GEAR SHIFT: A GLOBAL PANDEMIC, A SUMMER OF PROTEST, AND 21 DAYS THAT CHANGED PROFESSIONAL CYCLING
The impact of the 2020 Tour de France shaped Modern Cycling.
Their faces are softer and their eyes are brighter. The hundreds of races, thousands of miles, the career-defining wins and severe crashes have not yet taken a toll on their minds and legs. Youthful demeanors have not yet transformed into hardened gazes.
The epic battle at the 2020 Tour de France between then 21-year-old Tadej Pogačar and then 30-year-old Primož Roglič, both of Slovenia, produced one of the most exciting and stunning Grand Tours in recent memory. What’s even more remarkable about that Tour de France are its far reaching consequences that are so evident today.
It is the race that ushered in the era of what is known as “Modern Cycling.”
Modern Cycling
During the first summer of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world of sport was treated to a contest between contrasting champions who differed in age, style, and experience. A young and eager up-and-comer versus a hard nosed veteran. One who rides with panache versus one who grinds and gives no quarter. One who is outgoing with a camera-ready smile; the other more introspective and reserved.
Beyond the battle between Pogačar and Roglič, a new style of racing emerged that was much more fluid and chaotic. The breakaway, a time honored tradition during the long, flat stages of Grand Tours, started to disappear. Of course, small groups of riders did escape up the road.
The major difference is that the breakaways—comprised of riders who stood no chance of winning the overall race—began taking much longer to coalesce and some stages were raced full gas from start to finish.
What’s more, professional cycling experienced a “Baby Boom”. The average age of a Tour de France winner is 28-years-old. The assumption in cycling had been that boys in their late teens and men in their early 20s did not have the physicality to win a grueling three week race. But, as with many assumptions across many professions, this, too, was upended by the pandemic.
Most of the data do not yet reflect a “youth movement.” Over the past five years, the number of riders 25 and under has remained stable as have the number first timers participating in the Tour de France. But the average age of the top 10 finishers plummeted from 28.9-years-old in 2020 to 26.4-years-old in 2024.
There’s also been a slight democratization within the peloton. Western Europeans still make up the vast majority of the 22 teams and 176 riders at the Tour de France, but there are more and more Australians, Colombians, Ecuadorians, Slovenians, Latvians, Norwegians, and Danes.
The lack of diversity remains appalling. Only in 2024 did the first Black African, an Eritrean, win a stage and the Green Jersey at the Tour de France.
A stunning upset
The first stage of the 2020 Tour de France, the Grand Depart, began in Nice with the usual pageantry, including a flyover with French Air Force fighter jets emitting smoke in the colors of the French flag, blue, white, and red. But the similarities ended there.
Several months into the COVID-19 pandemic, fans, race officials, and cyclists donned masks and (sort of) practiced social distancing. The Tour did what it could to create a moving bubble for the riders with a strict testing regime. Whether any of that worked to protect the riders is unclear.
Of the 176 cyclists who started the Tour de France, 30 riders did not finish the race—which is in line with past races. In 2022, 41 riders, many with COVID, did not finish the race — the most since 2000 when 52 riders did not make it to Paris.
When the race ended in Paris three weeks later, it had become perhaps the most thrilling finish at cycling’s biggest Grand Tour since 1989 when American Greg LeMond trailed Frenchman Laurent Fignon by 50 seconds going into the final stage. During the 24.5-kilometer time trial into Paris, LeMond stampeded past Fignon to win the overall title by just eight seconds.
Thirty-one years later, the outcome of the Tour de France was determined by a 36.2-kilometer time trial, which took place on Stage 20, the Tour’s penultimate stage.
Known as the “race of truth,” the time trial is unique because it is a solo effort. The cyclist rides alone without the benefits of following in another rider’s slipstream. There are no tactical advantages from riding with teammates and no protection from wind, rain, or other inclement weather. It’s just rider versus the clock.
For all practical purposes, the final stage of the Tour de France is ceremonial. The peloton rolls into Paris from its suburbs, snakes through the Louvre, and careens onto the Champs-Élysées where the real racing begins for eight laps of seven kilometers.
The day is for the sprinters. The big men who struggle with the steep passes in the Alps and Pyrenees and the punchy climbs in the Massif Central. The day ends in a furious sprint finish while Yellow Jersey typically takes no risks, sits back, and does not contest the stage.
In 2020, Stage 20 was the final stage of real racing in 2020.
Roglič, an excellent time trialist, led Pogačar by 57 seconds. He just had to hold him off for fifty six seconds to win his first Tour de France.
Roglic’s no good, very bad day
Near the Swiss and German borders, in the Vossage Mountains, on La Planche des Belles Filles, which literally means “The Beautiful Girls’ Plank,” the world watched one of the most stunning upsets in sports history.
