Stef Clement criticises Tadej Pogačar after Vuelta a España crash: 'There’s a danger in that'

"Boom, knocked down, right on your face." Analyst Stef Clement’s described, in his words, how Tadej Pogačar’s crash in the Vuelta a España went down. The clear favourite was forced to withdraw as a result, but according to Clement, that wasn’t solely due to sheer bad luck. The Dutchman also points to a lack of discipline on the part of Tadej Pogačar.

Pogacar was, especially given his dominance in the first 7 stages, on his way to a truly remarkable achievement. The Slovenian rider from UAE had taken the leader’s jersey on the opening day, so it was quite conceivable that he would wear it from start to finish in this Vuelta. A brutal crash on Day 8 brought that dream to an abrupt end.

Clement didn’t see it coming either. “With some crashes, you can see them coming a second or two in advance. This one was just—boom—knocked right off, face-first. Everything you do after that is in a sort of daze,” the Dutchman recalls in the NOS Cycling Podcast. Pogacar tried to keep going for a bit, but ultimately had to give up for good.

Soon, slow-motion footage started popping up left and right. It showed that the rider in the red jersey had crashed because of a rock on the road. Just bad luck, then, it seems, but Clement also sees another side to it. Pogačar’s dominance throughout the race is said to be the underlying reason.

The Dutchman explains, “There’s a danger in that. You end up looking for competition only within yourself. Pogačar can only lose to himself now. There was a certain overconfidence there.” Clement sees that without real competition, it’s hard to stay focused.

According to Clement, the fact that several riders were able to avoid that rock proves that the lack of competition made the Slovenian a bit complacent. “If you’re so much better than the rest, are you focused enough to handle all the dangers lurking out there? Or is he just that one percent less focused, which can then come back to haunt you at a stupid moment like today?”

While Bobbie Traksel has already pointed to potentially far-reaching consequences based on data, Clement isn’t ready to accept that just yet. “He got off easy in last year’s Tour, but that’s not the case now. Is this a turning point in his career? We won’t know until he comes back,” said the former cyclist.