After having one of the most successful racing seasons ever for a pro cyclist this year, including winning his 4th Tour de France, 2nd UCI Road World Championship and 3rd Strade Bianche, the world’s #1 ranked rider, Tadej Pogacar, lost his namesake Pogi Challenge race against amaters to a 40 year-old lawyer from Great Britain last Sunday in Slovenia.

Andrew Featherstone, 40, was the only rider from a field of 1189 cyclists to beat “Pogi” up a 14.9 kilometer climb that ascended 1189 meters at the Krvavec ski resort.

All competitors started as a group with the 26 year-old Pogacar for a 9.1 kilometer “warm-up” segment, then at the base of the climb Pogacar stopped for ~5 minutes to give amateurs a reasonable head start – after all he is considered the best climber in the world.

Wearing his rainbow striped world champion jersey Pogacar then took off, surging up the mountain with his trademark hair tufts sticking up through helmet vents, to hunt down and pass all of the amateurs.

Andrew Featherstone, a 4x British National Hill-Climb Champion, had no intentions of being caught. He finished averaging 392 watts or 6.2 w/kg with a time of 44:15. Pogacar never even had Featherstone in his sights, finishing in 47:52 including the head start, but his official climbing time was 40:44 at ~460 watts or about 7 w/kg average.

Afterwards Pogačar told the Tour 202 podcast, “I tried to catch everyone, but I couldn’t. Hats off to the winner.”

Complete Pogi Challenge results HERE

Photo Credit: Instagram/andrew.feather84, Team UAE

© 2019-2025 All Rights Reserved Gran Fondo Daily