Tadej Pogačar. Niepokonany

by Andy McGrath

Pierwsza duża biografia najlepszego kolarza ostatnich dekad.

Tadej Pogačar nie jest po prostu kolejnym zawodowym kolarzem, jakich wielu – to fenomen w świecie sportu. Wygrał prawie wszystko, co można wygrać w kolarstwie, ze śmiałością i w stylu, które zapierają dech w piersiach. A ma dopiero dwadzieścia sześć lat i jeszcze nie powiedział ostatniego słowa.

Z tej ekscytującej biografii autorstwa Andy’ego McGratha, doświadczonego dziennikarza sportowego, dowiesz się, jak skromny chłopak z górzystej Słowenii stał się najlepszym kolarzem swoich czasów.

Prześledzisz fascynującą drogę od zwycięstwa w Tour de l’Avenir w 2018 roku aż po niesamowity sezon 2024, w którym Pogačar zdobył potrójną koronę kolarstwa, wygrywając Giro d’Italia, Tour de France i mistrzostwa świata.

Poznasz kulisy sukcesu młodego sportowca: sekrety wyjątkowego talentu oraz rolę rodziny, narzeczonej Urški Žigart, trenerów i zespołu UAE Team Emirates-XRG.

Tadej Pogačar – człowiek, który zrewolucjonizował kolarstwo.

Genres: Cycling, Sports, Nonfiction, Biography

416 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2025

Reviews

[Jovi Ene]

În anii 1990-2000, anii mei mai liberi de responsabilități, urmăream cu mare plăcere Turul Franței, atunci când în prim-plan erau Miguel Indurain, Bjarne Riis sau Lance Armstrong. Apoi o pauză lungă până când pasiunea a revenit odată cu Turul Franței din 2020, din pandemie, când un puști uimea lumea ciclismului și a sportului câștigând Le Tour împotriva compatriotului său, Roglic. Este vorba de Tadej Pogacar, cel care de atunci s-a mai impus de patru ori, ultima oară chiar săptămâna trecută, dar cucerind și o mulțime de alte trofee, Il Giro, Campionate Mondiale și Europene, Monumente, aproape tot ce se putea câștiga, devenind, conform multora, cel mai bun ciclist din toate timpurile.
Jurnalistul Andy McGrath realizează aici prima biografie a slovenului, plecând chiar de la acea victorie din 2020 până la Turul din 2025, făcând incursiuni inspirate în toate etapele importante ale vieții și carierei sale, discutând inclusiv cu Pogacar de-a lungul timpului, cu părinții săi sau rude apropiate și vecini. Pentru Tadej Pogacar, succesul a venit dintr-o pasiune născută din senin, în Slovenia natală, cu ajutorul părinților care nu au pus niciodată presiuni și care au văzut sportul ca o joacă, dar și a unui antrenor care a avut inspirație să-l cheme și pe acel tânăr slăbuț, pipernicit, la preselecția pentru ciclism alături de fratele său. Într-adevăr, joaca a rămas și acum un atu al său, așa cum a rămas prietenia, iubirea pentru ai săi și pentru prietena sa ciclistă pe care o cunoaște din adolescență.
Tadej Pogacar are acum 27 de ani și se îndreaptă spre noi provocări. Să sperăm că-l voi vedea mulți ani înainte având succese importante, într-un mediu din ce în ce mai competitiv, și o sănătate intactă. Iar pentru fanii săi și ai sportului în general, printre care mă număr și eu, acest volum este o achiziție neapărată.

[Sandra (Lovilka knjig)]

Pogi dobil še en Tour, jaz pa še eno prebrano knjigo 😂

[Joscha]

Nothing will ever beat the excitement of Pogi winning that Planche des Belles Filles TT in 2020.

Book itself is not a 5 star but a solid 4,5/5. Basically just tells the story of Pogi's career until 2025.

[Erika Jung]

Výborná kniha pro milovníky cyklistiky a “Pogiho”. Bylo skvěle poznat více fenoména dnešní cyklistiky. Jen pro amatéra je zde trochu moc technických detailů.

[Rauno Villberg]

It's always tricky to write a book about a person that's still very much active and near or at their peak, because the story is unfinished.
But the best part of this book is the part of the story that is finished: the tales of Pog in his youth, as told by fellow riders, some great nuggets in there.
The latter half/third of the book, the Tour domination? If you've been a keen observer of pro cycling you probably won't find much new here; there's only so many ways "he is damn good" can be conveyed by the author or the other riders suffering from - or for - him.

