Tadej Pogačar reminded the world this week that the Pogi Show won’t last forever.
Hot off the back of his fourth Tour de France victory, Pogačar floated the prospect of an early retirement in a wide-spanning interview with L’Equipe.
“I don’t think I’ll stop right away, but I don’t see myself continuing for too long either,” Pogačar said.
“The Los Angeles Games [in 2028] are one of my goals, which takes me to three years from now,” he said. “Then I might start thinking about retirement, we’ll see.”
But fear not, Pogačar fans.
The 26-year-old moderated by saying he wasn’t thinking too seriously about hanging up his wheels just yet.
He’s under contract with UAE Emirates-XRG through 2030, and under the fatigue of his hardest-earned maillot jaune.
“I’m not too interested in my future,” Pogačar said Monday. “I try to enjoy the moment.”
Pogačar and his Tour de France attrition
Post-Olympic retirement or not, Pogačar entered a new arc of his crazy career this month.
Sickness, a crash, and a relentless offense from Jonas Vingegaard and Visma-Lease a Bike forced “Pogi the Merciless” in the Pyrénées to become “Pogi the Moderate” in the Alps.
Bags under his eyes. Ennui in the media mixed zone. Dead-boring defensive racing.
Did cycling’s Duracel Bunny finally run out of battery? Or was he just in it for the half-million payout?
One thing that’s sure is that a season spanning the UAE Tour, cobbled and hilly classics, and the hardest, fastest Tour in history was taking its toll.
“I was exhausted after the race, and people didn’t see me as happy as usual,” Pogačar said of his Tour de France gear shift. “But it seems normal to me not to have a big smile and be happy every day.
“Sometimes you are not at your best, you can have a difficult moment.”
Only the tantalizing prospect of victory over the Montmartre and onto the Champs-Élysées could pull the yellow jersey from his week three malaise.
Vuelta a España off the calendar
He showed a rare awareness of his own mortality in his Paris press conference Sunday.
‘I’m at the point of my career that if I do have burnout I’ll be happy with what I have achieved,” Pogačar said. “Burnouts happen in sports, in a lot of sports, mental burnout, physical burnout.”
“Burnouts happen all the time, it can happen to me as well for sure,” he added.
Reports this week out of Spanish daily AS reinforce ongoing rumors that Pogačar has scrapped his plan to race the Vuelta a España next month.
João Almeida and Juan Ayuso will lead UAE Emirates into super-team battle against Vingegaard, Sepp Kuss, and Matteo Jorgenson, instead.
Pogi? He’ll be on the couch.
Keeping the cannibal hungry
Is Pogačar burned out?
He’s raced plenty less than this time last season, and similar to in 2023.
He’ll likely bound out of a summer break buzzing for his rainbow jersey defense at the Kigali world championships in September.
After that, the prospect of a return to Paris-Roubaix and Milan-San Remo will stoke his hunger through the offseason.
Indeed, UAE Emirates-XRG performance chief Jeroen Swart suggested last week it’s not the Tour, but the quest to “complete” pro cycling, that keeps Pogi pedaling.
“I think Tadej is really at his peak. The question now is how long we can keep him at this level,” Swart told L’Equipe. “It’s no longer a question of age, but mainly of motivation.
“With Tadej, the most important thing is to maintain his enthusiasm,” Swart said. “He loves what’s new, like trying Roubaix or trying to win Milan-San Remo.”
Counting down on the Pogačar era?
Pogačar could retire right now and still occupy one of the front plinths of cycling’s Hall of Fame.
Four Tour de France titles, nine monument wins, and a rainbow jersey – he’s cycling’s modern Merckx.
Pogačar is already level with Chris Froome on Tour de France wins.
Retirement in 2028 would give him three more chances to brush off Visma’s “Killer Bees” and join the five-time winner’s club of Eddie Merckx, Jacques Anquetil, Bernard Hinault, and Miguel Indurain.
Time will tell how seriously Pogačar is considering the prospect of retiring at the age of 30.
Statements made at the end of the biggest test of his career so far should be taken with some salt.
Either way, Pogačar’s retirement threat should be considered a timely warning.
Whether you find his dominance damaging or delicious, you should enjoy it while you can.