11 ways to train more like Tadej Pogačar

Of course we can’t match his power, but can we amateur cyclists learn from the training routines and methods of Tadej Pogačar? “If an amateur emulated what Tadej does, they would quickly be overtrained,” says Jeroen Swart, head of performance at UAE Team Emirates, “but yes, an amateur could do similar types of training to Tadej, and most would see improvements in their performance.” Over recent months, Pogačar has shared details of his training, including to CW (see page 100) – and he went in-depth to Peter Attia for his The Drive podcast.

We asked Swart, and Tim Podlogar, an exercise physiologist at the University of Exeter and Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe’s outgoing nutritionist, to describe how amateurs can best draw on his methods.

Crank up the heat

What Pogačar said: “Heat training has become a big thing in cycling, especially this year. We try to overheat the body in training sessions or on the home trainer because it is a big factor, especially for me because I always struggle when it is super-hot. If you train this, you can be better.”

Swart: “Research papers have consistently shown that an athlete who trains at an altitude of 2,100m for three weeks has an increase of approximately 4% in haemoglobin mass. Doing three sessions per week of heat training over a period of six weeks achieves the same increase in haemoglobin mass and increases the blood plasma volume by 20-25%, so heat training has a massive effect on cardiovascular function. “The way to do it is quite simple: ride on the indoor trainer in a small room with no cooling devices such as a fan, wear winter clothing – a long-sleeve jersey and an undervest – and train for 45 minutes to 1hr 15min. When your body temperature reaches 38.5 degrees – use a device like Core’s to monitor your temperature – lower the power output to hold that core temperature for 30-40 minutes.”

Podlogar: “The heat acclimatisation happens when you feel hot and you’re sweating a lot. There is no need for your heart rate to go too high – you can keep in your Zone 2 and 3 heart-rate zones.”

KNOW THY HEART RATE

What Pogačar said: “I’ve been training with a heart-rate monitor since I was 10 years old, and I know how my heart rate responds when I’m tired or fresh. I could go by heart rate only, but it’s always good to compare heart rate to power.”

Podlogar: “Heart rate is a physiological marker that tells the story of what’s happening to your body, and it’s better than power for indicating the adaptations you are getting from training. For training in the lower zones, knowing your heart rate is really the gold standard.”

Swart: “Using power output alone to guide training is actually less efficient than using the combination of power output and heart rate. It’s sometimes more effective to train to heart rate than to power. A lot of research has shown that doing a heart-rate-based session is actually a better stimulus to enhance performance, and significantly so.”

HIT THE GYM

What Pogačar said: “I have implemented more core training [lately], and more off-the-bike stuff… I still do strength training throughout the season but with less weight. I focus on legs, core, glutes, hips – and this for me personally is important.”

Podlogar: “An easy way to understand the importance of core work is comparing Tadej’s position on a bike to an amateur’s: he can ride in a very aerodynamic position for five hours, and an amateur can only sustain that for a few minutes. This is where core exercise is really important to sustain uncomfortable positions.”

Swart: “Functional strength is also doing strength work on the bike, such as low-cadence riding. Head units now measure the torque being produced, you can see the newton metres, so it’s possible to do torque intervals. This creates a really stimulating session and the mixture of torque and power intervals is important for optimal performance.”

LEARN TO LOVE ZONE 2

What Pogačar said: “I love riding Zone 2. When I go back to Slovenia or to Spain where it is flatter, I like to stay in Zone 2 for five hours.”

Podlogar: “When you’re riding in Zone 2, you have a high energy turnover, and can sustain it for a long time. At anything over Zone 2, you will eventually quite quickly run out of energy, but in Zone 2 you’re not causing fatigue or damaging the muscles so much that you can’t recover.”

ADD SOME VA-VA-VAM

What Pogačar said: “In my experience, the best [method for climbing] is to train on your home roads where you can look at the speed, the VAM [average ascent speed, measured in metres of vertical ascent per hour], and how fast you’re moving. You see these three things: speed, heart rate, power, and then you see how you feel and in which zone you are really in.”

Swart: “VAM is a difficult metric to understand for the average athlete. Watts are the same on flat roads or hills, into the wind or not, but VAM is more nuanced and takes more knowledge and experience. But if you understand it, and use the same training hill a lot – a climb between 8-12% is best – then it’s a really good indicator of your form and can help you achieve optimal performance.”

CRAM IN THE CARBS

What Pogačar said: “At first, five years ago, [ingesting] 120g of carbs per hour was impossible. I was sh***ing my pants after stage races or long races. But then our nutritionist designed good gels and drinks that were easier on the gut… and now I’m eating 120g [per hour] and I don’t have any stomach problems. You get used to it.”

Swart: “If you want to optimise performance on long rides, you should be looking at increasing the number of carbs per hour, but it needs to be the correct composition of glucose and fructose – good energy products have the right mix – and you have to do gut training. Over six weeks, do two hours of moderately high-intensity training three times a week, taking in at least 80 to 90 grams of carbs per hour. That will be sufficient to enable you to take on board more carbs, and your energy uptake will be dramatically higher.”

JOG ON!

What Pogačar said: “The last two years I’ve tried to include running in my off-season, and I try to keep it as long as possible into the season.”

Podlogar: “Running and strength training is important for bone density because there is a much higher impact on the bones. We know that cyclists typically don’t have a high bone density and this can cause problems when they crash. Running is also good for the mind, and it’s good to do different endurance sports from time to time.”

ALLOW YOURSELF SWEET TREATS

What Pogačar said: “I never restrict [my diet] too much: I never say I can’t eat cake or chocolate but [eat them] only in small amounts when the time is right. You need a balance with the bad food also so when it comes to the off-season you don’t have a craving. I weigh 69kg in the offseason [and 66kg during the season].”

