Is Tadej Pogačar the Best GC Rider of 2024? | LRCP Awards 2024 | Lanterne Rouge x JOIN Cycling

[@BenjiNaesenTV]

"Is Tadej Pogačar the Best GC Rider of 2024?" Podcast Length: 00:00:07

[@moritzalbr3887]

"duh": so can get the podcast done in 00:00:02

[@gregor9921]

Just started watching, but I'm hoping for "Best Showmaster" category - winner Wout van Aert aka the Squirrel" 😂

[@BiniamGourmet]

Curious, is this the whole awards show for this year or are you having other episodes for other categories (best sprinter, classics rider, team, etc.)? Just cause I would assume there's more interesting discussion around some of those than GC but you somehow managed to do the whole hour on that

[@colinlittlewood9613]

One Pogacar stat that is so often overlooked is that he has never DNF'd a Stage Race as a pro.

[@claire2088]

not just as a pro, right the way back to juniors, something like 40+ races I think I heard GCN say

[@caniggiaful]

That's crazy!

[@daberstedt8219]

Putting Nairo Quintana ahead of Pogi in the GC ranking is a hot take

[@jswisher893]

You guys should also review your past predications, ie did you guess correctly the TdF podium/ your GC top 5 from this video last year. Love the pod

[@JaNiMengel]

LRCP 2024 Season Victories Prediction Award: Benji edges out Patrick to take the crown, although considering the deviation from the actual victories, the UCI would probably disqualify both of them under the new ruling. DETAILED STATISTICS: Alpecin-Deceuninck (15 in 2024) - Benji 13 / Patrick 12 Jayco AlUla (4 in 2024) - Benji 6 / Patrick 8 Cofidis (2 in 2024) - Benji 2 / Patrick 2 Soudal-Quickstep (13 in 2024) - Benji 17 / Patrick 18 dsm-firmenich PostNL (3 in 2024) - Benji 4 / Patrick 5 Movistar (1 in 2024) - Benji 2 / Patrick 4 UAE Emirates (41 in 2024) - Benji 30 / Patrick 31 Decathlon AG2R (7 in 2024) - Benji 4 / Patrick 3 Ineos Grenadiers (6 in 2024) - Benji 9 / Patrick 7 Arkea - B&B Hotels (1 in 2024) - Benji 2 / Patrick 1 Lidl - Trek (15 in 2024) - Benji 11 / Patrick 10 Visma-LeaseABike (18 in 2024) - Benji 38 / Patrick 33 RedBull BORA-hansgrohe (12 in 2024) - Benji 18 / Patrick 18 Intermarché-Wanty (4 in 2024) - Benji 4 / Patrick 4 Groupama - FDJ (3 in 2024) - Benji 5 / Patrick 4 Bahrain-Victorious (4 in 2024) - Benji 7 / Patrick 8 Astana-Qazaqstan (1 in 2024) - Benji 2 / Patrick 5 EF-Education EasyPost (4 in 2024) - Benji 5 / Patrick 7 TOTAL: Benji Total Deviation [65] : Patrick Total Deviation [70] (out of 179 victories including GCs)

[@rossbroomfield5199]

Also shows how victories are kinda shared out more with a few exceptions - not dominated by Jumbo and UAE as much

[@JaNiMengel]

@@rossbroomfield5199 Yeah, although UAE has more victories than Jumbo are missing according to their predictions, but I thought it was great to see some "underdog" wins. What also isn't listed are the Pro-Teams, which have a considerate number of wins this year)

[@chrisridesbicycles]

One hour eleven? This is one of the meetings that could have been an email.

[@gerardocardona259]

But thank the cycling gods it wasn't :p

[@matthewbenger8355]

Don't listen then? Nobody forcing you

[@BabyBowDingBall]

@@matthewbenger8355you’ve gotta enable “joke detection” in your settings

[@hisdadjames4876]

It’s still interesting to hear maboys reflect on scale and nature of Pogis domination this year 👍

[@Queen-be6md]

@@hisdadjames4876 Not just Pogacar, there is a worthy discussion about how the other riders performed in terms of stage races, Roglic did good, Vingegaard did decent despite crashing, Remco also did fine, then there are other honorable mentions...

[@n.stamm_]

Is he the best GC Rider of 2024...? Fun fact: Since turning pro, Tadej Pogacar has finished outside of the Top-4 of a stage race TWICE in his career! He is on a solid path to be the best GC rider ever - while winning loads of monuments as well.

[@justinbergmans36]

In my opinion, he’s already established himself as the best ever. Period.

[@Queen-be6md]

​@@justinbergmans36 No yet, there are races he hasn't won (Some WT Stage races, romandie, Itzulia, Suisse, Criterium du Dauphine, La vuelta), Obviously he's up there with thisi 3x TDF.

