Flanders that’s a that’s a different uh it is a different race it would be interesting to see how

Well would have done had it not been for that crash on I can’t remember the uh The Climb that it was but you know Vanderpool was going up the gutter and wout was you you could kind of see like wout was doing um his race based completely on on Vanderpool yeah and

Vanderpool was doing his own race and so that to me that that kind of shows that maybe wout is a little he’s a little scared of Vanderpool whereas Vanderpool he’s just racing free and he doesn’t care who’s there yeah okay let’s let’s talk more about that I mean what are you

Talking about the the mental side of that this has been going on since they were kids right they’ve been going head-to-head for a long time and maybe probably the longest rivalry already in the sport they still got years to go so if you’re in the mindset and you’re like

Oh man Matthew’s world champion he’s already won flounders twice he won Ru he’s won Milano he’s like like what what happened to M so do you think he has a little bit of hesitation and lack of confidence in himself I think um no I don’t think he has lack of

Confidence in himself but sometimes you just come up against somebody who has a number you know what I mean like Vanderpool he’s just imagine like well vaner he’d be winning anything if it wasn’t for Vanderpool you know yeah um and I think vaner he just he tries to key off of

Vanderpool trying to figure out what he’s doing I think I don’t know I he maybe he needs to surprise him maybe he needs to anticipate further I know like Vanderpool went from 40 something K like maybe V needs to take the race to him and go from 60k I don’t know like 60k

Break aways they’ve been they’ve been going these days um but yeah definitely uh Styles make fights and when I looked at E3 that was that was definitely a hell of a battle um what I will say my takeaway from G wum though was Trek that team is deep

And they can win FL the numbers game I mean they look like old school quickstep like they used to just win with numbers you know send one guy the other gu sit and then one get caught the one another guy goes the other guys get to sit um if

They go up there with Milan um Sten and mods Peterson like that’s gonna be a handful yeah I agree with that and they they played him so well I mean there was a long time especially when Jonathan Milan was going up the road that Matthew was all by

Himself on the front and they just wore him out wore him out and then mat just had the legs and he easily had the legs um especially the last time the kelberg and then of course in the Sprint so I think we’re going to see a lot of the

Same going into flounders you’re going to have a stronger team from Bea Lisa bike I think that Mato is g to be even stronger than he was last week in E3 and I think they have to play that kind of tactics because if you just go head-to-head with the leaders I I think

That vanderpol is gonna win nine times out of 10 but if you play those kind of cars you wear them down a little bit then he’s still human right I mean he can’t just do everything so it’s going to be interesting race it’s not the same

You know we always sometimes we get a little too ahead of ourselves when the the semi Classics before the big dog races because it’s a complet you ever raced you raced raced these cobbles a few times right yeah no I was actually somehow top 20 in some of these and

Never I never finished rube um I just sit on the front for George until the first speed zone um that was that was a fun day I mean really I talk about cycle tours I mean I got to start rubbe three times and all I knew is just just go to

The first feed Zone and sit on the front for the first 120k and I was like oh this is awesome start with a couple bars in my pocket I’d fin us and I go with George’s dad Ricardo to the Finish Line to eat my boadilla in the vram and watch

It on the big screen television I mean like you could have sold that for a million dollars I mean it was so much fun for me no stress um but flounders yeah on the other on the other hand yeah I’ve done I’ve done all these races when I was young and they’re they’re

Fantastic and we had a little chat going yesterday and you were saying that you think that I’m still laughing because for my retort which I will hold back but you think that Remco Evol should be going to flanos and that he could win and which I responded

Something that you are uh not of sound mind not those exact words but okay well first I’m gonna tell a funny story and then I’m gonna get to that so I the only real northern classic race I raised was het news blot back in 2010 it might have still been het vulk

Back then um I was my Pro year I just had a really good well garve I was like top five or something and I remember Andreas Clen came up to me and he was like ah you’re a neopro you’re already good for neoo what’s your next uh what’s

Your next race and I said I said head vulk or Head News blot and he looked at me and he was like uh I think what you need to do is you need to like get caught up in a crash you need to like you know just

Maybe just let the air out of your tires and say you had a mistimed puncture sure because if you do well in that race you’re going to be racing up north the rest of career and you don’t want to be doing that cl’s a genius still say that to this day he’s a

Genius yeah I mean know if that was the best or the worst advice I ever gotten but I did crash out of that race I made it to like 140k and then rode to the bus but I never raced up nor again but that being said Remco Evan pool can absolutely win

Flanders and I think he should win Flanders um especially because given the teamy on Quick Step um they would love him if he won Flanders as much of a fan as I am of him I don’t see him winning the tour this year but that that team seems to be

Banking everything on a tour to France win so I think if you the Star Rider of Belgium winning Flanders uh that would that would give you a lot of leeway that would give a lot of forgiveness for in the tour if you come up up and your third place I

Mean that’s a great season um why you think he can Flanders I have no idea when you see him the way he won the World Championships imagine him like you have you have which is still a Powerhouse Squad you deliver him into the base of

