"Goes toe-to-toe with one of the best Monument riders ever, then come July he's one of the best Grand Tour riders ever" - Geraint Thomas stunned by Tadej Pogacar's brilliance

Tadej Pogacar might have fallen just short in his quest to win Paris-Roubaix on debut last weekend, eventually finishing runner-up to Mathieu van der Poel, but the Slovenian has once again ensured he is the talk of the cycling world thanks to his performances. One of those left stunned, was former Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas.

Speaking on the Watts Occurring podcast alongside his Welsh compatriot and former INEOS Grenadiers teammate Luke Rowe, Thomas waxed lyrical about the all-around capabilities of the UAE Team Emirates - XRG leader. "It just makes you sick, doesn't it?" begins Thomas in his typically dry fashion as Rowe smiles and nods in agreement.

Part of Pogacar's brilliance is the fact that he can challenge almost any rider on almost any terrain, with his battle on the cobbles of Roubaix just the latest example. "Like, he's unreal. He's going toe-to-toe with probably - well it's a big shout, but Van der Poel is probably one of the best ever Monument riders or Classics, cobbles riders," explains Thomas. "You put him in with Tom Boonen or Fabian Cancellara back in the day, I think I'll be backing Van der Poel to be honest. He's in that conversation anyway, for one of the best cobbled riders ever."

As shown last Sunday though, despite Van der Poel being just that good, the Dutchman needed every ounce of his brilliance to finally get rid of the four-time Grand Tour winner Pogacar, with ultimately a crash from the Slovenian proving a decisive factor.

Whilst Van der Poel is all about the Classics and the Monuments though, for Pogacar, the big one-day races are merely one string of his multi-talented bow. "Pog is going toe-to-toe with him (Van der Poel ed.), then come July, Pog's three hours in front of him up the Alps and the Pyrenees," explains Thomas, who is the last man to ride Paris-Roubaix and win the Tour de France in the same season. "He's like, one of the best Grand Tour riders ever Pog... It's just insane."

"What he does is just ridiculous," adds the now Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team sports director Rowe in conclusion, fully in agreement with his compatriot's assessment of the current Rainbow Jersey.