Tobias Halland Johannessen latest to urge the peloton to stop riding for Pogacar and take risks

“Sometimes teams start to pull and you know they are pulling for a Pogačar win. That is boring,” Johannessen said. “I think sometimes we just accept the fate before it happens and that is not a good thing for cycling. I hope that we dare to take more risks to try to win and do something special.” 

For him, it is also a mindset issue. “I think you never go out on training to try to be third or... fourth in a race you want to win,” he said, pushing back against a peloton that too often settles for controlled racing and familiar outcomes.

Johannessen believes aggression and unpredictability are the answer, rather than contributing to pace making that sets up the strongest rider. 

His view echoes recent comments from Tiesj Benoot, who urged teams to stop riding at the front for Pogačar and Van der Poel and to “play their cards right,” with the Belgian even going as far as stating, “The Tour of Flanders has been made so difficult that tactics no longer play a role.”

Halland Johannessen’s ambitions intersect directly with Pogačar’s calendar. In the Ardennes, he sees Flèche Wallonne as a prime opportunity, but admits Liège-Bastogne-Liège is a different challenge when Pogačar is present.

“For me, the big one is Liège. It is the dream to be top five there one year and of course, to win it, which is quite hard these days with Pogačar. It is such a hard race and one of the hardest I will do.”

Johannessen framed the debate in terms of the fan experience, arguing that braver tactics would create more varied winners and less predictable racing, and pointed to how certain races can drift into inevitability. “Now you’re just waiting for Pogacar to go and then the race starts behind,” he said, adding that he prefers races that invite earlier moves. 

“I think Strade was maybe even cooler when it was a bit shorter and more explosive and that people dare to go from earlier in the race. I like the more shorter and intense races. I think making it longer makes it more boring.”

For 2026, the Uno X leader intends to put that approach into practice, favouring reduced group finales where his sprint can decide the outcome rather than conservative marking. “In my dreams I always win from a smaller group and out sprint some of the guys,” he said.