Tadej Pogacar, verdict confirmed

What can I say but bow? In his assessment of the year 2024 carried out in an interview for the Cyclism’Actu site, Thomas Voeckler gave his feelings on the performances of Tadej Pogacar. And while Eddy Merckx himself has dubbed the Slovenian by believing that his performances are superior to his own, the Blues coach seems on the same wavelength.

“It’s a year at Merckx… in an era that is no longer that of Merckx, confides Voeckler. Where everything has evolved, where competition is normally much more globalized, where everyone has somewhat the same working methods. There are normally no secrets, training techniques, equipment, nutrition, everyone is on point. So what he did is for me even stronger than what Merckx did. Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault, they were just stronger at the base, they just had to press the pedals. »

Pogacar, “it’s boring”

“Pogacar is the strongest today, even though everything is optimized, expands Voeckler. Many runners were tired. The words that struck me were those of Romain Bardet. In an interview at the start of the year, he said that what only 10 runners were capable of doing 7 or 8 years ago, there are 40 who can do just as well today. This gives you an idea, Romain is not someone who talks into the air like that. »

In the same vein, Voeckler also believes that Pogacar’s domination has a harmful character, because it removes a good part of the suspense at the start in big races.
“I found the exploits he achieved, his panache, magnificent. I think we can only love Tadej Pogacar. Honestly, I love it. On the other hand, it’s boring, I’m sorry, explains the former stage winner on the Tour de France. When he starts so far from the finish, behind it’s thrilling, but it’s just for the 2nd place. Now, we should not boil this situation down to Pogacar. If we take the classics, Mathieu van der Poel did the same at Paris-Roubaix, and it was boring, even if magnificent. »