[@richcleme]

Is the sky blue?

[@bighammer3464]

Not at night tho

[@moritzalbr3887]

is water wet?

[@edwin.jansen]

It depends.

[@desryan1603]

Its grey in Ireland

[@petertugenjew1036]

The non mentioning of Lennert van Eetvelt is odd. I would not place him above the guys you mentioned, but winning two one-week Worldtour Races should have least bring him into the discussion.

[@arcticchrisx7724]

Was also riding strongly in the Vuelta before he got sick

[@bbuuttercupp]

Agree - not just that, but he won the first and last WT stage-race of the season

[@avbi15]

Remco is not ahead of Roglic in GC, no chance. So much hype about his GC, but he has really low amount of wins. He is a beast in some races, but in GC he is not there. And people just saying: he was sick, he would win giro 23,...If we go with that logic, could you even imagine Roglic's palmares?

[@Fyr35555]

I do find it a little bit odd how quickly the interest around Lenny Martinez and Cian Uijtdebroeks has seemingly disappeared over the course of a year. Sure they maybe have been underwhelming this season but I really do genuinely believe one of those two is more likely to break through and have some good GC performances in 2025 than some of the other names floating around. We've seen it before where there is this phenomenon of under performing only to bounce back a year later, the most distinct example I can remember recently would be Hindley's 2021 season after which he won the 2022 Giro.

[@OfficialTomsSkujinsFanClub]

“Do bicycles have 2 wheels?”

[@arnaudvanderlinden4459]

Sorry but we are not talking about the best gc riders in general, but for 2024. Roglic is ahead of Jonas in my opinion. He actually won a grand tour

[@SebastianPGonzalez-Bauer]

Read the first sentence in Benji voice by accident 😂

[@rossbroomfield5199]

Second at the tour = better than winning Giro or Vuelta, he was the only rider that (if only briefly) entered Pogi’s mind in stage races this year. Beyond grand tours Jonas results in stage races this year were also better.

[@philipbrocklehurst3745]

As much as I hate seeing one rider dominate everything I'm psyched for Vollering being on a team that actually supports her next year and winning nearly every race she enters.

[@Thaddeus_Howe]

The other thing about O'Connor is that this isn't the first time he's gotten into an early breakaway and held on to the gap to get a good result. He did it to get 4th at the Tour in 2021. The peloton keeps on underestimating him and Ben has proven more than once that he is a legit rider.

[@ThisIsANameBruh]

UAE are 100% making Jebel Hafeet the first mountain finish in UAE Tour so Pogacar can win there with rainbow jersey (flat stages before so he doesn't go into the lead and has to wear leader's jersey)

[@edwin.jansen]

If Lombardia were ridden in April it would be the biggest monument of them all. It is my personal favorite monument.

[@58668687]

Short answer: yes, probably the best rider season ever.

[@irishchamp-k5j]

i find Benji's analysis of 2nd best GC rider poor. The question is not who is based on w/kg the 2nd best but who had the 2nd best GC season which is obviously Roglic. He may have pushed less Watts it doesn't change the fact he won more WT stages and won a grand tour. And hypothicals about what Jonas could have done don't change what happend result wise.

[@markus539]

2nd in the Tour worth more than the Vuelta

[@arnaudvanderlinden4459]

​@@markus539 absolutely not. A win is always worth more tjan a podium

[@charlierennie9192]

@@arnaudvanderlinden4459not when it’s the tour. Also you can’t reasonably say roglic was a better gc rider than vingegaard this year when vingegaard was objectively much better than him in the tour before roglic crashed.

[@arnaudvanderlinden4459]

@@charlierennie9192 and objectively Roglic has better results this year than Vingegaard. He actually won a grand tour.

[@charlierennie9192]

@ 2nd at the tour beating pretty much every other top gc contender except pogi including roglic before he crashed shows you’re performing at a higher level than winning the vuelta. Look I’m a bit roglic fan but the top competition just wasn’t there at this years vuelta and although I think any rider prefers a vuelta win than 2nd at the tour. 2nd at the tour is probably harder.

[@RedGunBullets]

Do fish live in water?

[@claire2088]

I wonder whether SDworx have underestimated Vollering, like she's a great rider but she's been much easier competition as part of SDworx because their team is so terrible, Vollering without a team is still top tier, but Vollering with a team could be monsterous. If sdworx has been even half decent Vollering would have won the tour, and wit ha actually solid team she could dominate a la Pogi. I'm kinda looking forward to them realising 'oooooh that's how a team supports the greatest (female) GC rider of the generation'

[@ynot7262]

I feel the crash for Jonas took a huge toll emotionally... He really was Visma big hope and under a lot of pressure to take on a rampaging TP... Hes also starting a family and his crash was serious enough to put a dent in his confidence... He has taken over a huge amount of responsibility over the last 2 years and he tried as hard as he might but couldn't match TP and emotionally he cracked which affected his physce as an athlete... Hopefully Jonas life can stabilise and he can put everything into his 2025 campaign... Gotta give him a bit of a break with his 24' results.

