Eddy Merckx urges Tadej Pogacar & Remco Evenepoel to attempt hour record: "It would be wonderful if they tried this challenge"

Over the course of his career, Eddy Merckx set out his goals far and wide in the sport of cycling, living up to his nickname of 'The Cannibal'. One of the more standout targets he achieved away from the road, was when in October 1972, the Belgian set the Hour Record at 49.431 kilometres. Now, the legendary figure is urging the peloton's modern stars to attempt something similar. 

"My career would not be complete without the Record," Merckx explained of his own experiences with the brutal attempt in conversation with Le Soir. "At the end of 1972, I felt tired, I wasn't in form, but after three weeks of specific preparation in Italy, I was recovered. We crossed the Atlantic to Mexico and it all worked out well. But I suffered a lot. After that effort, I could barely walk for a week."

Since Merckx, a number of notable names to cycling fans have taken on the challenge of improving the hour record, including the likes of Jacques Anquetil, Miguel Indurain, Sir Bradley Wiggins and the current record holder with 56.792 kilometres, Filippo Ganna.

As mentioned, Merckx now wants two of the modern sport's leading lights to attempt the hour record, namely Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel. "The Slovenian is the best, the most versatile rider out there. But Remco has incredible aerodynamics. It would be wonderful if they tried this challenge," says Merckx, who admits his compatriot Evenepoel is the more likely of the two to one day take on the challenge. "With Pogacar, it's a very different kind of cycling. To tell you the truth, ever since I first met him in 2017, we've never once talked about track racing at all. Never. It's never come into our conversation, neither on his part, or mine, or the team's," he concludes.