Mathieu Warnier, Media365: published on Saturday December 21, 2024 at 10:30 p.m.
In the middle of a preparation course in the Valencia region, Tadej Pogacar sent a very clear message to his rivals in view of next season by breaking the record for the climb of Coll de Rates, often climbed by professional runners in training .
Tadej Pogacar is actively preparing for the 2025 season. While he should try the Tour de France-Vuelta double after having succeeded in the one combining the Giro with the Grande Boucle this year, the leader of the UAE Team Emirates team trains in the Valencia region with his teammates, as many other professional teams can do at the moment. On this occasion, the Slovenian took part in an exercise this Friday which already says a lot about his level of form. Well surrounded, the reigning world champion embarked on the ascent of Coll de Rates, 6.42 kilometers long with an average slope measured at 5.5%. Data compiled by the Strava application, which is used by many high-level runners, allows us to understand the extent of Tadej Pogacar's form. The record for climbing this platform has been held since last March by the Dane Peter Øxenberg Hansen in 12'38'', an average of 30.5 km/h.
Pogacar offers a record
However, the winner of three editions of the Tour de France took great pleasure in putting a real slap in the face to this reference time. As part of a 205 kilometer long training outing, the leader of the UAE Team Emirates climbed the Coll de Rates in… 12'21'', an average of 31.2 km/h . But what perhaps speaks the most is the video shot by cycle tourists who were embarking on the same climb at the same time, shared on social networks. We see the train of the Emirati team launched at high speed down the slope, with Tadej Pogacar as the penultimate carriage. It should be noted that Jonas Vingegaard has never done better than 13'02'' on this climb, but his personal best already dates back to March 2018. To judge the Slovenian's level more closely at the start of the season, we will have to wait until February 17 and the launch of the 2025 edition of the UAE Tour, for which he is eagerly awaited.
