'Trying to understand him is fascinating' - Pogacar documentary reveals details behind his dominance

French sports scientist Fred Grappe has described Tadej Pogačar as "simply the best" in the Anatomy of a G.O.A.T documentary, adding that "trying to understand him is fascinating."

Grappe is the performance director of the Groupama FDJ United team, and he previously suggested using power data as part of the fight against doping. He is fascinated by trying to understand Pogačar's physiology and revealed he keeps a database of the Slovenian's biggest performances.

"Understanding Tadej Pogačar is fascinating. We're dealing with a legend. He produces the best performances in almost all the races," Grappe said in an interview for the documentary made by Eurosport and HBO Max.

"I've made a list of Pogačar's key performances since the 2019 Vuelta. That's 73 climbs between 2019 and 2026. Trying to understand him is fascinating.

Grappe revealed specific details of Pogačar's performance on stage 15 of the 2024 Tour de France to Grappe to Plateau de Beille, when he dropped Jonas Vingegaard to win alone by 1:08. Pogačar beat Marco Pantani's 1998 record of 43:28 by close to four minutes.

"If we consider Tadej's weight of 65kg, we get a power of around 460 watts. Vingegaard produces 444, Evenepoel 422, the tenth rider produces 380 watts. He's simply the best," Grappe said, adding that he admired how Pogačar improved his core strength and power after defeat in the 2023 Tour.

"When he rides, nothing moves. When I watch him ride, he stays in the saddle. Lots of other riders move, they don't stay in the saddle. He sticks firmly in the saddle. He's a pedalling machine.

"If he needs to open a gap, he'll stand on the pedals but then sit down again. It's fascinating to watch him, his shoulders, hips and feet are in line, he's like a 100m track sprinter, he has the same physiology. You can see that when he opens a gap on the climbs." 

Details of Pogačar's performance data emerged during the documentary 'Anatomy of a G.O.A.T,' which looked at his metabolism, physiology and power of recovery.

Pogačar's sponsor Whoop revealed that he slept for an average of eight hours and 12 minutes each night during the Tour, with a sleep efficiency of 84%, higher than his UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammates.

"Tadej’s resting heart rate, which is a very nice kind of global picture of your cardiorespiratory fitness, is 38," Whoop’s Global Head of Human Performance, Kristen Holmes, said.

Grappe also highlighted Pogačar's cognitive strength and ability to adapt his physiology and mentality to target the Classics, especially the Tour of Flanders and more recently Paris-Roubaix.

He also analysed the strength of the UAE Team Emirates-XRG and how their dominance in races sets up Pogačar's trademark attacks.  

"Il Lombardia highlights the perfect strength of the UAE and of Pogačar. He spends three quarters of the race behind his teammates like being behind a scooter. The drafting effect saves him 30-40%. The others are also in the slipstream but they have to fight each other for position. When the peloton is slimmed down and speeds up, he has an advantage of half a zone, about a 20-30 watt difference.

"His zones are very high, so he is less tired. If we add it all up, we get to a point that when he decides to attack, he can use his full potential. The team exerts its influence for most of the race and then he finishes off the job."

Pogačar played down his dominance and the scientific portrait that performance numbers give.

"I'm probably not the one who trains the most, either in the gym or on the bike. There will probably always be someone who trains more and harder than me," Pogačar said in an interview released alongside the documentary.

"I never thought tests were a real indicator of your potential, because we can all do great tests for an hour on the indoor trainer. I know many cyclists who have done incredible tests, with incredible numbers in training, and then don't perform the same way in a race or on the road.

"Many cyclists, even with lower numbers, can win big races because so many things can happen in cycling, and you also have to be smart on the bike to win. It's not all about the numbers."