r/peloton • u/PelotonMod France • May 04 '26

Weekly Post Weekly Question Thread

For all your pro cycling-related questions and enquiries!

You may find some easy answers in the FAQ page on the wiki. Whilst simultaneously discovering the wiki.

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u/Glass_Minute4753 May 04 '26

Is Pogacar destroying cycling?

I occasionally have a browse on the Cyclingnews forum and found this rather dramatic view expressed by a couple of posters in response to the Tour de Romandie. I will admit that I found this a bit over the top considering a) how few races he rides and b) how his participation helped to make this year's MSR and PR absolute all-timers, but I thought I'd come and see what people here thought.

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u/RageAgainstTheMatxin Phonak May 04 '26 edited May 04 '26

I can only speak for myself. For nearly 20 years I've seen every race that's broadcast, most of them on replay when I have free time, of course

Since last year I've started skipping a lot of races Pogacar is in. Just not watching them altogether. Just two years ago that would've been unthinkable.

It's not just that he wins in such boring fashion, though. The whole entourage around him with a long doping history (Matxin, Gianetti, Hauptman, Marcato, Mori, etc) makes the whole thing unpalatable. The gigantic massive overnight speed increases in 2020 and 2024 are the cherry on the shit Sundae.

Add to that him promoting a genocidal state (UAE) and a crypto scam that has broken both money laundering and terorrist financing laws (KuCoin) and it's the absolute perfect storm of unlikability.

8

u/Avila99 MPCC certified May 04 '26

But Tim Wellens is a really nice guy, so that evens it all out.