Tadej Pogačar has no shortage of highlights from his eight years so far as a professional bike racer but he has picked out a teammate’s victory as "one of the best days of my career".
Pogačar selflessly dominated the final kick to the line in Montjuic Park back in July, managing the scene so that Del Toro would cross the line before him to collect his first Tour de France stage win. He then proceeded to pick up Del Toro and hoist him into the air in scenes of wild celebration.
In the new film, titled ‘POG1 – The Making of a Legend’ and premiering on YouTube on Friday, Pogačar touches on how special that day was.
"The first stages, nine, was really nice," Pogačar says from a massage table, presumably after stage nine as he talks about it being “super hot” and references "three victories" taken by the team.
"I think the one that Isaac wins, in Barcelona, I got also really emotional, and I don’t get often very emotional," Pogačar says.
"So, one of the best days of my career," he adds.
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Tadej Pogačar hoists Del Toro aloft (Image credit: Getty Images)
The comments are brief but striking in the context of all that Pogačar has won, including five Tour de France titles, 26 Tour de France stages of his own, 13 Monument Classics, and two world titles.
For all the talk of his insatiable appetite for victory, he seemingly took just as much joy in sacrificing the chance of another one and helping someone else, who may one day come to rival him.
And it wasn’t just that day in Barcelona; with a commanding lead in the yellow jersey Pogačar went on to effectively work as a domestique for Del Toro again and again in the second half of the Tour de France, notably on the stage 15 summit finish at Plateau de Solaison and on the penultimate day to Alpe d’Huez when Del Toro’s podium position came under fire from Paul Seixas.
"You try to be the best version of yourself but we don’t know how we are perceived in the third person," Del Toro said in a recent interview with Spanish newspaper Marca in reference to Pogačar’s treatment of him.
"That he can see something that maybe I’m not seeing is flattering, but also quite something. He wants to be part of my process and support me in each opportunity. It’s something very beautiful and I feel very privileged."
'POG1 – The Making of a Legend', made by Colnago Cultura, premieres on Friday November 13 at 3pm GMT / 10am ET on Colnago's YouTube channel, where it will be available to watch worldwide for free.
POG1 | The Making of a Legend | Official Long Trailer - YouTube
Patrick is an NCTJ-accredited journalist with a bachelor’s degree in modern languages (French and Spanish) and a decade’s experience in digital sports media, largely within the world of cycling. He re-joined Cyclingnews as Deputy Editor in February 2026, having previously spent eight years on staff between 2015 and 2023. In between, he was Deputy Editor at GCN and spent 18 months working across the sports portfolio at Future before returning to the cycling press pack. Patrick works across Cyclingnews’ wide-ranging output, assisting the Editor in global content strategy, with a particular focus on shaping CN's news operation.
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