"Felt a bit guilty": Amateur who beat Pogacar in his home country a day after Lombardy tells his story

The Pogi Challenge was held on Sunday near Krvavec, a Slovenian ski resort where Pogacar won his first race as a young cyclist in 2009. It consisted of a 24-kilometer course, the last fifteen kilometers of which climbed at an average gradient of 7.6 percent towards Krvavec. Right up Pogacar's alley, right?

Certainly, were it not for the fact that the other 1,188 participants were allowed to start five minutes before Pogacar in an attempt to stay ahead of him at the finish. The UAE Emirates-XRG world champion had the help of his regular pacemaker, Domen Novak, to guide him to the foot of the climb, after which it was up to him.

Pogacar managed to overtake 1,187 participants with a climbing time of 40.44 minutes and thus finished... second! Forty-year-old Brit Andrew Feather managed to stay ahead of Pogacar with a time of 44.15 minutes, beating the number three by no less than four minutes, and was thus able to receive the flowers in Slovenia.

"I kept on looking over my shoulder thinking he was going to come up at some point, but he didn’t – he didn’t manage to catch me," Feather told Cycling Weekly afterward. “There were literally thousands of people at the end..."

They had come to see the Slovenian star, of course. “Everyone came out to watch him in action. He probably wanted to cross the line first, so I felt slightly guilty that I took that away from him,” laughed the British winner.

The numbers don't lie, as Feather averaged about 400 watts during his effort. That's no less than 6.2 watts per kilogram. Pretty impressive numbers for a non-pro, but: “Pogacar was about two and a half minutes quicker than that, so he must have been doing probably close to seven [watts per kilo],” Feather concluded.

These are numbers that even the Brit can only dream of. “It just shows you that he’s a completely different class, but it’s amazing just to have that absolute direct comparison to the best rider at the moment in the world, maybe ever as well” said the organizer of the Pogi Challenge, full of praise.

The runner-up enjoyed the moment. “Our team is already set for next year. But if someone can climb that fast, you can always use him. Maybe he didn't want to become a pro at all. Everyone has their own path,” Pogacar responded when asked if they could use Feather at UAE Emirates-XRG.

Ultimately, the Pogi Challenge was held with one goal in mind: to raise money for the Tadej Pogacar Foundation. “We want to thank everyone for participating and donating, so that we can raise as much money as possible for children fighting cancer.”