Tadej Pogačar is the best rider of his generation and the favourite to win the Tour de France for a fifth time. He is known for training intensely and adopting the latest performance science that UAE Team Emirates-XRG can provide him.
However, Pogačar is also convinced that, sometimes, less is more, especially when it comes to recovery.
"The best recovery can be to stay on the sofa and do nothing," Pogačar said when speaking in the countdown to the Tour de France Grand Départ in Barcelona.
"They say that recovery is the most important thing but people push more and more and that means the recovery time is less. Balance is actually the most important. It's about creating a balance between the new things that are coming in and then drawing a line where the limit is for you."
Sports science and training methods have changed dramatically in recent years, adding extra workload, extra responsibilities and extra stress for riders.
The riders have better support than ever before but are pushed far more than even ten years ago, sparking concerns of burnout and physical fatigue such as RED-S (Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport).
Riders train their bodies every day out on the bike but also train their guts to digest at least 120g of carbohydrates per hour so they can compete in the hardest races. They do strength and torque training to boost their power output and spend long spells at altitude or train in limited hypoxia conditions. Heat training is vital to help retain any boost obtained at altitude camps.
UAE Team Emirates-XRG Head of Performance Jeroen Swart recently discussed Pogačar's training and sports science with Cyclingnews in a two-part special interview with Alasdair Fotheringham. UAE now also study different training data signals with AI to detect signs of over training.
"[UAE sports manager Joxean Fernández Matxin] has found an absolutely phenomenal balance in terms of bringing riders both opportunities but also the periods of recovery that they need and so every rider has a break in the season where they're able to just go home where they reset mentally and physically, and that helps in terms of then returning with increased mental vigour and focus," Swart explained about how the team help riders with recovery.
Pogačar probably does everything that can help him perform better but appears to prefer a simplified approach to it all.
"There are just so many things you can do to improve your performance," Pogačar said.
"A lot of people come to me and everyone has different opinions. But if you do it all you don't have enough time in your day.
"Scientists and coaches are always looking for new ways to improve. But the biggest advantage for any athlete is that you know it's enough to stop exploring new things and stick to what is best for you. To find the balance between doing too much and too little."
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