Analysts spot "awkward position" and "decade old helmet" on Pogacar: "Costs him 10 to 15 seconds"

In the podcast The Move, Evenepoel's aerodynamic position was praised. “Remco showed his class,” concluded Sir Bradley Wiggins. “For someone so small and the speed he can generate... He probably has the best time trial position I've ever seen in terms of aerodynamics. A top performance from him.”

Evenepoel was not the only rider to receive compliments. "Kévin Vauquelin surprised me the most. He's at a disadvantage with a small French team, with the knowledge they have there in terms of aerodynamics, wind tunnel testing, and the financial resources to invest in these areas. So it was an excellent performance from him. He shows that he has what it takes to transfer to a bigger team. He's a great talent."

Podcast host Johan Bruyneel picks up on Wiggins’ comments. The Belgian finds Vauquelin's performance all the more impressive because of the time trial bike the Frenchman rides for his team Arkéa-B&B Hotels. "With all due respect to the historic Bianchi brand, when it comes to time trial equipment, they are miles behind Cervelo, Specialized, and all the other big brands. He will be riding for INEOS next year; that deal was made a few months ago."

While Evenepoel's position is repeatedly cited as the perfect example of an aerodynamic position on a time trial bike (“Remco has the perfect position: it's no coincidence they call him the aero bullet. He's too perfect.”), Pogacar's position is harshly criticized. "Tadej seems to have the worst position and setup of all the top riders. Jonas looked good with his big helmet, but he wasn’t fast enough. So it’s very interesting: some guys look good, but they just aren’t fast enough," said Wiggins.

“He doesn't look comfortable on a time trial bike for the performance he delivers on that bike. He looks a bit uncomfortable,” the Brit continues. Bruyneel adds: “Pogi looks aero, but he's the least aero of the three.” And the duo doesn't stop there, as the two have noticed something else.

“His helmet is one from ten years ago,” says Wiggins. “The least advanced in terms of technology.” Bruyneel agrees. “It's strange to see that UAE and their helmet sponsor haven't done anything about this yet.” Bruyneel is more positive about the helmets at Visma | Lease a Bike. “They look crazy, but they're also fantastic: truly ingenious.”

Pogacar's clothing was also a topic of discussion. “Pogacar ended up in the polka dot jersey by accident,” said Thijs Zonneveld in the podcast In de Waaier. “At UAE, they said they were glad they weren't in the yellow jersey, not knowing that Pogi had the polka dot jersey. Pogi didn't know that himself at first after the previous stage.”

And so the Slovenian title defender set off in a kit provided by the organization. “That costs ten to fifteen seconds in a time trial like today's when you're not wearing your own custom-made aero suit,” Zonneveld estimates. At the finish line, Pogacar was more than sixteen seconds short of beating Evenepoel in the time trial.

The Dutch analyst also noticed that UAE had not been sitting still. “When Pogacar set off, you could see that they had made some adjustments. He wasn't sitting as far forward as in the Dauphiné. So he wasn't leaning so much on his handlebars and wrists. He sat a little further back on his bike. And he had a lower front wheel.”