{"id":2116460,"date":"2026-08-28T12:40:33","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T09:40:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2116460"},"modified":"2026-08-28T12:40:33","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T09:40:33","slug":"is-tadej-pogacar-getting-cocky-rival-warned-him-of-danger-moments-before-he-nearly-crashed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2116460","title":{"rendered":"Is Tadej Poga\u010dar Getting Cocky? Rival Warned Him of Danger Moments Before He Nearly Crashed"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Vuelta-Espana-2026-Stage-2-8422-2.jpg”]<\/p>\n

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Jim Cotton<\/span><\/div>\n

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Updated August 28, 2026 07:03AM<\/div>\n
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Is Tadej Poga\u010dar getting cocky at the Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a?<\/p>\n

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That\u2019s the question doing the rounds after King Pog ignored advice from Enric Mas to slow down just seconds before he overcooked a corner and needed a miracle save to keep his season upright.<\/p>\n

Speaking after Thursday\u2019s 6th stage of La Vuelta, Mas told reporters he warned Poga\u010dar of the risk of the treacherous descent off the final climb of the stage.<\/p>\n

\u201cI warned him there was a difficult bend, and that we had to be careful,\u201d Mas said Thursday afternoon.<\/p>\n

The gruesome concrete downhill from the severe final climb of Thursday\u2019s stage was narrow, dirty, and laden with risk.<\/p>\n

TV footage shows Mas gesturing to Poga\u010dar, who was just a few meters behind, to pump the brakes on the goat track descent.<\/p>\n

Poga\u010dar was having none of it.<\/p>\n

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A few sweeping bends after Mas waved him to slow, Poga\u010dar veered into the grassy verge. Only some silky handling skills saved the four-time Strade Bianche champion from what could have been a race-ending crash.<\/p>\n

He pulled to a near halt, pushed his way back to the concrete, and crushed Mas in the sprint 20km later.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe went off course, but by the time I had turned round, he was already back with me,\u201d Mas said after the stage.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew it was a cement surface we\u2019re not used to handling, so I took it carefuly,\u201d he said. \u201cThere were a few moments when I skidded, but that\u2019s part of racing.\u201d<\/p>\n

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El aviso de Enric Mas a Pogacar antes del susto del maillot rojo.#LaVuelta26 #LaCasadelCiclismo https:\/\/t.co\/mqktUATokY pic.twitter.com\/twj9SoSxdw<\/p>\n

\u2014 Eurosport.es (@Eurosport_ES) August 27, 2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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Poga\u010dar: \u2018It could easily have been a big crash for me\u2019<\/h2>\n

Poga\u010dar admitted in his press conference after the stage that he got lucky after he survived a near crash and a dehydration scare.<\/p>\n

His race could have completely unraveled after he was startled by Mas catching back to him at the summit of the kingmaker Puerto de El Bartolo.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe descent was very steep,\u201d Poga\u010dar said Thursday in his press conference. \u201cI knew it was very dangerous and a shit road. But even when people tell you it\u2019s dangerous, you don\u2019t realize until you\u2019re there.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m glad I stayed on the bike,\u201d he added. \u201cIt could easily have been a big crash for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

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He wants it all \u2013 but he\u2019s got to make it to Granada first<\/h2>\n

Was this a warning shot for Pogi?<\/p>\n

A taste of hubristic overconfidence perhaps?<\/p>\n

He\u2019d won 2 out of 4 contested stages before he made it 3 from 5 on Thursday. He owns the red, green, and polka dot jerseys. You can bet he wants to be wearing them all on the final podium in Granada, too.<\/p>\n

Poga\u010dar and UAE Emirates have already killed the Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a and have the peloton in their sweaty mitts.<\/p>\n

But Thursday\u2019s descending near-miss might have reminded the GOAT that nobody is invulnerable.<\/p>\n

Remember the golden rule: You can\u2019t win the bike race if you don\u2019t finish the bike race.<\/p>\n

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Jim Cotton<\/span><\/div>\n

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Updated August 28, 2026 07:03AM<\/div>\n
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[analyse_source url=”https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/vuelta-a-espana\/is-tadej-pogacar-getting-cocky-at-the-vuelta-a-espana\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Vuelta-Espana-2026-Stage-2-8422-2.jpg”] Jim Cotton Updated August 28, 2026 07:03AM Is Tadej Poga\u010dar getting cocky at the Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a? That\u2019s the question doing the rounds after King Pog ignored advice from Enric Mas to slow down just seconds before he overcooked a corner and needed a miracle save to keep his season upright. Speaking […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,71],"class_list":["post-2116460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-velo-outsideonline-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2116460","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2116460"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2116460\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2116460"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2116460"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2116460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}