Forever the gold standard: super domestique Rafal Majka helped lift Pogacar and Contador to new heights

Majka was a promising junior, but it took a while before he caught the eye of the big teams. At the age of 22, he made his WorldTour debut with Saxo Bank-Sungard, and he quickly showed his climbing skills. He made such an impression that he was selected for the Vuelta a España in his first year as a professional. He did not finish the race, but the tone was set.

In 2012, he continued his progress, although the young Pole was not given many opportunities of his own. However, in that year's Tour of Spain, he was one of the most important climbing domestiques for the eventual winner, Alberto Contador. In the fourteenth stage, to Puerto de Ancares, Majka rode at a furious pace: he spent kilometers at the front, leaving everyone behind except Alejandro Valverde.

And with that, he set the tone for his career. Although that is a bit disrespectful, in 2013, he finished seventh in the Giro d'Italia and established himself in the subtop of classification riders. He remained there for a long time, winning the Tour of Poland and the Tour of Slovenia, as well as numerous places of honor in the grand tours. He finished in the top 10 six times.

His best individual performance came in 2015. The Tour of Spain was fascinating: Tom Dumoulin had just discovered himself as a GC rider and rode in red until the penultimate day. That's when things went wrong for the Limburger, and Fabio Aru came out on top. Majka came close, but ultimately finished 1.09 minutes behind the Italian, in third place.

In the Tour de France, he didn't really succeed in the general classification. But he was successful in winning: he triumphed three times in 2014 and 2015 and also won the polka dot jersey in his first year. He repeated a similar feat two years later in 2016. A transfer to BORA-hansgrohe was supposed to help him out of Contador's shadow, but it backfired somewhat: Majka's first two years were disappointing.

The leadership role weighed heavily on him: “I was stressed because I was the only team leader,” he later said. That is why the now 31-year-old Pole made the switch to UAE Team Emirates in 2021. Tadej Pogacar had just won his first Tour, and a team had to be built around him. Majka's transfer drew attention: was he still capable of the task?

In his first Tour for the team, the climber silenced the critics. Majka proved to be a master domestique for the Slovenian, helping him to his next Tour victory. Not long after, he demonstrated in an individual class that he was not yet rusty, as he won the fifteenth stage of the Vuelta himself. Later in his career, he became the Polish champion, won in Slovenia, and took first place in his home race, the Tour of Poland.

However, those are merely footnotes to the hard work he did for his leaders at UAE Team Emirates - XRG. At a time when Pogacar could not always count on the most consistent domestiques – look at Juan Ayuso in 2024 – Majka was the stability factor at the side of the world star. He helped him achieve victories in the Tour, as well as in the Giro in 2024. And that was never entirely obvious.

Especially in times when Jumbo-Visma seemed to have the upper hand with an incredibly strong team, Pogacar always relied on Majka, who was unstoppable. In 2025, he was only back on the start list with his team leader in the fall; there was no support in the Grand Tours at that time. However, the 36-year-old Pole was in the Giro to help Ayuso to victory. The fact that he ultimately became the most important domestique for Isaac Del Toro, who finished second, speaks volumes about his work ethic.

Now that Majka is retiring, UAE Team Emirates - XRG will be losing both their most valuable domestique and their leader. “He was my big brother, my mentor over the last few years,” Pogacar said before the Tour of Lombardy. “We've been through so much together. Thanks to him, I am who I am today. I will miss him enormously after today.” In Il Lombardia, the Slovenian paid a magnificent tribute to his buddy before the finish line.

In the future, (master) domestiques will forever use Majka as their benchmark. Majka, the indestructible. Majka, the unbreakable. Even though he himself enjoyed tremendous success, he will be remembered as the most reliable domestique his team leaders ever knew. And that is perhaps the greatest compliment you can give a rider.