Rewatching the stage is like witnessing someone’s death. A feeling of helplessness looms as Roglič struggles and fights while Pogačar rides the race of his life. There’s no rewriting history.
The time trial started with 30 kilometers of relatively flat roads. The real challenge would be the final six kilometers, which had an average grade of eight percent and shot up to 20 percent in the final three hundred meters.
From the moment Pogačar rolled out of the starting gate, he started fast and just got faster.
With 4.2 kilometers remaining, in advance of the steep climb ahead, Pogačar switched from his time trial bike to his road bike.
The bike swap went off without a hitch. He gently set his bike against his team car. The mechanic was ready with his road bike and the young Slovenian—with a solid push from his mechanic—picked up where he left off with a fluid cadence and a perfect aerodynamic position—head down and his back flat.
He already taken 36 seconds out of Roglič’s 57-second lead.
More damage would come fast.
A latecomer to the sport, but already a savvy veteran
Roglič rise in the ranks of professional cycling was meteoric.
A former ski jumper, he turned to cycling at 22-years-old. Told that he was too old to become a great cyclist, he went to work to earn enough money to buy a bicycle. Ever since, Roglič has proved his detractors wrong by winning the biggest races, including the Tours of Spain and Italy, shorter stage races, and the time trial at the Tokyo Olympics.
Now, on the verge of what would have been his greatest achievement, on the penultimate stage of the 2020 Tour de France, Roglič was not at his best.
Compared to Pogačar’s bike swap, his was awkward and slow. He came to a rolling stop and veered toward the right side of the road. He set his bike on the ground while the team car was only just coming to a rolling stop. The mechanic hopped out, grabbed the bike from the top of the car, and handed it to Roglič. He jumped onto the bike and received a push from the mechanic that seemed longer than the five-seconds allowed under the rules.
Roglič typically rides with a remarkable steadiness and can maintain a punishing pace during time trials and in the steepest mountains. On the rare occasions when Roglič finds himself under pressure, he’s able to limit the damage by staying on the wheel of another rider and work his way back to the front.
But, on that day, Roglič looked out of sorts. He was stomping on the pedals while seated in the saddle and, then, rocking the bike back and forth while standing up in the hopes that gravity would help save his Tour.
Without sunglasses, it was easy to see the fatigue and uncertainty in Roglič’s eyes. His aerodynamic helmet slipped back on his forehead – not absurdly so – but enough to show that he was, well, a mess.
Then, there was that telltale sign of a cyclist in pain – a thick band of saliva dangling from his lower lip past his chin. At that point, neither man nor physics could protect Roglič’s lead.
Spencer Martin, the author of the Beyond the Peloton newsletter, crunched the numbers. After 3,350 kilometers of racing, Roglič had a 57-second advantage, but Pogačar put a 48-second dent into the lead by riding 3.2 seconds per kilometer faster than Roglič.
It did not have to be this way. On a stretch of road during Stage 7, amid strong crosswinds, Pogačar lost one minute and 21 seconds and fell to 16th overall. But he stormed back on Stage 8 to gain 40 seconds back. Then, the next day, he became the youngest man in Tour de France history to win a stage; Roglič finished in second place and won the leader’s Yellow Jersey.
On Stage 18, where the Tour climbed up to 8,000 feet, Pogačar struggled at altitude and looked like he was wilting for the first time in the race. With two kilometers remaining, Roglič pressed hard on a flat section before a final steep climb to distance the younger Slovenian. He crossed the finish line 15 seconds ahead of Pogačar, which provided the 57-second cushion.
On paper that should have been enough time for an excellent time trialist like Roglič to protect his lead.
And it’s not that Roglič was terrible.
Pogačar was just unstoppable.
His cadence never faltered and his power never ebbed.
Victory slips away
With 3.7 kilometers remaining, Pogačar ended Roglič’s dream of winning the Tour de France as he piled on the speed.
As he neared the finish line, the road kicked up to a 20 percent grade, which was the only point at which Pogačar showed any real sign of suffering. Perhaps it was not even suffering but one final and desperate all out push to smash the competition and win the Yellow Jersey.
As Pogačar crossed the line to win the stage and snatched the overall lead from Roglič by 59 seconds, Belgian stars Tom Doumolin and Wout van Aert, both incredible time trialists, watched the television monitor in complete disbelief.
Roglič crossed the finish line two minutes later finishing fifth overall on the stage—35 seconds behind the second place finisher Dumoulin.
While Pogačar collapsed into the arms of his team, Roglič collapsed onto the ground.
The images of Roglič sitting with his legs stretched out in front of him, his head hung low to his chest, and the saliva still dangling from his chin are haunting. They remain some of the most indelible images of defeat in all of sport.
