Eddy Merckx on about Tadej Pogacar: "He has a long way to go to be better than me"

After the massive 2024 season Tadej Pogacar has had, more and more comparisons are drawn to Eddy Merckx. However, when the Belgian said Pogacar was even stronger he was referring to Sunday's World Championships performance; but in terms of palmarès Merckx has no problem pointing out that the difference is still very big.

Obviously, the Cannibal surrenders to the quality of the Slovenian and his incredible victory in the last World Championships: "His victory was exceptional, certainly unique. Something that has rarely been seen in cycling". But he clarified that when he said he was "superior" he was referring exclusively to the World Championships and made it very clear that he is not yet at his level:

"I was referring to what he did at the World Championships, to that particular course. It was incredible, and I said it as I thought it, but no, beyond that, I don't think Pogacar is superior to Eddy Merckx. He's won only three Tours. He's still not superior to me. He has a long way to go to be better than Eddy Merckx," he said in words to Relevo.

When Daniel Arribas asks him who is the best rider in history, he doesn't mince his words (there are no doubts by numbers either, all said and done): "I don't know if it's right for me to say it, but I'm going to tell you that I am. I think there are few cases of a cyclist who from January to December has raced and won so many races. I had a year in which I did about 190 days of competition; now, instead, they race about 80 days a year, no more. Pogacar does a bit of everything, it's true, but few do what we did, racing the classics, the 'monuments' and the grand tours by stages. I think there's no comparison".

Tadej Pogacar's 2024 season may be the best in history. Superior in quality to that of Merckx in 1972. But talking in absolute terms and palmarès, there is still a big gap between the two:

Merckx won 11 grand tours (5 Tours, 5 Giros, and 1 Vuelta), 19 Monuments (7 Milano-Sanremo, 5 Liège-Bastogne-Liège, 3 Paris-Roubaix, 2 Il Lombardia and 2 Tour of Flanders), 3 World Championships and a total of 525 professional victories. Tadej accumulated 4 grand tours (3 Tours and 1 Giro), 6 Monuments (3 Il Lombardia, 2 Liège-Bastogne-Liège, 1 Tour of Flanders) and 86 victories in total. Incredible numbers at the age of 26, but very difficult to get close to the Belgian.