What do Eddy Merckx, Fausto Coppi and Bernard Hinault all have in widespread? Aside from their joint standing as biking greats, they excelled not solely in Grand Tours but in addition within the sport’s most prestigious one-day race, in some unspecified time in the future changing into World Champions and incomes the suitable to the coveted rainbow jersey.
As the 2010s wore on, Chris Froome and different GC-focused riders started to specialise extra in pursuit of the Tour, Giro and Vuelta, making it more and more unlikely anybody in males’s biking would as soon as once more match the exploits of Merckx and co when it comes to their versatility.
That was till a sure Tadej Pogačar rose to prominence on the flip of the last decade and, after successful his first Tour de France in 2020, went one higher a 12 months later to dominate the Tour and declare two Monuments, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Il Lombardia in a single season. It was a feat not seen for 49 years, since Eddy Merckx in 1972, with Coppi being the one different rider to take action in 1949.
Pogačar has continued to emulate the greats in his illustrious however nonetheless not too long ago began profession, usually making historical past every time he is clipped into the pedals, the latest feat being the primary completion of a Giro-Tour double since Marco Pantani in 1998.
With 4 Grand Tours and 6 Monuments already on his palmarès, his place among the many all-time greats is well-established, even at simply 26. One race victory does elude him, although, and retains him separated for now from these talked about above – the elite World Championships highway race. However, with the Zürich Worlds simply across the nook, Pogačar’s finest alternative but to set the file straight is rapidly approaching.
“The likelihood is there… It’s at all times been there. Last 12 months I used to be third place on a parcours that did not swimsuit me probably the most and this 12 months is a a lot better parcours in Zürich so the possibilities are greater,” stated Pogačar after storming solo to victory within the GP Montréal final Sunday.
“In elite World Championships, that is the perfect that fits me up to now, that’s why I’m extra excited than ever earlier than. But World Championships are World Championships and if all the pieces would not go to perfection, it is arduous to win.”
The newest race content material, interviews, options, opinions and professional shopping for guides, direct to your inbox!
Pogačar will make up a part of a star-studded Slovenian staff alongside Primož Roglič and 5 different prime riders that may tackle the 273.9km course in and round Zürich with almost 4500m of elevation achieve – a real climbers’ problem. But he’ll little doubt be the chief, competing with the likes of Remco Evenepoel, Mathieu van der Poel and a complete host of the game’s finest for glory.
“With Tadej [Pogačar] in Zürich, we’re going there with one clear goal. I’ll do my finest to do my half. I believe Tadej deserves this,” stated compatriot Matej Mohorič to Cyclingnews earlier than racing him in Québec.
“I believe there is likely to be a degree sooner or later when he can do the identical for an additional rider from the nationwide staff, so I believe it is essential that we stick collectively and attempt to win the World Championships, which has by no means occurred earlier than for Slovenia.”
Slovenia’s earlier finest end within the Worlds highway race is third within the elite males’s occasion, because of Pogačar in Glasgow final 12 months and Andrej Hauptman in 2001, a DS at Pogačar’s UAE Team Emirates. Pogačar is seeking to write extra historical past over the important thing Zürichbergstrasse and Witikon climbs that punctuate the largely city Swiss course.
‘Everybody is aware of he is the perfect rider on the earth’
His presence additionally makes it easy for his teammates, realizing that they’re required simply to wind issues up for him to launch his inevitable leg-breaking assault, even when the mission is much simpler stated than carried out. However, this additionally implies that when the highway race rolls round on September 29, everybody is aware of Pogačar will go on the rampage: it is only a matter of when and whether or not you may get forward of him earlier than he does.
“The staff is at all times completely different when Tadej is there, you’re feeling it, not solely within the riders but in addition the workers. Everybody is aware of Tadej is the perfect rider on the earth, and when he is there on the race, you’re feeling that everyone goes 120% as a substitute of 100%,” stated UAE teammate and soon-to-be Belgian rival Tim Wellens to Cyclingnews earlier than the Canadian races.
