Tadej Pogačar | Already the biggest?

Me to a distinguished colleague when Tadej Pogačar attacked in the Camillien-Houde route 24 km from the finish at the Montreal Cycling Grand Prix, on September 15: “In 30 years, we will be able to say that we witnessed that . »

Said distinguished colleague, more keen on the ball than on the pedal bike: “With all due respect, I am not sure I will remember Pogačar in 30 years…”

My reply: “Do you know Eddy Merckx? Well there you go. »

Two weeks later, Pogačar demonstrated why, if need be, he should already be considered one of, if not the, greatest cyclists of all time.

The 26-year-old Slovenian put (another) exclamation point on a historic season by winning the road race gold medal at the World Championships in Zurich on Sunday.

Almost on a whim, Pogačar made fun of the competition by fleeing more than 100 km from the finish, leaving his two main announced rivals, the Belgian Remco Evenepoel and his golden bike of a double Olympic champion , and the Dutchman Mathieu Van der Poel, the defending champion who this time had to settle for bronze, even if he felt he had achieved one of his best performances.

“When he left at the top of the climb, Mathieu and I said to ourselves that it was a suicide attack, that the peloton would end up regrouping,” said Evenepoel, unfortunate fifth, on the microphone of FloBikes after the test.

“But he was having a good day. In the end, he was going as fast as us behind. If we look at his season, he deserves to ride with the rainbow next year. »

Awarded by Merckx

A few hours later, Merckx, unanimously considered the best cyclist in history, himself settled the question of Pogačar’s place in the pantheon.

“It’s obvious he’s on top of me now,” the Cannibal said to The Team. I already thought it a little deep down when I saw what he did in the last Tour de France, but this evening there is no longer any doubt. »

Before reading these comments repeated everywhere, Antoine Duchesne shared the same opinion.

“We can’t compare with the performances of the time, but it’s so hard today to be a complete runner like Pogačar,” said the former professional cyclist.

“Eddy Merckx, without wanting to take anything away from him, was capable of winning all the Monuments* because the ways of doing things were different. The depth and level of racing was not at all the same as today. It was the reality of the time. Without saying it was another sport, it has changed so much. »

Duchesne believes that current cycling fans are witnessing a “phenomenon” of the same magnitude as Roger Federer in tennis or Lewis Hamilton in Formula 1.

And Duchesne concludes: “Pogačar is capable of winning everywhere, on all terrains. It elevates him above everything else. For me, he is the greatest cyclist in history. »

Setting the table for 2026

After his seventh place at the Quebec GP, by far his worst result of the season in a one-day classic after his third place at Milan-San Remo, Pogačar announced to the general director of the event that he would not wait not the last lap before attacking Montreal.

“And he added: if I don’t win in Montreal, I don’t know if I will be able to win the World Championships,” said Joseph Limare, who was on mission in Zurich ahead of the World Championships which will take place in the metropolis in 2026. “So that was part of his path to becoming world champion. »

“What a day and what an outcome! », rejoiced the CEO who obviously hopes “with all my heart” that Pogačar returns to Quebec next year wearing his rainbow jersey. “We are gradually setting the table for 2026. For us, it’s great. »

When Merckx won the gold medal in the road race at the World Championships in Montreal in 1974, no one pointed out that he had just won the triple crown of cycling after his victories at the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia earlier this year.

At the time, his “triple crown” rather referred to his third – and final – world title, which placed the Belgian tied with Alfredo Binda and Rik Van Steenbergen. The feat remained unpublished until Irishman Stephen Roche repeated it 13 years later, in 1987.

Fifty years after Merckx, Pogačar is only the third to be included in this list. “Obviously, we can never compare eras, but here we are dealing with an incredible rider,” added Merckx to The Team. I didn’t attack 100 kilometers from the finish in a World Championship. What he achieved today is unimaginable. »

Merckx v. Pogačar at 26

Merckx

• 3 Tours de France (9 stages)
• 2 Giro (9 stages)
• 2 world championships
• 4 Milan-San Remo
• 1 Tour of Flanders
• 2 Paris-Roubaix
• 2 Liège-Bastogne-Liège
• 1 Tour of Lombardy
• 140 victories before age 26

Cake maker

• 3 Tours de France (17 stages)
• 1 Giro (6 stages)
• 1 world championship
• 0 Milan-San Remo (3^e4^e5^e)
• 1 Tour of Flanders
• 0 Paris-Roubaix (no participation)
• 2 Liège-Bastogne-Liège
• 3 Tours of Lombardy
• 85 victories before age 26

A young Louis Bertrand attended this race on Mount Royal 50 years ago, triggering a passion that has not left him since. “Pogačar’s track record in this 2024 season alone will probably never be equaled, but when it comes to grand tours, Eddy Merckx is ahead of him, at least for now,” remarked the one who came full circle by interviewing Pogi at his last lap as host of the Cycling Grands Prix, September 15.

Like his friend Dominique Perras, ex-Canadian champion, Bertrand refuses comparison between eras.

“In the Merckx years, there were basically De Vlaeminck, Maertens, Van Impe, Gimondi, Poulidor, Thévenet, Ocana, Fuente, Zoetemelk and a few others who shared the victories,” he added. Today, with 30 guys per team and gregarii who follow the same training plan as their leaders, there are many more candidates. Regardless, this year Pogačar has cut all his rivals to pieces. »

Perras adds: “Merckx did not have to face the best cyclists from the Eastern bloc who remained amateurs (including the Slovenes…). There were no Australians or Colombians, etc. either. »

Will Pogačar want to stay for the long term? As long as he has fun preparing for it, the Tour de France will be one of his goals, the Slovenian said in the podcast The Driverecorded during his visit to Montreal.

“The mental load for a runner like him is very great, but the pros are much better supervised today,” Duchesne assessed. We train better, we eat better, we sleep better and we have more knowledge. They are able to do better while respecting their health better. Physically, I think it’s possible to be at this level for a long time. »

He even expresses this pleasure in his rare “defeats”. “Of course he’s disappointed, but he looks happy even when he gets beaten! Duchesne noted. We feel he wants a battle. »

According to preliminary GPCQM data, a total of 250,000 spectators attended the two races this year. Duchesne attributes this attendance largely to the presence of Pogačar and what he gives off.

“He’s fun to watch, he puts on a show, he looks like a kid having fun,” noted the former representative of Groupama-FDJ. And he achieves performances never seen by people of my generation. It’s really good for cycling. »

And Duchesne is even already ready to bet “a big 20” that Pogačar will be crowned in Montreal in 2026…

* The “Monuments” represent the five oldest and most prestigious one-day classics in cycling: Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Tour of Lombardy.