Swart: “Excessive calorie restriction, resulting in weight loss at the cost of absolute power, will be counterproductive and may harm the immune system. Many riders perform better with an extra kilo of mass. So lighter is not always better.”

BLING YOUR BUDDY

What Pogačar said: “Not many people want to ride with me, or I don’t want to ride with them. ‘Bling’ [Michael Matthews] appreciates how I train and I like how he trains, that’s why we often go together.”

Swart: “Let’s be honest, even when you love riding, training can sometimes be boring, and having someone alongside you to provide company and stimulating conversation makes you mentally less fatigued. That’s a big part of training and racing. We know that psychologically stressed athletes experience a drop in performance, so being mentally fresh and training and relaxing well is a key factor in performance.”

GO ALL-IN FOR 20 MINUTES

What Pogačar said: “I like climbs of around 20 minutes that are quite steep. Because we go really fast, there is still a lot of drafting on 7-8% climbs, but when it’s more than 9% it’s pretty cool because there’s not much drafting so you can do what you want.”

Podlogar: “Blocks of 20 minutes are all about critical power and the maximal metabolic state. It gives you information about where your threshold lies, and how good you are when you go above your threshold. Doing high-intensity intervals such as 20-minute efforts two to three times a week brings a lot of benefits and it simulates racing.”

HEED POGI’S ADVICE TO TIME-PRESSED AMATEURS

What Pogačar said: “Split three or five hours [of training] over three or four days. Keep it short and at a really high intensity, with some explosive stuff and some VO2 max. If you don’t have a lot of time, this is how you can gain as much as possible. To spice things up, go for a challenge like an FTP test to keep it fun.”

Podlogar: “The reason these short bursts work so well for people short on time is that when you change the intensity quickly, from the recovery phase to high-intensity efforts of up to five minutes each, you create a big change in energy demands and make the muscles use more nutrients and oxygen very rapidly. This tells the muscles they need to adapt and change how they operate. Evidence has shown that 30-second, all-out efforts, (supraVO2 max), are great for improving endurance and power metrics.”

WHO IS THE MYSTERY MOU?

The cycling corner of the internet was taken by storm in the summer by a mysterious account. Posting on X and on the Cyclingnews forum under the username ‘Mou’, he or she claimed to have inside information on Tadej Pogačar’s training. “He is right about some, but most of it is wrong,” Pogačar said at the Tour de France. “I don’t know who this guy is and what his purpose is.”

CW understands that UAE Team Emirates are deeply concerned by Mou’s regular tweets, many of which are disparaging to team staff and certain riders, and are still trying to figure out his (or her) real identity. It’s possible that Mou’s knowledge has been gleaned from studying Pogačar’s Strava files, social media posts, and everything else team-related on the internet. We break down three of the mischief-maker’s most notorious claims:

Mou: “After four hours [in the Giro d’Italia] he will have 6.78W/kg on the final hill which lasts 30 minutes, and he will have 6.9 W/kg at the Tour.”

True or false? Pogačar, it is estimated, averaged 6.1-6.2W/ kg on climbs of 30-50 minutes at the Giro. At the Tour de France, he registered 6.8-6.98W/kg on three separate climbs of 28-40 minutes.

Mou: “Huge funds were invested in TT material, a private physiotherapist in Monaco, Alex Baccili [and] a study was made to see how much 165mm cranks brings [improves] him compared to 170-172… [new coach Javier] Sola introduced him to regular, heat training.”

True or false? All four claims are true. Pogačar trained at Valencia’s concrete velodrome in the winter, working on his time trial, and he won two of the four TTs he competed in during the 2024 season; he was second to Filippo Ganna and Remco Evenepoel in the other two TTs, specialists in the discipline. Pogačar has also credited heat training with having a big impact on his performance.

Mou: “The Best Grand Tour selection is: Tadej Pogačar, Mikkel Bjerg/Nils Pollit, Domen Novak, Tim Wellens, António Morgado, Rafał Majka, Isaac del Toro, Adam Yates… Everyone else is either not good enough or brings a problem to the team.”

True or false? Neither Morgado and Del Toro rode the Giro or Tour. Problems did surface between Juan Ayuso and the team during the Tour de France, however.

CW ATTEMPTS TADEJ’S ZONE 2

Pogačar has revealed that his long ride power – his Zone 2 – is an astounding 320-340 watts. CW decided to find out if we, as a tag team effort, could keep up for a whole endurance ride. Surely between us, as a relay effort, we could hang on to Pogačar’s wheel at his ‘easy’ pace. This is his five-hour power – so how hard could it be? The answer, it turns out, is very.

First to take to the saddle of the trainer, our wattage set at 330, was CW’s merchant of brute force Steve Shrubsall – no surprise, this challenge was his idea. His opening effort was a sterling 50min. Next came CW’s editor Simon Richardson, who, at nearly 30kg lighter than Steve, couldn’t be expected to match the big man’s staying power. Even so, 1min 34sec was a little less than everyone was praying for.

With nowhere to hide, features editor David Bradford sweated it out at 330 watts for 12min before throwing in the towel. That brought the total to 1:03.34. Hardly worth Pogačar getting kitted up for. Could our final two save us from collective humiliation?

Steve’s big brother James was shouldering high expectations, but failed miserably to deliver with a paltry 2min effort. So it was all down to our last man, Tom Davidson. Could the lanky youngster pull it out the bag and stretch our effort to something Pogačar might not be utterly appalled by?

Sadly not. Tom’s 2min 15sec took our total to 1:07.49, and we hung our heads in shame. Don’t come to us looking for training buddies, Pogi!