McGrath's certainly not a bad writer, so I'll be looking forward to the sequel once our protagonist has, title-defyingly, stopped.

[Vaidas]

This book is worth 4 stars for me because I love books about sport greats.
The most interesting part for me was the first third, where author wrote about Pogis' childhood and amateur years. It was interesting to read / hear (as I haven't read anything before) about how this amazing cyclist grew up and came to be such a chill champion :)
I also couldn't stop comparing him with my other sports idol - MJ. Such a difference in personality, however one could argue with the same results. Pogi inspires me for this reason - he shows that you don't have to be a sociopath to be great!

[Irl]

As a cycling fan who enjoys biographies, I picked this up hoping to learn more about Tadej Pogačar's character, and in that respect the book succeeds. I certainly came away with a better sense of the rider behind the results, his determination, work ethic and remarkable talent.

That said, the book inevitably suffers from being a biography written from the outside rather than a memoir. Unlike Mark Cavendish's excellent autobiography, there are no truly extraordinary insights into what it feels like to live through the pressures and uncertainties of professional cycling. We learn a great deal about what Pogačar did, but less about how he experienced it.

I also found the sections covering his early development somewhat repetitive. There are only so many times a reader can be told about his exceptional talent and determination before the point begins to lose its impact. The narrative is at its strongest once Pogačar reaches the very top of the sport.

For me, the most engaging chapters were those dealing with the Tour de France. Having followed many of these races myself, I enjoyed revisiting them from a different perspective. The author also makes a commendable effort to understand how Pogačar's rivals attempted to beat him, which adds welcome depth and tension to the story.

Given that it is an unofficial biography rather than a first-hand account, this is a solid introduction to one of cycling's most remarkable talents. I learned more about the man and enjoyed the Tour de France sections in particular, but I never quite felt I was getting close enough to Pogačar himself for the book to become truly memorable.

[Suzanne]

Tadej Pogačar’s remarkable rise becomes much more interesting when the races are placed alongside the person behind them. Andy McGrath does more than catalogue victories in *Tadej Unstoppable*; he traces the development of a Slovenian prodigy into one of cycling’s defining figures. The chronological structure, beginning with Pogačar’s early discovery of cycling and moving through his breakthrough at the Tour de l’Avenir to his extraordinary 2024 season, gives the achievements a useful sense of progression. McGrath also makes the rivalries and relationships surrounding Pogačar central to the story, drawing on teammates, adversaries, coaches, and other sources to explore the motivation and personality behind the performances. Particularly effective is the contrast between his relatively modest beginnings and the audacious way he races, which helps explain why his popularity extends beyond traditional cycling audiences. Readers who already follow professional cycling will appreciate the context around the major victories, while newer fans get an accessible portrait of the young athlete behind the astonishing results.

[Wander Allen]

Il libro è ben scritto, interessante e coinvolgente sia per coloro che hanno una buona conoscenza del ciclismo moderno sia per chi invece si è avvicinato ad esso solamente nell’ultimo periodo.

Ogni capitolo è contestualizzato attorno all’apporto di Pogi in tal senso.
Se ad esempio si parla di momenti difficili vengono esposte le cadute o i molteplici attacchi della Visma che lo hanno fatto desistere.
Quando invece si puntualizzano traguardi personali e professionali entrano in gioco l’apporto familiare e della squadra con elementi e dati tecnici frutto di ricerche approfondite.

Ho apprezzato molto la costruzione del libro perché ne svela il protagonista senza mai essere ripetitivo, complesso o didascalico.

Lo consiglio a chiunque voglia approfondire la storia di Tadej ma soprattutto a chi vuole farsi un’idea di come questo giovanissimo campione sloveno stia riscrivendo le regole di un gioco apparentemente troppo ‘statico’ per diventare addirittura ‘pop’!

[Matus Horvath]

I love Pgacar, the greatest cyclist and hope he will prove this over time. It was wonderful to read this while watching his greatness during this year's Tour de France. But the book itself is super weak. They portray Pogacar without flaws, which paints a weird, artificial image. The book also fails to convey the moments in the races that capture attention and relieve tension, and it falls flat. Hopefully, a better biography will be available sometime soon.