Victory and defeat reveal who you are
For Roglič and Pogačar, the 2020 Tour de France finale revealed who they were and foreshadowed who they would become.
Throughout the 2020 Tour, Roglič displayed an admirable level of sportsmanship towards Pogačar. Maybe Roglič viewed him as more an understudy rather than a real challenger.
Whatever the case, with a back slap or fist bump, there were moments throughout the race when Roglič was incredibly gracious toward Pogačar.
To Roglič’s credit, after he was able to get back onto his feet, he made his way to the media tent to congratulate Pogačar, who was in the middle of a post-race interview.
The cameras rolled as Roglič extended his hand and Pogačar stood up from his chair, grabbed his hand, and the two men embraced.
The roles were now reversed. The protégé consoling the veteran. Roglič patted him on the back, slowly turned away, and exhaled deeply—still clearly stunned by what had just happened.
The Tour de France only would get worse for Roglič; it’s almost as if the race is cursed for him. His attempts to win in 2021, 2022, and 2024 would be foiled by nasty crashes.
Roglič would defend his 2019 title at the Vuelta a Espana and win again in 2021 and 2024. He also won the Giro d’Italia in 2023.
But time, loss, and victory had changed him. Like his ski jumping career that ended in a blink of an eye, Roglič would learn time and again that chances to win are fleeting.
While he would win multiple Vueltas a Espana, he would crash out of the next three Tours de France and finish outside of the top 10 at the 2025 Tour de France.
But, in retrospect, it was the 2023 Vuelta a Espana that did damage to his career. Roglič clearly had expected his team, Jumbo Visma, to help him win a record-tying fourth victory.
The team’s strategy, however, was ill-conceived and designed to produce dysfunction.
American Sepp Kuss, a loyal and superb domestique, was part of the team’s roster even though he already had completed the Giro and the Tour as was Jonas Vingegaard, a last minute addition who had just won his first Tour de France.
Who would Kuss work for? Roglič or Vingegaard?
But, on Stage 6, Kuss complicated and scrambled the race for Jumbo Visma when he joined a breakaway and won stage. In doing so, he rode into the race leader’s red jersey with a three minute lead.
During the next 10 stages, he held onto his lead. Were the team’s queen bees supposed to work for the loyal worker bee? Or was the worker bee, once again, supposed to put his ambition aside and do the job he had been hired to do?
The team seemingly did not have answers.
In the steep mountains late in the race, Roglič and Vingegaard worked to pull back time from Kuss. When they attacked and distance Kuss on Stage 17, cycling fans, pundits, and commentators were outraged at the perceived betrayal. The two Grand Tour winners appeared to be ungrateful to Kuss, an essential part of their success.
Public opinion turned against the team, especially Roglič and Vingegaard.
The team’s powers-that-be decided to allow them to race, but if they could not drop Kuss then they had to fall into line and support him. Roglič made it clear he was irked by that decision, but he mostly abided by it.
The decision, however, to allow Kuss to win, had long term and unintended consequences.
It was clear that Jumbo Visma did not value Roglič and, after the 2023 season, he departed for Red Bull - Bora - hansgrohe.
On a personal note, I wrote at the time that it was unfair not to let Kuss go for the win. I considered Roglič the poor sport and ungrateful teammate although, perhaps unfairly, I let Vingegaard off the hook.
I was wrong. I should have afforded Roglič more grace and the benefit of his experience at the 2020 Tour de France, which surely reinforced just how few chances there are in one’s career to win one, not to mention several, Grand Tours. He was the general. Kuss the lieutenant. Case closed.
With Pogačar so dominant, it’s hard to imagine how Roglič can win the Tour de France in the future.
The Happy Warrior
For Pogačar, the 2020 Tour de France victory is central not only to his brand but his future success. Even then, especially then, he was a model sportsman with a hail-fellow-well-met persona who just loves to ride and race his bike.
Before the start of the Stage 20 time trial, Pogačar sought out Roglič, who was warming up on the trainer, and gave him a fist bump (in Season 1 of the Netflix series, “Unchained,” we also see him congratulate Vingegaard after hard fought stage at the Tour de France in 2022.)
Today, Pogačar’s wins at one-day and stage races are too many to list. When the now 26-year-old Pogačar enters a race, he wins. He is, almost without question, the best cyclist in a generation, if not ever.
In the annals of cycling history, 2024 will be remembered as one of the greatest campaigns by someone on a bicycle.
Pogačar won 24 races, including cycling’s “Triple Crown”—the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and the World Championship in the same year (think tennis’ Grand Slam.) He’s just one of just three men in the history of cycling to accomplish that goal.
Pogačar confident when speaking English and he’s an astute communicator. He wears his dominance lightly; it’s not a burden and it does not torment him as it does some great athletes. The only real questions are will be get bored of winning and if there’s a new generation of riders who can challenge him.