Technique makes the difference to help Tadej Pogacar take the victory on Stage 7 of the Tour de France.
While most will brush off his performance due to him having superior power, if you took a close look it was his seated power technique that was part of the small difference that left a little more in his legs to sprint to the line and take the stage.
Seated technique was important to his win event because he was forced to the front early in the final, the steep dirt road with limited traction, and the extremely long high intensity effort at the end of the climb when the legs were empty.
Let’s look at his seated technique and what he does with the Three Points of Power to get maximum power transfer and make his watts faster than the other riders watts.
1. Hands: Thumbs on top the the hoods to create a strong lock on the bars. This is used to pull in on the hoods while bring the elbow towards the core with each downstroke. Elbows are bent to help engage and use core on each downstroke.
2. Core: Pelvis forward on the seat and rotated down to get in front of downstroke making it more powerful.
3. Feet: Heel up on the bottom of upstroke while while pulling up with calves, hamstrings, and hip flexors. Drop heel down over the top of the downstroke and drive with it to the bottom of the downstroke.
Using the Three Points of Power with these three techniques, Pogacar was able to create more power while making that power faster as it is delivered to the terrain in the most effective manner.