"Eddy Merckx was competing when there were only four good countries… guys he was racing against were still working" – Tadej Pogacar ‘vastly superior’ claims peloton rival

As Michael Woods bows out from professional cycling, the 39-year-old Canadian hasn’t shied away from stirring one of the sport’s longest-running debates — the comparison between Tadej Pogacar and Eddy Merckx.

Speaking to Cycling Weekly, the Israel - Premier Tech rider argued that the Slovenian world champion should already be regarded as the greatest cyclist who has ever lived — ahead of even the five-time Tour de France winner known as “The Cannibal”.

“Merckx was competing when there were only four billion people on the planet,” Woods said. “And only four countries were good at it… and there were guys he was racing against who were still working. The fact that Pogacar’s as good as he is with this level of depth, with this pool of talent that’s being drawn from, it’s vastly superior, vastly superior.”

While Merckx amassed an almost mythical number of career victories, Woods suggested that the globalisation of the sport has made modern success far harder to achieve. With the talent pool now drawn from every continent and backed by immense scientific and financial resources, Pogacar’s achievements carry a different kind of weight.

Having won the Tour de France and the World Championships in the same season twice now, alongside a string of Classics triumphs, the Slovenian has become the defining rider of his era — and, in Woods’s view, of all eras. “He doesn’t need to [race into his late 30s]. He can stop tomorrow,” Woods said. “And in my mind, he’s the greatest cyclist that’s ever lived.”

The Canadian pointed out that even generational stars can lose their hunger once their supremacy becomes routine. “It becomes not as fun when you have less opposition,” he reflected. “You even saw it with Peter Sagan. Sagan just got bored. You could tell he was just doing it as a job.”

While the curtain is closing on his WorldTour career, Woods insisted he has no intention of putting his bike away. The 2023 Tour de France stage winner is already eyeing off a mix of endurance challenges — from mountain bike epics to triathlon — once his professional obligations end in December.

“I’ve got some big plans,” he said. “I want to do some alternative events – bucket list items. I just love exercising and love training, love racing… I want to answer the question of whether I’d be a good triathlete or not.”

Reflecting on recent turbulence within the Israel - Premier Tech setup, Woods remained diplomatic but optimistic: “It was a tough time for everybody in the last few months, but I think a lot of positive changes can happen within the team moving forward.”

As he prepares for life after the peloton, Woods leaves behind not only a collection of stage wins and heroic breakaway performances — but a bold claim that will continue to divide cycling fans for years to come.