[@derekevans1932]

Do you think that Vollering (re the crash and others) was also the lead out/protector of Wiebes in races as well. But yes it is going to be fun seeing FDJ on Sworks up against SdWorx again of Sworks??!!

[@ShawnIsBatman]

The GC story for Pog is obvious for the year. The year that Ben O'Connor had as well as Remco having a very solid TdF were huge stories that were overshadowed by the Pog story. I am hoping the O'Connor will revive the GC results for Jayco in 2025 and Remco having a solid TdF silenced any doubts that he is and will be a legitimate grand tour contender going forward.

[@bbuuttercupp]

Demi's season is worth more than a tour tbh - she has 14 WT wins and still came 2nd at the tour.. also Kopecky above Kasia is a wild choice

[@shirleyarnott7822]

Enjoyed your progamme

[@raphaelschostok9467]

it really comes down to what you acutally rank, the best GC rider by level, then its pog - vingegaard - roglic/evenepoel tied 3rd. (i don't really think evenepoel was any better than roglic in the tdf) if it comes down to results, it's pog - roglic/vingegaard tied - evenepoel imo.

[@jonathancano6387]

Is it against the rules for two or more teams to agree to work against Poggi/UAE in a gran tour? E.g. could Quickstep agree beforehand to work with 2 of the teams without GC Yellow aspirations?

[@ogradar85]

I'm sorry Benji, but Remco is definitely not a better GC rider than Roglič currently. At best they're even, but I'd give a slight edge to Roglič still. In the last 2 years they competed against each other in 3 GT's. In the 2023 Giro Remco got dropped on a 200m elevation bump in stage 8 and later dnf-ed because of illness, so inconclusive but Roglič won. In the 2023 Vuelta Remco completely collapsed in stage 13 on the Tourmalet, while Roglič was 3rd at the end but could have won the whole thing if it weren't for TJV power play scr_wing Roglič. This year in the TDF Remco was 3rd, but comparison against Roglič is inconclusive due to obligatory yearly crash of someone/something into Roglič. Before the Roglič crash in stage 12, Remco had a 1 minute lead over Roglič, mostly due to stage 7 ITT. They didn't even enter the Pyrenees, so we couldn't make any kind of conclusions on who's better head-to-head. In addition, in the last 2 years Roglič won more one week races and beat Remco last year in Catalunya and this year in Dauphine.

[@jamescahill9725]

I'm a big fan of Niedermaier, I think she'll win the Tour one day. but let's be realistic about where she is today. She was Canyon's 4th best climber this year Bauenfiend and Bradbury both dropped her in Vuelta and Giro respectively. She can out time trial both of them obviously but women's stage races don't have a lot of time trials. And then there's Kasia, who only won the tour (sad trombone apparently)! Definitely not a top 3 lock next year...

[@xtrachrisb488]

Pog to Basque and Romandy

[@LadyBird-n2t]

Definately Roglic over Vingegaard for 2nd!!!

[@Jon-cw8bb]

Is Ben O Connor the 2nd best performer of 2024?

[@mgr741]

Vingegaard won O' Gran Camino, Tour of Pologne and Tirreno-Adriatico and second in le Tour...

[@Jon-cw8bb]

@@mgr741 yeah but vingegaard was also the 2nd best climber in the world this year. Ben o Connor relative to his level has the best results

[@charlierennie9192]

@@Jon-cw8bbit’s not about who’s got the best results relative to their level though. It’s just about who was the 2nd best gc rider this year.

[@Jon-cw8bb]

@@charlierennie9192 I know that's why I said BOC was the 2nd best performer of 2024 not the 2nd best GC rider of 2024

[@charlierennie9192]

@@Jon-cw8bb it depends what you define as performer. Performer isn’t necessarily whether you perform above your means. It’s just how you perform.

[@paulingster9827]

BOC over Remco this year for sure. Fly the flag Patrick 🇦🇺

[@bartekbiadasiewicz2953]

Looking just at GC results Ben O'Connor should be clearly ahead of Remco and just below Roglic. But it's Remco and O'Connor

[@atletskiklubforca3892]

Vingegaard's second place at TdF is worth second place on your list but Newiadoma's win isn't worth top3? WTF!

[@simongoossens818]

Bradbury is certainly top 5. Without crashing she would have done great in the tour.

