(Zurich) “What he achieved is unimaginable”: Tadej Pogacar, dubbed by Eddy Merckx himself, is increasingly entering the discussion on the greatest cyclist of all time. At only 26 years old.
The tribute comes directly from the master himself and his words testify to the dimension taken by the Slovenian, winner of his first world title on Sunday in Zurich after an unthinkable 100 kilometer raid.
“It’s obvious he’s on top of me now. I already thought it a little deep down when I saw what he had done in the last Tour de France, but this evening there is no longer any doubt,” said Eddy Merckx in the columns from the newspaper The Team.
“I wasn’t attacking 100 kilometers from the finish in a World Championship,” insisted the 79-year-old Belgian legend, praising “a huge champion”, “outstanding”, who has achieved something “ unimaginable.”
Until then, Merckx, unanimously considered the greatest runner of all time, had only designated Pogacar as his heir. This time, he goes further, even if, in terms of results, the one called “the cannibal” maintains a significant advantage (5 victories in the Tour de France at 3, 19 Monuments at 6, 3 World Championships at 1).
The day after a masterpiece where 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 decide as the eras are difficult to compare.
It resurfaced this summer when he became the first since Marco Pantani in 1998 to win the Tour of Italy and the Tour de France in the same year.
In Zurich, he crowned his “perfect season” with a Giro-Tour-Mondiaux hat-trick 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, the Tour of Lombardy, where he has three successes in a row and which he will compete on October 12 with the rainbow jersey on his shoulders.
“It’s just exceptional, from another world,” underlines 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, present tough and perfect courses for him.
Among the big 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 not gone far already, and Paris -Roubaix, a challenge that he reserves for later.
The objective is clear: “I want to win everything”.
“We are in the Pogacar era”
The greatness of a champion is not only seen in his record, but also in the imprint 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 fantasy.
“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, Pogacar’s vast domination had raised questions about doping, without any evidence to fuel possible suspicions, and “Pogi” assured that he was clean, like so many other great champions before him who have ended up caught by the patrol, during or after their career.
The Australian Michael Matthews, his great friend in the peloton and training partner in Monaco where they live, prefers to remember that Pogacar “gave him back the love of cycling” because “he has fun on a bike”.
If they are sometimes discouraged, Pogacar’s colleagues also often say they are admiring. “What Tadej did is not normally possible. But this year, it is not normal,” underlined Remco Evenepoel upon arrival.
According to Mathieu van der Poel, it’s not over. “We are in the Pogacar era,” said the Dutchman. “I have no idea how long it will last. But it feels like this is just the beginning.”