Uno-X sports director explains the two factors that helped Pogacar to crushing Tour de Suisse win

Tadej Pogačar needed only one stage to take a commanding grip on the Tour de Suisse.

The world champion attacked with 69 kilometres remaining on the opening stage to Sondrio and never looked back. By the time he crossed the finish line, Richard Carapaz was more than two minutes behind, while several of the other general classification contenders had conceded more than four minutes.

It was a brutal demonstration of Pogačar’s superiority and another clear indication that his preparations for the Tour de France are firmly on track.

Yet Christian Andersen, sports director at Uno-X Mobility, believes Pogačar’s strength was not the only reason the time gaps became so extreme.

Andersen was following the race from the team car when Pogačar accelerated across to Uno-X rider Fredrik Dversnes on the climb to Triangia. The Slovenian briefly joined the Norwegian before pressing on alone with a familiar seated acceleration.

Within moments, the race had been blown apart.

“He showed his strength and what he is capable of, but I also think the gaps became even bigger today because it was so hot,” Andersen told Feltet.

Temperatures climbed above 30 degrees during the stage, with little wind or shade to offer relief. Andersen described the conditions around the point where Pogačar reached Dversnes as particularly punishing.

“It was over 30 degrees. And right there, where he caught Dversnes, it was really bad. The air was almost completely still and the heat was beating straight down on the riders,” he said.

“People were boiling over. Not many riders here have been used to racing in that kind of heat yet this year. I’m not saying he didn’t suffer in the heat as well, but the gap became bigger because of it.”

According to Andersen, the actions of Pogačar’s rivals were the second major reason his advantage grew so dramatically.

“The riders were, I wouldn’t say giving up, but perhaps they were racing more for second and third place than for the win,” he said.

“Pogačar wasn’t just the favourite before the race. He was almost declared the winner before the start.”

The situation developed into a clear example of what cycling often calls group two syndrome. Once a lone leader has established a gap, the riders behind can become more concerned with conserving energy or attacking one another than with organising a sustained pursuit.

That hesitation played directly into Pogačar’s hands, according to Andersen.

“The group behind didn’t keep pushing to bring him back. It wasn’t an organised chase,” he said.

Carapaz eventually attacked alone with 50 kilometres remaining and quickly distanced the rest of the group. Andrea Bagioli later made his own move and rode clear to secure third place.

Those attacks may have improved their individual results, but they also weakened the collective effort to limit Pogačar’s lead.

“We also saw Carapaz and Andrea Bagioli attacking. I think that made the gap bigger as well,” Andersen said.

“Otherwise, he couldn’t just have ridden to the finish like that today.”

UAE Team Emirates-XRG also had the numbers in the chasing group, with Brandon McNulty, Tim Wellens and Jhonatan Narváez able to cover moves without helping to set the pace. That left Pogačar’s rivals responsible for organising the pursuit.

Up front, the Slovenian kept extending his lead. With 40 kilometres remaining, he was almost two minutes ahead of Carapaz and close to three minutes clear of the larger group. By the final climbs, the outcome was beyond doubt.

Andersen was careful not to take anything away from Pogačar’s performance. His point was not that the world champion had been fortunate to win, but that the heat and the lack of cooperation behind contributed to the size of the final margins.

“So I don’t want to take anything away from how good he is, but there is more to it than that,” Andersen said.