Pogačar dominates the heat: the strategy that makes him unbeatable

The Col du Granon is a climb that will remain forever etched in the memory of Tadej Pogačar : it was there, in the summer of 2022, that the Slovenian suffered one of the most stinging defeats of his career at the hands of Jonas Vingegaard , losing that patina of invincibility that seemed to have accompanied him since his debut at the Tour de France.

Well, a day after taking complete control of the 2026 Tour, the world champion returned to talk about that fateful day on stage 11 four years ago, when he relinquished the yellow jersey, failing to regain it for another two years. What has changed since then? A lot.

The images of that day are still vivid: a burned-out Pogačar, weakened by repeated attacks from Jumbo-Visma on the Col du Télégraphe and the Col du Galibier, betrayed by his nutrition and overwhelmed by the heat. The symbol of that collapse was his open jersey for almost the entire climb, after being dropped by Vingegaard.

Since then, the Slovenian rider has changed coaches—he now works with Javier Sola —and his physical abilities have improved significantly: two Tours won, one Giro d'Italia, and 11 Monuments collected. Yet, in his yellow jersey press conference in Bordeaux, Pogačar reserved the highest praise for UAE Team Emirates-XRG , emphasizing how the revolution in nutrition and cooling strategies has been instrumental in their current dominance.

"I think one of the biggest changes we were able to make as a team was the organization around nutrition, with really effective management of hydration and nutrition," Pogačar said. "This Tour is infernally hot, and I'm sure my body temperature is probably lower than it was in 2022 or any previous Tour."

"We're always very focused on cooling down, and that's the big difference. Planning, organization, motivation for the following days: it's a whole different story than 2022."

During the stages, with temperatures exceeding 35°C , teammates constantly brought Pogačar ice packs and water bottles full of cold water to prevent any overheating. This precise, almost scientific teamwork proved decisive.

After Thursday's devastating action on the Col du Tourmalet , stage 7 finally provided a quieter day for Pogačar and his UAE teammates, who simply kept safe and cool as the race slid towards a classic sprint finish.

"Today was easier; it was still important to keep my body temperature low and be cautious in difficult situations in the middle of the villages. We did a great job; it was a good day," said Pogačar, who hopes to repeat the same management on Saturday's stage to Bergerac .

I think if you ask anyone in the group, they struggled a bit after yesterday, and so did I. We were all grateful for a lighter day. It was very hot in the finale, the start was more pleasant, but then it got really hot. The important thing was to keep the temperature down as much as possible and get through the day as comfortably as possible. Let's hope for the same tomorrow.

Photo: Sprint Cycling Agency