IS POGACAR TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE? | RIDER SUPPORT

We're tackling cycling's biggest questions this week: Is Pogačar actually clean, or is his dominance too good to believe? We'll also dig into why amateur cyclists are trashing the environment with gel wrappers and CO2 canisters, explore whether you should ditch your power meter and ride by feel instead, and work through how to actually set your training zones correctly.

Key Takeaways

• Extraordinary allegations demand extraordinary proof — unless someone fails a drug test, accusing them of doping is intellectual laziness, not analysis
• You can develop a real sense of pacing and effort by riding without data; this muscle atrophies if you don't use it, so mix efforts by feel with your power meter retrospectively
• Set your heart rate zones using a 25-minute threshold test (68% of your max effort HR = Zone 1, 69-83% = Zone 2) rather than relying on max heart rate percentages alone
• Gel wrappers and CO2 canisters fall out of pockets on climbs — but tubes and canisters abandoned on grass or walls are pure laziness and should be called out
• AI coaching apps like Garmin Forerunner show promise, but they're not ready to replace coaches yet; garbage data in equals garbage prescriptions out
• Don't let cycling culture gatekeep you into wearing specific helmets or kit — if you're riding safe and having fun, that's what matters

Expert Quotes

"It's kind of bad that anytime you get performances out of the ordinary in cycling these questions are never too far away. I've never heard a rider suggest that he isn't clean, and you never hear a whisper on air or off air that Pogačar is doping."

"Everyone's forgotten how to pace stuff, how to pace an effort. It's like a muscle — if you don't use it, it atrophies. You need to build up these muscles by doing efforts without a power meter."

"You have to fit into this mold, and that's because every time you click on to any cycling website, the whole industry is pushing this idea of what a cyclist has to look like. Cycling's inclusive — get out and ride whatever helmet you have, whatever shoes you have. You don't need that."