If you then consider the associated driving speeds uphill (Fig. 6) and analyze the resulting increased performance-physiological characteristics [8], then the performance diagnostic laboratory equipment falls out of your hands in horror. “Smiley man” races up the Plateau de Beille for almost 40 minutes at a phenomenal 6.98W/kg body weight, the corrected FTP would therefore be around 435-440W!
If you take a closer look at the helpers of the absolutely dominant Team UAE, one German, Nils Politt, stands out in particular, and not just because of his height of 1.96m. This driver, who weighs over 80kg, drives uphill as a train locomotive from UAE in front of his GC captain at a speed so that the mountain fleas of the competing teams fall back from the group in rows. If you compare this incredible leap in performance level with the performance when he was part of the Bora-Hans Grohe team last year, then you ultimately come to the conclusion that this can only be due to the special tea from the Sheikh as UAE team owner. Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who founded the UAE cycling team [11], which incidentally emerged from the doping-contaminated Italian team Lampre, is an unscrupulous businessman [12] whose family is among the richest in the world. With the fairytale wealth, many performance-enhancing personnel and equipment can certainly be transferred to the desert and there removed from the access of all control authorities. The Emirate of Qatar, for example, shows what is possible with the Aspire project, in which a billion dollars were invested [13]. However, the ARD live commentators have a completely different explanation for the bike gladiators’ extraordinary achievements; it was the beautifully newly paved driveway that explains everything. Colleagues, you really haven’t heard the bang anymore. When we worked together over 20 years ago, you still at least adhered to basic journalistic values, but you have completely thrown them overboard in the last 4 years.
The 17th stage with 178km over 3100m was driven at an incredible average of 43.3km/h, with the stage profile constantly going uphill from start to finish [14]! The natural phenomenon of fatigue simply no longer seems to exist in modern professional cycling. With Pogacar in particular, the reservoir of attacks seems to be almost inexhaustible. His worst adversary Vingegaard has to send the entire team on the offensive around the day groups in order to, with their support, just prevent a further deficit in the final against a constantly storming away Pogacar [15]. It is significant that the wearer of the green jersey, after all a world-class racer who can cope excellently as a sprinter on profiled terrain, was 12.3km behind the winner at the end of the stage (Fig. 7).
On the ultra-difficult Alpine stages, Pogacar’s dominance became so arrogant when, on the 19th stage, he caught up with Joergenson, who had been leading for a long time, just before the finish and the next day he didn’t even let Vingegaard, who had been in front for a long time, take the stage win [17]. He obviously doesn’t realize how much he is provoking discussions about his questionable achievements and damaging the image of cycling. Even Lance Armstrong has become wise in his old age about this, Pogacar should listen carefully there, the man knows exactly what he is talking about: “Yes. It is a bike race but it is also a political campaign. Don’t give them a reason to hate you. Don’t give them a reason not to like you. If you still don’t understand, don’t give them a reason to question you! [18]”. Once again, Politt’s incredible performance for Pogacar at the Col de Vars and the Cime de la Bonette leaves you speechless. The sheikh’s UAE gas station actually has a special fuel ready. The performance data once again makes you shake your head about the mobilization reserves of the top players in the third week of the tour. The 19th stage over 145km with 4500m, over three 2000m high Alpine giants, is completed at an average speed of almost 36km/h [19]. Stage 20 with 133km and 4800hm, over 4 Alpine passes follows with an hourly average of 33km/h [20]. The driving speeds on the climbs also show no signs of wear on the protagonists. After Isola 2000, Pogacar stormed uphill again for almost 40 minutes with 6.83 W/kg body weight and at the Col de la Couilolle he also mobilized another 6.52 W/kg body weight in the slipstream of Vingegaard over the same period of time [8].
Doubts about the performance values delivered are now finally being expressed very timidly in the mainstream. It is particularly interesting that Stephane Heulot, a former companion of the UAE team manager Gianetti, who has a similar background, is critical [23]. Pogacer’s defense strategy, with pancakes and brownies, is hard to beat in terms of helpless argumentative ridiculousness [24]. This immediately brings to mind the Jamaican sweet potato legend of Usain Bolt [25]. Pogacar’s other platitudes on the doping issue also seem like playing a well-known soundtrack that has always been recited countless times by all suspects and usually those subsequently convicted [26a]. At Pogacar the clocks tick differently anyway [27]. A look at the Olympics shows that the questionable dominance of individual athletes, for example in swimming, is rightly causing waves [26b].
