The Strava KOM record is broken by Tadej Pogačar on the Coll de Rates.

With a time of 12:21, Tadej Pogačar beat the famous Strava KOM time on the Coll de Rates climb in Spain. This is the most sought-after segment on the Costa Blanca.

The World Champion is in the area with his UAE Emirates partners to finish up a winter training camp as a team. The hill was a breeze for PogaÍar, who uploaded his data to Strava with the caption “Going Home” for what looks like his last ride in Spain before Christmas.

The KOM for the hill used to belong to Jonas Vingegaard and his old Continental team, ColoQuick. As part of a team time trial with other ColoQuick riders, Vingegaard famously set a time of 13:02 on the climb to win the KOM in 2018. Later, Vingegaard signed with Visma-Lease a Bike. The Coll de Rates effort is thought to have had something to do with the move.

Juan Ayuso, PogaÍar’s colleague from the UAE, held the KOM for a short time with a time of 12:49, but ColoQuick came back to the hill in March of this year and took it back. In the end, the Danish team was successful, and Peter Øxenberg Hansen’s time of 12:38 gave them back the KOM.

Øxenberg Hansen later signed with the Ineos Grenadiers, and it was just reported that he will be joining the Ineos development team for the 2025 season.

The ColoQuick DS Christian Moberg told Cycling Weekly in the past that the team jokes that the KOM is a part of what makes them a group. But it’s still not clear if ColoQuick will go back in 2025 to get their lost crown back.

“Personally for me, the story about all this is great for this team,” said Moberg. “A Danish rider won the Tour de France with this team, and we’re still going strong. We also have about 70 sponsors and partners here.”

“They were cheering and they love when we’re doing these attempts and talked all together at the dinner table in the evening and the day before about it.”

Cycling Weekly called Visma-Lease a Bike to see if Vingegaard would be willing to go to the Col du Rates next year to try to beat his rival’s time on the climb. The team did not answer, though.