Why did Tadej Pogacar wear a black tracker under his sleeve during Strade Bianche?

Those who paid close attention on Saturday noticed that Tadej Pogacar was riding with a black 'block' under his armpit during Strade Bianche. But what exactly is it? Thomas De Gendt has a suspicion.

"In theory, it could be a glucose or lactate monitor, but those are not allowed in the race. No real-time data can be used," the former rider explains on the Café Koers podcast by Het Nieuwsblad. “So it’s probably a Whoop.”

Whoop is an advanced, screenless fitness tracker that allows cyclists, in this case, to measure physiological data such as breathing and heart rate variability. "There’s also a partnership between UAE and Whoop," adds Het Nieuwsblad cycling journalist Jan-Pieter De Vlieger.

"I once talked about it with Tim Wellens. They track literally everything and can see that data from each other in the app. Tim saw there that a teammate had slept poorly the night before. It goes very deep."

And why does the Slovenian wear such a tracker under his sleeve? "For aerodynamics," De Gendt explains. "It saves up to 1 to 2 watts. Okay, that’s minimal and for Pogacar it probably won’t make much difference," the Belgian laughs. "But it does make a real difference and since it has no screen, it doesn’t matter where you wear it."