From lapping the peloton as a teen to 'King of cycling': Colnago documentary explores Tadej Pogacar's rise

Titled POG1 - The Making of a Legend, the documentary produced by Colnago Cultura will premiere on Friday, November 13, at 3pm GMT on Colnago’s YouTube channel, where it will be available to watch worldwide for free. 

It marks the second Pogačar-focused documentary in the space of a week, following the release of Anatomy of a G.O.A.T.

In the preview clips supplied by Colnago Cultura ahead of the premiere, UAE Team Emirates-XRG sports director and mentor Andrej Hauptman recalls first encountering Pogačar in 2012, during a children’s race organised by his team in Ljubljana.

“I came in the middle of the race, and one of our riders was really a hundred metres behind the group. I spoke with Miro, our organiser, and said, ‘Why don’t we help this small guy to catch the group?’ You know, laughing.”

However, the response Hauptman received left him surprised and was a glaring indication of the talent that Pogačar possessed.

“He [Miro] said, ‘Who? You mean this one? No, no, he will win. He overlapped the whole peloton.’”

Hauptman joined UAE back in May 2019, a few months into Pogačar’s neo-pro season with the Emirati team. UAE announced the arrival of Pogačar for that season in August 2018 while the Slovenian was in action at the Tour de l’Avenir. 

Reflecting on his first encounters with racing, Pogačar highlighted that enjoyment was the priority rather than results.

“The first time that I raced, I finished last. I didn't care, actually. I had a super fun time,” Pogačar said. 

Another protagonist in the 2018 edition of the Tour de l’Avenir was Pogačar’s future teammate João Almeida, who joined UAE in 2022. Almeida, who finished seventh overall, 2:35 behind Pogačar, remembers recognising Pogačar’s exceptional ability during this race.

“I remember in the Tour de l’Avenir, the only one I did, that he was really strong. I was doing really good, I was feeling really good, doing a good job, and he won this Tour de l’Avenir, and I was, I don’t know, sixth, seventh,” Almeida said.

“So he was clearly already on another level, and you could see how much he could still improve, and this was the first time I saw Tadej Pogačar.” 

Flash forward to 2026, and after half a decade as teammates, Almeida referred to his teammate as “Tadej Pogačar: King of cycling.”