Some climb he gets a 30 meter Gap nobody can get a draft off of him he can go can do long breakaways he he knows the area he’s from Belgium I absolutely can is becoming more of a climbers race look nible has been top five pojar won last year like this is

It’s not out of the realm of possibility that a small little climber kind of guy can win Flanders especially when it’s a strong climber and he’s so arrow and he can he he can do that nervous he’s one leage twice he can do it well okay I’m

Glad you brought up the you do real I know your geography is not great but Li still is in Belgium and I know it’s a Belgian team so winning that is still okay and so if you take a guy who’s already woned back to back that’s a big

Deal I know it’s not Flanders and flers know you know Belgium you know Belgium it’s a big difference they love their Flanders loveia is cool they love their Flanders no there’s no doubt about that but I I just have to push back on that I think that his positioning he even

Though I I don’t disagree with you that uh a hybrid climber roll there could definitely is the best Rider to do to go fast and FL and T’s a great example of that last year however Remco is not Teddy when it comes to positioning himself he he’s he’s not

A Jedi like in the pelaton and he’s really good when everything’s going perfect for him but he’s not so great when things aren’t going 100% great for him so fighting back for position those kind of things and honestly from what I saw in perin for him trying to make the

Difference a couple times and mato easily just sit on his wheel every time I that’s the biggest thing if he was just absolutely distance himself from everyone every time he hit the gas then that’d be a different conversation but anyways I I appreciate your hypothetical

TJ I just I just think we’re not done we’re not done we’re not done here you don’t have to go on The Quon you don’t have to go on the tiberg you like a lot of times what happens is like there big fight for the tiberg big fight for the

Quemon things kind of regroup together and someone hits you from the back on one of these like big paved climbs he could go there he gets a gap there good luck getting him back and that and then that’s the point where all the big guys who are looking for those key sections

They kind of look at each other get a little momentum from behind he hits them there gets a 30 meter Gap game over he could win it he will hey you know what I bet you I bet you before the end before the end of Evan aol’s career he will win a Flanders

What kind of we we got some uh some big Italian Reds on this like usual TJ yeah I think Magnum Magnum of ello magum and I knew you’re gonna say titig like it’s a lot cheaper for you to buy it over there you have to bring it back

Though for me I’ll be waiting for it I’ll be keeping a spot in the seller all right last one we’re going going forward to I if we’re talking about all these things obviously he’s not going to be there though that that’s let’s stop talking about for for this weekend

What’s your pick I mean if all things if you have crystal ball first of all how does your team look EF education going into this this race and then apart from TR taking that hat off who do you think is has the best shot going to

Sunday um well I think Beto he’s he’s shown some really good form for us on EF um he had a he had a crashy but he seems to be uh coming back healthy so I think he should be 100% for Flanders and obviously he’s won it before so he knows

What he’s doing there um neelon Palace unfortunately he been having this nagging knee kind of pain so um he’s not really in the best form at the moment but uh so we’ll have to see him later on um is he is he still racing though is he

Still in the sheet as far as I know he’s not but uh I mean that that could change I’m not sure but as far as I know he’s he’s not going to take the start uh I mean I’m rooting for Mato I’m rooting for Magus Sheffield outside of EF but

I’m going to go out on a huge huge limb and say that mag Vander is gonna win you’re crazy yeah we have one more American Raleigh Sheen will be out there as well Colorado boy um okay if if you’re gonna go for with the the layup

With bdb I’ll go with I’ll go with Mato I think that Matteo’s got a great shot here I think he could play the under dog and and and go long so if it’s a race of attrition which it always is and it keep on putting the and and I’ll go with you

Think about what you just said it’s coming into a climber’s race he just went pinise man outright without really having to push that hard on Sunday stage so I’m going with Mato okay I mean actually I was uh I didn’t uh touch on what you just mentioned earlier missing Kristoff

Leaport I was actually saying that Mato was going to slot into Kristoff ports role um I guess going to depend on how much Freedom he gets at that race if he’s going to be um if he’s going to be you know rightand man to W then he might

Be a little bit closed off but uh if he gets a bit of freedom and they can play it tactically like yeah why not why not have an American win Flanders it’s been a all right well it’s been forever no I’m with you and I I think that with

Leal Trek which is an American team um those guys if they’re going up the front if he can play off that I think that’s going to be really the Lynch bin in between what’s going to go up the road and how good this race is going to be

Because how strong like you mentioned again wolfing gum they wor that really turned everything up so we’ll see on Sunday it’s Super Bowl Sunday for me this is my favorite race of year I absolutely love it um this is beyond the podium TJ it’s great to see you um pay

The internet bill and say hi to my Orca Foria I can’t wait to see you in person soon at the tour sorry I’m gonna get like this gigantic fiber op OPC cable and just like I don’t know I need to do something but you know Spain it’s it’s

Man all right buddy thank you talk to you soon all right great to see you Christian say Bud for all your cycling content year round subscribe to NBC Sports YouTube page we got it all