“For me, it is tremendous good but in addition for all of his teammates as a result of when Tadej is there, all the pieces is evident. It’s not that different races will not be clear, however you may need two or three leaders and then you definately see what occurs.”
“But when Tadej is there, all people is aware of he is the chief. Everybody is aware of what their job is. It’s additionally good that more often than not Tadej finishes it off.”
Mohorič and Wellens had contrasting roles in Pogačar’s final race earlier than Worlds in Montréal. The former was a part of those that tried to get away solo earlier than Pogačar’s inevitable successful assault on the penultimate lap. The latter was a part of a UAE practice that brutally ramped up the tempo earlier than the brutal burst of energy that noticed Pogačar journey 23km alone en path to victory.
The Belgian could also be set to swap his service out for Evenepoel’s ambitions come the highway race however what they share is a typical opinion of Pogačar’s nature, as an extrovert, a joker and somebody who would not take himself or biking too significantly, regardless of being the perfect male rider for the reason that nice Merckx.
“We practice collectively so much in Monaco. So I might say we’re good pals. He’s tremendous extroverted, so he’s really the way in which he reveals up on social media,” stated Mohorič, who is ready to be a part of the Slovenian staff in Zürich.
“He’s tremendous open, easygoing, nearly too relaxed at occasions. He simply lives his finest life. He enjoys each second.”
“He’s precisely such as you suppose he’s like. He would not take biking, like, 200% significantly, and he actually enjoys doing it.” agreed Wellens. “I imply, he is not afraid to solely cease for a espresso to eat chocolate cake or issues like that.”
A way of inevitability
However, he is most actually been taking these World Championships significantly – having made it certainly one of his key objectives of the 2024 season. If Pogačar can handle the win it is going to verify him as solely the third-ever ‘Triple Crown’ winner behind Merckx and Stephen Roche, whereas there will likely be an equally as formidable set of riders able to deny him in Switzerland.
“Remco [Evenepoel] for certain, Van der Poel can do it additionally. It would’ve been the right parcours for Wout van Aert. France, Belgium, Italy, and Spain can do actually huge issues. We should be cautious,” stated Pogačar.
“I believe there’s gonna be lots of nations which are coming robust however I believe I simply must do my very own race and be good on the day. It’s gonna be so much relying on my staff and the opposite groups, how they may race as a result of it must be actually open in Zuirch, There will be actually long-range assaults or simply pure energy strikes on the shorter climbs however there are lots of riders which are suited to this parcours.”
The previous couple of Worlds programs have primarily been extra tailored to the punchy, Classics-style stars. That did not cease Pogačar from chancing his hand most memorably within the 2020 Imola race and the brutal Glasgow metropolis circuit battle, in the end shedding out to Julian Alaphilippe and Van der Poel in programs extra tailored to their skills.
With Zürich being adopted by Kigali in 2025, Montréal in 2026 after which Haute-Savoie as the subsequent ‘Super Worlds’, Pogačar ought to have 4 possibilities at claiming the rainbow bands, making it nearly appear inevitable that he’ll develop into World Champion.
“The purpose is in Zürich, the want is there, the dream too, however now for a couple of years, it’s going to be a very powerful parcours, possibly even higher than this one,” Pogačar stated. “But let’s all concentrate on Zürich for now and if it doesn’t occur, there are nonetheless some possibilities. The sooner you do it, although, the higher it’s.”
There are, in fact, all-time biking greats who’ve gone a complete profession with out changing into highway race World Champions, notably Miguel Indurain, Jacques Anquetil and one of many best one-day racers that ever lived, Sean Kelly. However, given each his skills on the bike and his capability to reside as much as no matter history-making activity he is required to finish, that does not look to be the longer term that awaits Tadej Pogačar.
Get limitless entry to all of our protection of the 2024 UCI Road World Championships – together with breaking information and evaluation reported by our journalists on the bottom from the junior, under-23, and elite time trials and highway races because it occurs and extra. Find out extra.