After Tadej Pogačar won the rainbow jersey, becoming just the third male rider to achieve the Triple Crown, Belgian Eddy Merckx had some high praise for him. In an interview with L’Équipe, he said, “It is obvious that he is now above me. And deep down, I already thought as much when I saw what he did at the last Tour de France. Obviously, you can never compare eras. But this is an incredible rider. I didn’t attack with 100 kilometres to go in a world championship, but what he has done is unimaginable.”
A few days later, Spanish outlet Relevo.com asked him to follow up on his comments, and he clarified his remarks.
Not quite the GOAT…yet
“I was referring to what he did at the world championships, on that specific course. It was incredible, and I said it as I thought, but beyond that, I don’t believe Pogačar is superior to Eddy Merckx. He has only won three Tours. He is still not superior to me. He has a long way to go to be better than Eddy Merckx,” he said.
Pogačar’s ride was indeed special. The Slovenian attacked with 100 km to go, then powered ahead solo with 50 km remaining to cap off a dream season.
Comparing two riders from different eras
By the time Merckx was the same age as Pogačar, he had already secured two Tour de France titles, two Giro d’Italia victories, two Liège-Bastogne-Liège wins, two Paris-Roubaix titles, one rainbow jersey, four Milan-Sanremo victories, and one Tour of Flanders.
Bernard Hinault: ‘Pogačar is like me and Merckx”
Pogačar, on the other hand, has claimed the Tour three times, along with two Liège titles, a rainbow jersey, and a Giro. He has also won the Tour of Flanders and has a couple of Il Lombardia victories. He hasn’t raced Paris-Roubaix yet, which explains his absence from its winners’ list.
Merckx still says that despite Pogačar’s impressive ride, he isn’t quite at the level of the GOAT.
“I don’t know if it’s right for me to say it, but I’ll tell you it’s me. I believe there are few cases of a cyclist who has raced and won as many races from January to December. There was a year when I competed for about 190 days; now, they race about 80 days a year, no more. Pogačar does a bit of everything, it’s true, but few do what we used to do, competing in the classics, the Monuments, and the Grand Tours. I think there’s no comparison,” he said.
However, he does express his enjoyment in watching the Slovenian race.
Pogačar has a lot of class
“He’s a very strong cyclist, surely the best of his generation. But look at what happened last year; Jonas Vingegaard was stronger than him in the Tour. And this year, I think Vingegaard wasn’t even at a hundred percent, and he finished second,” the 79-year-old said. “I don’t know; we’ll have to see how the rivalry develops in the coming years. What’s clear is that Pogačar has a lot of class.”
Merckx did say that he’d love to see Pogačar race Paris-Roubaix. Knowing that Pogačar is always up for a challenge—and although it’s not quite the same, he did win Strade Bianche—you know he’s considering it.
He also stated that he believes cycling is clean. “There are many controls, and it’s pure cycling. We can be at ease; I’m very confident about that,” he concluded.
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