French pundit suggests "Merckxism Syndrome" and "Armstrongian Trauma" prevent us from enjoying the greatness of Tadej Pogacar
CyclingMonday, 14 October 2024 at 23:00
Triple crown and two monuments along the way. With 25 victories, Tadej Pogacar's season could've been hardly any better. And it's not just any wins, dominating with monstrous solo rides including 80km raid at Strade Bianche, 50km solo at Lombardia and finally the spectacular 100km to go attack at World Championships. Naturally, bad mouths speak of doping and compare the Slovenian to controversial figures like Eddy Merckx and Lance Armstrong. Meanwhile others try to enjoy the greatness they're witnessing.
"All behavioral, psychosociological and neurological studies will confirm it, the cycling spectator is eternally dissatisfied. The reason for this state is now known, it is the result of the association of two serious pathologies, one called 'Merckxism Syndrome' and the other called 'Armstrongian Trauma'," Marc Fayet explains in his Cyclism'Actu column.
"The first named, inherited from the time when a famous cannibal raged in the last century who left only a few crumbs of events to his opponents (especially those in which he did not participate) and the second, successive to the unchallenged reign of an American serial cheat who managed to abuse his world for about fifteen seasons."
Suddenly Merckx accelerated and let go of his last breakaway companions
"From these two eras was born first of all among the reporters-rapporteurs a prose based on the expression of a weariness of having to relate day after day, week after week and season after season the same story each time beginning invariably with 'Suddenly Merckx accelerated and let go of his last breakaway companions'."
So far, Pogacar's dominance has been very Merckx-esque. So much that many would refuse to accept someone winning so easily: "It would seem that in 2024, these two dormant diseases will suddenly emerge to become one and will take over the entire cycling world, preventing us from properly enjoying the advent of the greatest cycling champion in the world," Fayet points out.
It is true that the boy who smiles while pedaling has a disconcerting ease in exercising his sport, which is much more like a game than a stake. It is also true that when he decides to leave, journalists cannot help but repeat the formula of their predecessors from the last century: 'Suddenly Pogacar accelerated and let go of his last breakaway companions'."
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- Just sore loser crying by Wright. He should just step up his game instead of complaining about high pace up the climbs. He is also yet to apologize to Roglic for taking him out of that Vuelta. Just not really a likeable character..
UltimateOpportunist09-06-2025 - Another 'analyst' with too much spare time on their hands.
santiagobenites09-06-2025 - I think so too, If Remco hadn't been in that group with them pulling them to the line they would have been caught and VDP would have probably won the stage.awp09-06-2025
- What is the word "Demanding" doing in the heading of this article? Did I miss something?Ride197409-06-2025
- Would Pog. ride the same if with children, prob. yes, JV, only does 1 race and isn't as good as Pog end of!
leedorney09-06-2025 - Dont do leadout for Phillipsen otherwise it is going to be another wasted TDF MVDP can afford to take these risks since come spring he wins monumentsabstractengineer09-06-2025
- In case, someone misunderstood, I was referring to the YouTube video "Causally Explained: Cycling". It is a satire.
KerisVroom09-06-2025 - I see. Now, I know why Wout lost to MVDP so often. This article feels like a copy of Casually Explained: Cycling. In short, pregnant women are not aero. So serious cyclists should shun away from them.KerisVroom09-06-2025
- Commentators, experts, journalists, a bunch of desperate people creating hate and gossip for a click ( for money). Stop.
maria2024202409-06-2025 - Only 1 position matters.. pseudo journalists and bloggers can spin as much as they like reality is Pogacar is in Yellow and Green after winning the stage.. THATS what mattersslappers6609-06-2025
The Lance Armstrong era has really damaged cycling and will place doubts about winners for the rest of eternity.
I really hope that Pogacar and all the other winners and podium places are not cheating, but I'm sorry to admit (due to the taint of the aforementioned era) that it is getting a little difficult for me to believe someone can be this dominant through an entire season.
The season is long and it's crazy that someone can be in top form the entire time, especially across different styles of events and races.
As a cycling fan, I don't have a favourite - I truly love the competition between them and it was incredible to witness greatness with my own eyes at the TDF this year. I am just sad that I will never be able to truly trust my own eyes because of Lance Armstrong.
Some cheek, deciding why people do or don’t enjoy Pog.
The ONLY thing that determines how much you enjoy it is how much you are a fan.
I admire his results, I guess he’s social and fun so it’s easy to understand he’s popular but he just doesn’t seem like a deep or interesting character so doesn’t do it for me, just like Phelps or Djokovic though he is probably quite interesting but he has a bad side that puts me off.
We can't know what any of these riders is like away from the media. I try to base my opinion on how they behave, and the way that Pog was consistently gracious in defeat in 2023 made me a fan, so I am glad he has done well in 2024. I think this fear that he will dominate in 2025 is premature, as Jonas is sure to come back even stronger. I don't think one has to be a big fan of a rider to enjoy watching them win again and again - after he accused Fred Wright of causing his Vuelta crash I have not really been a Roglic fan, but I will never tire of seeing him win simply because he is so easy on the eye.