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Peter Attia MDPeter Attia MD

318 - The Meteoric Rise of Tadej Pogačar: From Prodigy to Cycling Legend

View show notes here: https://bit.ly/4ec0XPD Become a member to receive exclusive content: https://peterattiamd.com/subscribe/ Sign up to receive Peter's email newsletter: https://peterattiamd.com/newsletter/ Tadej Pogačar is a three-time Tour de France champion and one of the most dominant cyclists of his generation. In this episode, he shares insights into his 2020 Tour de France victory, his historic 2024 season winning both the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France, and the struggles he faced in 2022 and 2023. He also dives into his training regimen, nutrition, and the key metrics he tracks, like power, VAM, and heart rate variability. Tadej offers a glimpse into his goals for the future and what it takes to stay at the top of the sport. We discuss: 0:00:00 - Intro 0:01:38 - 2020 Tour de France win 0:06:54 - Learning from previous mistakes 0:09:04 - Training: simulating steep climbs and other challenging race conditions 0:11:49 - Tadej’s historic 2024 season and what contributed to his success 0:15:30 - Nutrition for optimal performance: offseason diet and carbohydrate intake during intense training sessions 0:18:51 - Training metrics: heart rate, power output, VAM, and HRV, and his approach to zone 2 training 0:28:11 - Epic climbs in the Tour de France, mindset after challenging stages, and rebuilding confidence after the 2023 Tour 0:36:35 - Racing dynamics, media criticism, and Tadej’s reflections on racing records 0:45:02 - Training in the off-season -------- About: The Peter Attia Drive is a deep-dive podcast focusing on maximizing longevity, and all that goes into that from physical to cognitive to emotional health. With over 90 million episodes downloaded, it features topics including exercise, nutritional biochemistry, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, mental health, and much more. Peter Attia is the founder of Early Medical, a medical practice that applies the principles of Medicine 3.0 to patients with the goal of lengthening their lifespan and simultaneously improving their healthspan. Learn more: https://peterattiamd.com Connect with Peter on: Facebook: http://bit.ly/PeterAttiaMDFB Twitter: http://bit.ly/PeterAttiaMDTW Instagram: http://bit.ly/PeterAttiaMDIG Subscribe to The Drive: Apple Podcast: http://bit.ly/TheDriveApplePodcasts Overcast: http://bit.ly/TheDriveOvercast Spotify: http://bit.ly/TheDriveSpotify Google Podcasts: http://bit.ly/TheDriveGoogle Disclaimer: This podcast is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing, or other professional healthcare services, including the giving of medical advice. No doctor-patient relationship is formed. The use of this information and the materials linked to this podcast is at the user's own risk. The content on this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical condition they have, and they should seek the assistance of their healthcare professionals for any such conditions. I take conflicts of interest very seriously. For all of my disclosures and the companies I invest in or advise, please visit my website where I keep an up-to-date and active list of such companies. For a full list of our registered and unregistered trademarks, trade names, and service marks, please review our Terms of Use: https://peterattiamd.com/terms-of-use/

Peter AttiahostTadej Pogačarguest
Sep 23, 202449mWatch on YouTube ↗

At a glance

WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT

Tadej Pogačar on Training, Nutrition, Setbacks, and Chasing Cycling Greatness

  1. Pogačar recalls his unexpected 2020 Tour win, saying he expected to fight only for second until the final time trial, which he approached relaxed and without pressure.
  2. He explains his mistakes in the 2022 Col du Granon stage and his difficult 2023 Tour, and how he evaluated what went wrong and rebuilt confidence through late-2023 results.
  3. He details his training approach, including repeating race-like climbs, using heart rate, power and VAM, long zone 2 rides, HRV tracking, and adding core and strength work.
  4. He describes his nutrition, from aiming for up to 120 grams of carbohydrate per hour in hard stages to a balanced off-season diet where he stays around 69 kilos at most.
  5. He discusses his goals, including the world championships, Milan-San Remo, the Vuelta, and the Olympics, while declining to focus on records held by Merckx and Cavendish.

IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING

5 ideas

Pogačar won in 2020 without expecting to

He says he was fighting for second place in the final week and felt no pressure before the last time trial, which turned into one of his best days.

He frames defeat through the team

After his collapse on a 2023 stage, he said cycling is a team sport, that his teammates sacrificed everything, and that he felt he let them down, though dinner with them helped him recover.

Overreacting to attacks cost him at Granon

He says he responded to eight or nine attacks and then tried to drop everyone, which he calls stupid, and that he could not eat enough to replace that effort.

Fueling has become a trained skill

He now aims for around 120 grams of carbohydrate per hour on hard stages, which seemed impossible five years ago, helped by gut adaptation and Enervit products with a good glucose-fructose ratio.

He relies on several metrics but trusts heart rate

He has used a heart rate monitor since childhood, compares it with power, speed and VAM, and warns that power meters can be off due to temperature and calibration.

WORDS WORTH SAVING

5 quotes

It's the team sport, and they, the guys sacrifice everything to, to be there in the Tour, to help one guy to win the Tour.

— Tadej Pogačar

If you restrict too much and you don't touch chocolate for, uh, a month or for, uh, six months, then one time you will break, and you will go crazy, no? And, uh, I think that's not good relationship with food.

— Tadej Pogačar

San Remo is the one that is gonna send me to grave, I, I have a feeling.

— Tadej Pogačar

I don't want to think so much ahead. Uh, just, yeah, just because you never know when is your last win, no?

— Tadej Pogačar

I will keep, uh, keep on riding the Tour, uh, until I enjoy it, no? When once I don't enjoy this, uh, stress anymore, maybe I, I hang, ha- hang up the bicycle in garage or somewhere.

— Tadej Pogačar

2020 Tour de France winMistakes and setbacks in 2022 and 2023Climb-specific and heat trainingCarbohydrate intake and gut trainingHeart rate, power, VAM and HRVZone 2 training and testingGoals, records and off-season routine

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