'Get to know 'the man behind Tadej Pogacar's success' at UAE Emirates-XRG

He has been called the man behind Tadej Pogacar's success of the past two seasons: Javier Sola. The Spaniard became coach of the Slovenian glutton at the end of 2023, and that led to impressive successes in 2024 and 2025. UAE Emirates-XRG shoved the Spaniard in front of the press at the team's media day in Benidorm, which provided some interesting insights. IDLProCycling was there.

'I wasn't a good cyclist, but now I'm trying to help others become good cyclists.'

That's the way Sola introduces himself. The 39-year-old man from Seville describes coaching top athletes as part of his life. "I started my own coaching company 14 years ago, but even before that I was training riders.

UAE Emirates-XRG has gained sole ownership of Sola in the WorldTour, but that doesn't mean the coaching animal is sitting still outside of it. 'Even outside the team I still train riders at a lower level, as well as triathletes. How many athletes in total do I have? Twenty, mayb/e?'

Ironically, Sola once worked for Visma | Lease a Bike in the past, Mathieu Heijboer told Wieler Revue. 'He did bikefits for us for a year, and also gave instruction sessions on WKO5, which is an analysis software. He is an all-round performance specialist with a lot of knowledge about training, of course, but he also had enough knowledge about bikefitting to do that for us.' With his company Training4ll , Sola offers a whole range of high performance services in addition to training.

Of those 20 athletes under his care, one is Tadej Pogacar, with whom Sola began working in late 2023. Wherever he can, the Slovenian praises his trainer. 'Javier is a great guide and we have a perfect click,' he echoed, or, 'I bring him something new, and he me.' The workouts, focused more on VO2 max instead of zone 2, have helped me a lot. When I'm tired, I don't lose as much explosiveness anymore, so that's a real upgrade for me.'

At UAE Emirates, they already saw when they tested Pogacar in 2019 that he has impressive recovery ability. That manifested itself pretty quickly in the big races, but by the end of 2023, through the partnership, there was another blow. 'The amount of training Tadej can handle is crazy. And the same goes for his recovery: it's just faster with him and that's genetic,' the Spaniard emphasizes that he is working with a freak.

Can the Slovenian get even better? 'That's something we can't know, but what we do know is that Tadej is maturing and gaining more experience every year. He can handle training better, so to answer your question, I think he can get even better. Tadej is a hard worker and deals with all the details, which is the most important thing.'

In doing so, it's important to maintain balance, including mentally. 'I think all riders have to deal with that. When you are one of the best riders in the world, there is always pressure involved. But that, too, is something he has learned to manage. We try to keep his life as simple as possible and communicate clearly with him so he feels good and relaxed. If that's the case and Tadej feels happy, that's the key to success.'

Many other teams are also looking for that key to success, but according to Sola, there really is none at all. 'We mainly do the basics well. Every year we make some small adjustments, but nothing crazy. If something works, there is no reason to make big changes. We don't do anything extreme and everything we do is also in the literature.'

Still, Pogacar is someone who likes to explore his limits, such as with trying to win Paris-Roubaix. "He has it in the legs to win, but everyone knows that you also need experience and luck in that race. We have already been there in December and it is clear that it is one of next year's goals. As a team we are trying to support him in that as much as possible.'

According to Sola, for 2026, that's where we have to look, above all, when it comes to Pogacar's adjustments in terms of training. 'What the body asks, is different in the Tour than in the classics. That's obvious. The changes we made this winter also have to do with that. Think about the nutrition and composition of the body.'

Anyway, the team is being economical with the diamond. 'We also try to set up his calendar in such a way that there is enough time for recovery and training,' stated Sola, who also limits Pogacar's altitude training rather to guard the mental part. Thus, the Slovenian does not go to altitude for his season start in Strade Bianche and only takes to the thin air in preparation for the Tour.