Tadej Pogacar completes the triple crown

Tadej Pogacar crushed the competition to brilliantly win his first road cycling world champion title on Sunday in Zurich, Switzerland.

Pogacar thus completed the triple crown of cycling: two victories in the general classification of grand tours (Tour of Italy and Tour de France) and the world title in the same year.

Only two runners had achieved the feat: Stephen Roche, 37 years ago, and the Belgian Eddy Merckx, who won the world title in the streets of Montreal 50 years ago.

Remember that Montreal will host the road cycling world championships in 2026.

Pogacar won alone by maintaining a 34-second lead over the Australian Ben O’Connor, second in the Vuelta this summer, and 58 over the Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel, who was the title holder, at the end of a senseless and seemingly suicidal raid on a long (273 kilometres) and very hilly route (4470 m altitude difference).

I don’t know what went through my head, he reacted. This was obviously not the plan planned at the start but the race opened up quickly, with a dangerous breakaway ahead. Maybe it was stupid of me. Fortunately I got there. I can’t believe what just happened.

Accelerating 100 (!) km from the finish, a distance not recommended in all cycling manuals, to return like an arrow to a group of breakaways where his compatriot Jan Tratnik was waiting for him. He did it again twenty miles further, this time with the Frenchman Pavel Sivakov, his teammate for the year at UAE, in his wheel.

Sivakov accompanied Pogacar for a lap, delighted with the opportunity, before breaking down in the steep climb on Bergstrasse.

51 kilometers from the finish, the final blow. The Slovenian set off alone to count up to a minute ahead of his first pursuers to finally complete his incredible odyssey and sign one of the greatest feats in the history of cycling.

Behind, Remco Evenepoel, who was in the running for a new time-line race double after that of the 2024 Paris Olympics and finally 5th, and Mathieu van der Poel ended up reacting with a small group to get dangerously close in a final at suspense. But without managing to come back on the Slovenian who, without ever gaining a huge advantage, resisted until the end.

I had put enormous pressure on myself. I had made this title a big goal after a perfect season. It’s incrediblesaid the Slovenian, third in Glasgow last year.

There were three Canadians at the start of this race. They were limited to a figurative role. Pier-André Côté, 19th in the time trial last Sunday, finished in 44th place, ahead of Michael Woods, who took 54th position. Derek Gee did not reach the finish.

With information from Agence France-Presse