[@toreycahn9543]

The Lennert van Eetvelt hate has gone too far!

[@Lion-wd1px]

wait if pogi Not at lbl mvdp had a great chance

[@nico210]

AvdB return is most probably related to private matters.

[@lincolnlu9869]

?

[@nico210]

@lincolnlu9869 Like in changes in her private life. She stopped cycling because she wanted to start a family. That part has not been successful.

[@cheechorino3710]

Yes vid ends 😂

[@TempoKemp]

Carlton Kirby was the best GC rider of 2024. No doubt. Nobody rode that high EVER

[@samchase7]

The van eetvelt disrespect is too much. Two world tour one weeks vs O’Connors zero. The Aussie bias is thinly veiled at best

[@Thaddeus_Howe]

I heard that Pogacar is on 12m a year

[@eurobubble7068]

wouldnt be surprised, money is obviously not an issue over there.

[@xtrachrisb488]

A bargain

[@evanallen4539]

Deeply, deeply unserious ranking for the women. Kasia 4th? 😂😂😂

[@Steve-Riverwood]

If Vingegaard had'nt crashed, he would've won the TDF... again.

[@janeztomazic5546]

is this even a question

[@sean7879Outdoor]

Death, taxes and LR overvaluing Remco in the yearly GC rankings...

[@legrandepatrontheplaneteat6241]

With all that Pogacar won he lost one Tour stage against Vingegard,. In a sprint, that last fact always amuses me. Sounds unimaginable if you have seen Pogacar ride this season and know the history behind the 2 riders. That moment Pogacar destroyed Vingegard's labour and took the victory for himself in the last 300 meters of another Tour stage was the moment i thought to myself, this too much. He maybe the best cyclist ever, he is putting his name up there. He is not the wisest ever. He is starting to make a mockery of the rest of the peloton. UAE having unlimited funds is also a huge problem for the rest of the sport.

[@LadyBird-n2t]

Actually the only reason Jonas won stage 11 is because Pogi had a bit of a bonk... he ran out of fuel.. ONLY reason..

[@charlierennie9192]

@@LadyBird-n2tfuelling well and not blowing your legs up is a big a part of cycling as anything else

[@evanallen4539]

Pogi has to be on $20M minimum

[@Karollenart]

How Pogacar could improve so much in 1 or 2 years? It looks like his ftp is like 10% higher than before. Like going from 400 to 450 or something (assuming his Z2 right now caps at 320-330). This is suspicious. You cannot imporive ftp like that when you are already a pro... People said that this year Jonas did his best numbers. Yet Pogi outperforms him completly. I dont understand this. In 2022 TdF Van Aert can drop him uphill, in 2024 he drops Jonas/Remco/Roglic like nothing. This looks wierd. Definitely he takes something. To prevent such accusations, all power data should be transparent. Btw., I am not sure whether you noticed, but Lombardia broadcast showed his power for a while after he attacked. He was at 480w, steady pace :)

[@marcushanemann2510]

Not so difficult to unterstand. 2024 was the first season where Pogi trained like a pro, including his new Coach who unleashed Pogi‘s real potential! His Former coach San Millan has no clue how to train Pogi! If Pogi stays fit and healthy, Nobody will beat Pogi! Mark my words!

[@arnaudvanderlinden4459]

Just like how Jonas improved his power numbers remarkebly while xoming out of a serious crash

[@Ashok_Regiment]

@@marcushanemann2510 That's just bollocks. Pogacar himself is on record stating that he didn't change his training that much. Don't believe everything you read on the internet.

[@Karollenart]

@@Ashok_Regiment Exactly. Pogi on Attia podcast said that he did not change much throughout recent years. He said that he eats better food (whole, 'normal' meals). We do not have an explanation for his huge improvement (it is hard to deny that it is HUGE). As I said, I wish power data were transparent... Our sport would me much healthier.

[@Karollenart]

@@arnaudvanderlinden4459 also wierd, I agree, seems impossible

[@hoebertrabeck1621]

no i think mark cavendish is the best gc and mountain rider of 2024!

[@esbenandersen2168]

The more relevant question: Is Pogacar juicing?

[@J-cz7yv]

No

[@esbenandersen2168]

@@J-cz7yv I hope not, but 2024 was a hell of a lot of improvement on an already stellar rider.

[@Thaddeus_Howe]

I think he's just an absolute genetic freak (specifically with regards to lactate clearing), but also that his exploits this season have taken a much larger toll on him than it seems now. I would not be surprised if he never gets close to replicating this season again.

[@arnaudvanderlinden4459]

We dont know, just lile the fact that we don't knwo how the whole peloton is going so fast

[@Ashok_Regiment]

Yes! 😁