[Rose Stanley]

Amused to see Goodreads has this listed as not yet published, given I picked up a copy from Hatchards only the other day. Anyway, this is a very readable little number. I don't think it says anything particularly surprising, but if you're a fan of Pogi or cycling in general I think you'll still enjoy it.

[Henry Slagle]

Great read, would have been better if Tadej was involved in the writing and provided some of his own input. The more and more I learn about him, the more I am convinced he is clean. I think someone's personality has a lot to do with if they go down that path. Tadej v Armstrong/Ullrich/Froome is night and day. Good guy, generational talent.

[Mark Pace]

A worthwhile read for any cycling fan. I actively root against Tadej as a Visma fan but respect his greatness and enjoyed the read. Pogi declined to be interviewed for this book so it’s missing the interesting anecdotes and behind the scenes info, but there are enough interviews with people around him to make this worthwhile.

[Anthony Paolucci]

I think it was too soon to be writing about this cyclist this early in his career, but, as with most of the greats, I was eager and excited to learn how he got his start, and to know about who he is as a person. And this book doesn't disappoint.

When someone writes another book after his career is over, hopefully Tadej himself, I'll read that one as well.

[KatKat]

For the first half this book had me hooked, and I got to learn a lot about Pogacars journey to become a great pro cyclist.

In the second half it became a little to transparent that this book was written on secondary sources, and did not bring anything new to the table. I look forward to picking up a book similar to this when all is said and done, and pogacar himself might be a co-author.

[Antonio]

I wanted to like this book more, but it felt like a bit in a no-mans land. For cycling fans, not much information there is new, while for non-fans the information therein will be accessible due to jargon and implicit knowledge.

[Bruce D'Amora]

Was a little lean on information possibly because Tadej did not participate in writing of book. The result was a re-hash of his career to date based on a review of races and some anecdotal accounts from a few people he interacted with on his way up.

[McKay]

Anxious for a book directly from Tadej and in his voice. This book is full of great information but come second hand and from race interviews.

[Ross Hume]

enjoyable yarn for any fan, don't expect any ground breaking revelations however. As a loyal pogi fan theres nothing really new here

[Marko Alpner]

A great refresher on Slovenia’s golden era of cycling and an additional extended perspective.

[s.j.clague]

Great read !

Loved the book , very well
Written.If you are a cyclist , must read. Easy to follow and a great insight .

[Kelly Maychack]

I can watch cycling and read books about cycling all day long!

[Forrest Stieg]

Super easy and enjoyable read if youre into cycling, albiet this is written like 10 years too soon.

[Filip Olšovský]

Exactly what you'd expect from the autobiography of an active athlete. Lots of superlatives, a bit of honest reporting and travel around Slovenia, and plenty of reminiscing.

[Lukas]

Flotter Typ

[Nicklas Erni]

Hadde gitt den 4 stjerner om den var 50 sider kortere. Litt repetetiv

[niky_books]

plenty of interesting info about Pogačar and cycling even for a fan! I loved this

[Matic Slapšak]

You can read my review (in Slovene) at https://maticpise.com/2026/05/11/tade...

[Klemen Lipovšek]

Interesting

Detailed story of one of the cycling greats with a lot of interviews of teammates, family and competitors. Sadly Mr Tadej himself did not participate. It looks like it will need some addendums in the future for all the upcoming wins.

[Gordon]

This is the first major biography of the Slovenian superstar, tracing his journey from a small mountain town in Slovenia to becoming the most dominant cyclist of his generation. The book covers his meteoric rise, from winning the Tour de l'Avenir in 2018 through his stunning Monument victories and his historic 2024 season, where he claimed the rare triple crown of the Giro d'Italia, Tour de France, and World Championship road race. McGrath draws on interviews with teammates, rivals, and those closest to Pogacar to paint a portrait not just of his staggering palmares, but of the joyful, audacious character that makes "Pogi" so beloved by fans worldwide. Since publication, Pogacar has only added to his legend, winning a fifth Tour de France title and a second World Championship road race in 2025, plus a record fourth Strade Bianche and his thirteenth Monument at the 2026 Milan-San Remo. Whoever writes the definitive biography at the end of his career is going to have a lot of material to work with.