Tadej Pogachar's coach, Javier Sola, credited changes in the training program, including strength training and high-intensity efforts, as the main areas of improvement for the Slovenian athletes who dominated the 2024 season.

Sola attended the UAE Team Emirates training camp in Spain on Tuesday, where Pogachar confirmed his goals for 2025.

Pogachar, already ranked No. 1 in the world for 2024, proved nearly unbeatable during the season, winning the Giro d'Italia, Tour de France, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Il Lombardia and World Championships.

Sola said that he had “not made any serious changes” in Pogachar's training methods, but cited several areas where he and his team had improved.

“Obviously, he has a good background. Basically, we introduced a little strength training in the gym,” Sola said.

“Also, his body composition has improved compared to previous years, including working on his TT bike this year. High intensity has also increased a bit. He is getting older and more experienced.

“It's not crazy. There was probably a time when he practiced with a little more intensity, and I think strength training was key for him. On and off the bike.”

Sola said that while he cannot predict how much better Pogachar will be for 2025 and beyond, there are still areas for improvement in the future.

Getting stronger and increasing intensity for the Spring Classic are among his goals for this season.

“I think he can still improve a little bit, but I can't predict how much. I don't have a crystal ball. [We work every day and we set goals every year to stay motivated. Then we'll know how much improvement we can make. Of course, it's more important that he keeps improving and winning races

“With strength training, I think he can still progress. So we are concentrating on this precision right now, including increasing it a little bit from last year. We also want to increase the intensity a little bit more, especially in the classics, to see if he can handle the load and keep everything up. It's a process and something we improve on every year.”

Jeroen Swart, performance coordinator for UAE Team Emirates, also spoke about Pogachar's development. Swart also confirmed that the controversial carbon monoxide rebreathing method is no longer used to measure athletes' performance.

He noted that the team found “several flaws” in Pogachal's “maximum torque generation.”

Swart also noted that breakthroughs in understanding the nutritional science of cycling have also helped.

“Nutrition has evolved a lot in the last 10 years; 10 years ago, everyone was getting 60 grams of carbs per hour and thinking, ‘Oh, this is close to the upper limit.’ Now 110 to 120 grams per hour is the norm,'” he says.

“So there is so much more fuel available to the rider, and as Javier noted, he trained at a higher intensity. [33] [34] “High-intensity training is an area that has developed significantly in the last year of research, with dozens of papers in virtually that area alone. So we've introduced it and we've been quite successful. It's very multifaceted, but it's a particular area where we've taken an important step forward, and it's showing well.”