“What he has achieved is unimaginable”: Tadej Pogačar, dubbed by Eddy Merckx himself, is increasingly being invited into the discussion about the greatest cyclist of all time. At only 26 years old.
The tribute comes directly from the master himself, and his words bear witness to the dimension taken by the Slovenian, winner of his first world title on Sunday in Zurich at the end of an unthinkable 100-kilometre raid.
“It’s obvious that he’s now above me. I already thought so deep down when I saw what he did in the last Tour de France, but tonight there’s no more doubt,” Eddy Merckx said in the columns of the newspaper L’Équipe .
“I wouldn’t attack 100 kilometres from the finish line in a World Championship,” stressed the 79-year-old Belgian legend, praising “an immense champion”, “out of the ordinary”, who achieved something “unimaginable”.
Until then, Merckx, unanimously considered the greatest rider of all time, had only designated Pogačar as his heir. This time, he goes further, even if, in terms of prize list, the one who was called “the cannibal” keeps a significant advantage (5 victories in the Tour de France to 3, 19 Monuments to 6, 3 World Championships to 1).
The day after a masterpiece in which all his rivals took the king for “a madman”, the debate around the GOAT (” The Greatest of All Time “) is reopened.
“Win it all”
For years, the Slovenian phenomenon, so early, has fueled the discussion which, as in other sports, is undoubtedly impossible to settle as the eras are difficult to compare.
It resurfaced this summer when he became the first since Marco Pantani in 1998 to win the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France in the same year.
In Zurich, he crowned his “perfect season” for a Giro-Tour-World Championships triple achieved only by Merckx, in 1974, and Stephen Roche, in 1987.
He does even better by adding the conquest of a Monument in 2024, Liège-Bastogne-Liège. And he can still win a second one, the Tour of Lombardy, where he remains on three successes in a row and which he will contest on October 12 with the rainbow jersey on his shoulders.
“It’s just exceptional, out of this world,” says Stephen Roche. “He wins Grand Tours, one-day races, time trials, mountain stages and even sprints. With him and Merckx, I’m in good company.”
How far will he go? The next three World Championships, in Kigali, Montreal and Sallanches, France, feature tough and perfect courses for him.
Among the major races, apart from the Olympics, he only has three left to win: the Tour of Spain, which seems well within his reach, Milan-Sanremo, where he has already come close, and Paris-Roubaix, a challenge he is saving for later.
The goal is clear: “I want to win everything.”
“We are in the Pogačar era”
The greatness of a champion is not only seen in his record, but also in the mark he leaves on his sport.
At this level too, the Slovenian puts forward arguments, through his panache, his risk-taking, his playful side and his imagination.
“Sometimes I wish I knew what was going on in his head. Leaving so early was crazy. Alone too! I couldn’t believe it,” said German veteran Simon Geschke on Sunday evening.
At the last Tour de France, Pogačar’s broad domination had brought back questions about doping, without any evidence to fuel possible suspicions. And if “Pogi” assured to be clean, other great champions before him ended up caught by the patrol, during or after their career.
Australian Michael Matthews, his great friend in the peloton and training partner in Monaco where they live, prefers to remember that Pogačar “gave him back his love of cycling” because “he has so much fun on a bike”.
Although sometimes discouraged, Pogačar’s colleagues also often express admiration. “What Tadej did is not normally possible. But this year, it is not normal,” Remco Evenepoel stressed upon arrival.
According to Mathieu van der Poel, it is not over yet. “We are in the Pogačar era,” says the Dutchman. “I have no idea how long it will last. But it feels like this is just the beginning.”
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