"He takes the piss!" - Geraint Thomas & Luke Rowe in awe of 'better than Merckx' Tadej Pogacar

Geraint Thomas has had a few battles against Tadej Pogacar over the years, finishing on the final podium of both the 2022 Tour de France and the 2024 Giro d'Italia alongside the Slovenian. As such, the INEOS Grenadiers leader is well placed to judge just how good Pogacar really is.

Reflecting on Pogacar's 2024 on the latest episode of his Watts Occurring podcast alongside compatriot and teammate Luke Rowe, Thomas was in complete awe of his rival. "He's just won Montreal and the way he won it (23km solo ed.), I don't think anyone has ever won it like that before," begins the 38-year-old. "Strade Bianche he attacked at 80km to go, dominated that. Went to Catalunya, won four stages and the overall. Won six stages in the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, plus the overall. Then has a break, comes back and carries on where he left off... It's just sick!" 

As have most been in all fairness, Rowe too has been left incredibly impressed by Pogacar's performances this campaign. "People keep saying 'he's good, he's good,' but there has not been a rider like him. He's a generational talent," says the soon retiring INEOS Grenadiers road captain. 

"I've said before, he's better than Eddy Merckx! And I'm standing by that," Thomas adds. "Okay, he has got to repeat it for a few more years, but there is no reason why he can't."

"I disagreed with you six months ago," Rowe responds, in reference to Thomas' claim that Pogacar is better than Merckx. "But, if he keeps it up and keeps winning in this fashion, then yeah, why not? Because he wins January till October. He wins the biggest races and he wins them in style. He takes the piss! He can climb, he can time-trial, he can win a cobbled classic..."

"It's like, for a sprinter, if Mark Cavendish won a stage in Qatar and then was winning throughout the year and won the worlds, that's obviously good. But in a sprint, you don't have to be physically the best. But for 'Pog', he just wins by riding away from everyone!" Thomas concludes. "He's by far the best in every race he does."