"Everyone said it wasn’t possible anymore" - Roche and Merckx joined by Tadej Pogacar in historic cycling feat

37 years later, the list of riders achieving the 'Triple Crown' (Giro d'Italia, Tour de France and World Championships in the same season) in the men's field has grown from two to three. Stephen Roche, the last rider to achieve this still in the 1980's, was impressed by Tadej Pogacar's performance in Zurich and the new addition to the very exclusive group of riders to have ridden to such an historic feat.

“It feels like I’m sandwiched between Merckx and Pogacar now, which is not bad. It’s very nice. It also makes it all a bit more human," Roche admitted in the microphone of NOS. "It’s been 37 years since I did it and I was thirteen years after Merckx. Everyone said it wasn’t possible anymore, that this was a different generation, but I believe that records are there to be broken," the Irish rider was sure of. "For me it’s very nice that a third person has achieved the triple. I think it’s very nice that I’m there to give him the keys to the house. And what a ride! You can’t describe his superhuman achievement.”

Pogacar was the main favourite to win in Zurich however few would've expected him to win the way he did; with an attack still with over 100 kilometers of the race remaining. Being so far away, several of his main rivals were not ready to respond, but a tactically smart and endurance-testing ride saw him go all the way to the finish holding off the peloton whilst dropping his escapee companions. His list of wins this season alone puts him among one of the very best riders in the modern history of the sport.

“It took 37 years, but I think that in the meantime other riders were also able to do it. Froome, Thomas, Armstrong… They could all have done it. Only if you win the Giro and Tour, you are often a certain type of rider. And if you then get a flat course at the World Championships, you often have a handicap, because as a Grand Tour winner you are often not a top sprinter."

"But this year was different. You can't have such a course at the World Championships every year, because you favor a certain type of rider. This was Pogacar's year to do it," Roche finished.