Did Tadej Pogačar REALLY Do 7w/kg? | GCN Tech Show Ep. 449

Pogačar’s performance has sparked a huge debate about power data transparency. Do you think pro riders should be required to upload their files to Strava for the fans, or is that data too valuable to give away to rivals? Let us know in the comments! 👇

i don't think Paret means wall in French .. you should double check that

Did anyone take his weight (plus bike weight) at the finish line and had access to his bike computer?

You forgot to deduct pantanis drug cheating from his record

Pantonis loose clothing worth at least 30 seconds in my book. Add tires tubes bike. At least 2 minutes lost. At least.

What happened with the sound of this video? It is muffled and I feel like I need hearing aids.

After pogs alpe d'huez win, the likes of Matt Stevens absolutely drooling over pog was so embarrassing!
If people think that this is all real, they are deluded! 😂😂😂

I had someone pass me the other day doing 7W/kg… on MyWoosh. 🤪🤪🤪

The real question is, why does anyone think it is real??? The doping couldn’t be more obvious.

I got to 5mins then turned off....jeese....get to the point

Yeah one thing I would say to people at the LGS where I worked was to remind them that the saddle is more like a perch than a seat. Especially on road bikes. It's not a recliner, you're meant to put your weight into the pedals.

I stopped watching the video after 10 minutes because I'd never heard so much nonsense all at once. I hope there's an ironic background to this analysis of yours. No one expects that a channel which is a broadcaster of World Tour cycling races would openly say what many have understood, because the evidence is right in front of our noses — namely, that the use of mechanical doping is heavily affecting results, especially since 2024, and especially at the hands of Pogačar. This latter rider, who must be pretty stupid, does nothing to hide the advantage of using technologies that others clearly don't have. I'd remind you that this rider often shows no sign of cardiovascular strain under effort. I can see it from the TV images — I don't need to do an electrocardiogram on someone who reaches the top of the Mur de Huy at La Flèche Wallonne with his mouth closed, to understand that his cardiovascular system is not under the slightest strain, so it's obvious that there is an illegal power source on his bike, and it's also obvious that this power source gives him many extra watts. End of story, discussion closed — even this single piece of evidence is more than enough to draw conclusions. Instead, here you are talking about the effect of the fan tunnel protecting the rider from the wind, as if the fan tunnel on Alpe d'Huez had never existed. I should point out that Pogačar improved the record by only one minute and 20 seconds because he didn't maintain a steady time-trial climbing pace, which he could have done; otherwise he would have improved it by at least another minute, if not two (!!!). For months I've been hearing about this rider having Zone 2 at 330 watts (at 65 kg!!!) and riding in Zone 2 at 46 km/h, holding that speed for as long as he wants, putting out VAMs of 1900 for 45 minutes at 7 watts/kg (GCN Italy). Go ahead and tell us too that Jesus Christ walked on water because he was actually an inflatable ball. You yourselves have done several deep dives into mechanical doping — funny how your conclusion has always been that it exists but cannot be used in WT races, for reasons left unspecified. Yet everything strange we've been seeing, especially lately, can only be explained by this (drugs doping doesn't even come into it). But I repeat, it's normal that you wouldn't admit this, but it doesn't seem respectful to the audience to justify what cannot be justified by addressing the topic with idiotic explanations.

I have been passed many times on Rouvy with riders doing minimum of 7w/kg, for 45 plus minutes. As I watch those riders and go, why aren't they on the world tour?
Too bad Rouvy can't stop that from happening.

Ma veramente pensate che 6.8 o 7.1 E/kg faccia la differenza??😅
La differenza la fa che ha stracciato tutti😊

Let us wait the results of the analysis. Let us base our analysis on scientific fact.

Not even mentioning nutrition as a big difference between Pantani and Pogi's time?

Jeder weiß doch das etwas nicht stimmt. ALLE Radfahrer, die unerklärlich besser waren, sind gedopt gewesen - ALLE, ohne Ausnahme. Es ist also nur eine Frage der Zeit und dann haben wir wieder 7 Tour de France ohne Gewinner.

I haven’t even watched this, but the answer is yes

Ricky Bobby shares his data. Whole pelaton needs to be public.

Pantani was 20lbs lighter too

Leadville is going to have a massive course change this year due to fires and park land closures ,before 5 dev came along.

So...a Tour winner and all-time great climber with a hematocrit of 60% could--theoretically--MAYBE match Pogačar's performance on Alpe d'Huez with modern equipment and there are still people asking "Is Pogačar doping"? Um, OKAY...

11:35 Yeah "its [not] the bike". you GCN guys should have left M.P. v T.P. AdH alone. GCN conclusion is honestly insulting.

[Edit - In 1995, the year Pantani set the AdH record that stood for THIRTY ONE YEARS, he recorded at hematocrit level of a nearly LEATHAL 60.1%. Pantani had to wake up in the middle of the night to ride a stationary bike to keep from DYING of nocturnal cardiac arrest.]

Pantani’s haematocrit in 1997 was probably around 48–49%, given that the 50% threshold was introduced that same year as a way of “limiting” EPO use. It is entirely possible that his levels were significantly higher during his two climbs in 1994 and 1995, at a time when many riders in the Grand Tours reportedly had haematocrit values above 60%. Even allowing for the effects of EPO, Pantani’s climbing times remain extraordinary, especially when compared with Tadej’s. It is also worth remembering that Pantani was far from peak condition in 1997, as he had only recently returned from the long lay-off caused by his badly broken leg. We only caught a glimpse of his full potential during those astonishing opening months of the 1999 season, before the tragic ending at Madonna di Campiglio. In terms of pure physical attributes, he remains the greatest climber of all time. Tadej, by contrast, is an all-rounder, but he is a worthy heir to Pantani in terms of spectacle, attacking instinct and his constant desire to produce something exceptional.

If he’s doping they all are. Level playing field. Leave them alone…. Who cares!

Yes, with the help of Generational doping

Compare cycling to sprinting, where the world record is measured in gains of a fraction of a second. The reason being, that there are limits to human performance even at the top level. The same constraints somehow don't seem to apply to cycling where existing records can be absolutely destroyed by huge margins...!

Speed is enough f1 cars don't share their equipment for pre race prep. Heart rate and cadence or estimate it but it would be such a distraction and with Internet it would be met skeptical anyway and not trusted.

the problem with looking at all of these tech differences vs Pantani's day, is that the record has stood for decades and the alpe is ridden every 2-3 years. So if Pog can smash it by a minute and a half and a minute of that is tech related, why has nobody else beaten it by a few seconds in the interim?

He didn’t even look out of breath.

How did Pogacar time up Alp Duez compare to Armstrongs when he went up in that uphill in time trial in what 2005?

Special Sauce 😉

I say take away the power meters for racing and make them go on feel rather than science. This would greatly increase the chances of big risk vs big reward in races = better for fans

Thanks to Ollie’s continuous StarWars references through the show, I went into an original trilogy marathon right after the end of the show