The marketing machine turning Tadej Pogacar into a global star

The results of recent years speak for themselves: Tadej Pogacar is the best cyclist in the world. However, the ambitions of his manager Alex Carrera and his company A&J All Sports go even further. They want to make Pogacar a global superstar off the bike as well.

The fact that the marketing team is busy making this happen is evident in the many initiatives launched around Pogacar’s persona. For example, the Slovenian has his private sponsors, a personal logo that appears in various ways on his clothing, helmets, and bikes, a charity project, and a youth team. All of this is part of a bigger plan centered around Pogacar.

"Our goal is to make Tadej a global idol. We work on that day after day, year after year," says Carrera in an interview with Het Laatste Nieuws. "The prestige of the brand is, of course, important. Is it known worldwide? Which market is it aimed at? We must also respect the team, of course. Every company that approaches us is discussed with team manager Mauro Gianetti. It must not conflict with the team’s interests."

Big in a ‘small’ sport
If we look at something truly measurable, the number of followers on Instagram, we see that Pogacar, with 2.6 million followers, is by far the most popular cyclist of the moment. However, this pales in comparison to top footballers like Cristiano Ronaldo (672 million), Lionel Messi (511 million), and basketball legend LeBron James (157 million).

Sports economist Wim Lagae has an explanation. "Cycling simply doesn’t have the global appeal of football or tennis. Based on business criteria, it ranks between 12th and 15th worldwide. You have football first, then American sports, tennis, golf... It’s just not a global sport. And that makes it difficult, even for an all-round athlete like Pogacar."

However, Carrera disagrees. "If you look at cycling purely as the race itself, it’s a small sport, because 99 percent of the races take place in Europe. But if you see how many fans there are worldwide, it’s not a small sport. One year Tadej goes to Colombia for a criterium, the next year to Asia. That’s not by chance; there’s a strategy behind it. We are specifically focusing on that market."

"I don’t think he transcends his sport"
Lagae, however, doubts this. "Cycling is growing, also in that region, but it remains a strongly European-rooted sport. Moreover: I don’t even think he transcends his sport. Pogacar remains a cyclist, albeit one who is wildly popular within his world. Becoming a global star? No, I don’t think so. Because he hits certain ceilings and will continue to hit them. He can ride the wave of cycling’s growth, but that’s where it will stop."