“His worst enemy is himself” – Bruyneel and Martin react to Tadej Pogacar’s record equalling Il Lombardia win

Tadej Pogacar’s fifth straight Il Lombardia victory on Saturday sealed a season so complete that even his rivals, and former professionals turned analysts, can only speak of him in absolute awe. On The Move podcast, Johan Bruyneel, George Hincapie, and Spencer Martin broke down the race and the reality: everyone knows what Pogacar will do, and yet nobody can stop him.

“We are breaking down Lombardia, which was won by Tadej Pogacar in his now-signature solo style. Everyone knew it was coming. No one could stop it,” said Martin as the show opened. The Slovenian attacked on the Passo di Ganda, 36 kilometres from the finish, and rode alone to Bergamo, his fifth consecutive win at the Race of the Falling Leaves and his tenth Monument at just 27 years old.

Bruyneel, the former US Postal director, put it bluntly. “There’s only one way that there might be a possibility. And I’ve always said, you know, Pogacar on top of his form, his strongest, his worst enemy is himself.” He suggested the only tactic left to his rivals is to make him race too early. “Try to isolate him early to make him attack early, and then not race behind. Try to keep it together and hope that he will be overconfident and run out of gas. It has happened in the past a few times, but it seems that now, especially this year, he has that exercise under control. He doesn’t run out of energy anymore.”

That was the story again in Lombardia. UAE Team Emirates - XRG set a ruthless tempo all day, Jay Vine, Pavel Sivakov, and Rafal Majka emptying themselves before Pogacar unleashed the inevitable attack. “That team has thus far been unstoppable, and Pogačar just goes when he wants,” said Hincapie.

Even the podcast’s hosts were left wondering what other teams were thinking. “What was Red Bull–BORA doing today? What was that?” asked Bruyneel, after seeing Primoz Roglic’s team help UAE in the chase. “There’s a reason why. It’s always the same, he attacks, he takes one minute, and he keeps it there. There’s a reason for that. He doesn’t go to his limit.”

Behind, Remco Evenepoel finished second, again. The Belgian has now stood on the same podium as Pogacar in multiple Monuments, Championships and Grand Tours. Bruyneel and Hincapie both agreed that Evenepoel, who moves to Red Bull–BORA for 2026, is doing all he can, but there’s no beating a man who controls every variable. “You could see everybody at the end was struggling,” said Bruyneel. “But the way he’s in control on the downhills and in the corners, it’s incredible.”

One of the few other riders to stand out was Quinn Simmons, who attacked from kilometre zero and held on for fourth place after nearly six hours off the front. Bruyneel read out his numbers live on the show, “Average speed 49.8 km per hour… average power during 25 minutes 380 watts… maximum power 950 watts,” before declaring, “The rider who attacked at kilometer zero today finished fourth in Lombardia, that’s quite something.” Hincapie added, “Ride of the day, in my opinion.”

Yet the conversation kept returning to Pogacar’s control and UAE’s strength in depth. “It’s almost unfair to have these guys sitting at tempo at the front,” said Hincapie. “It’s like, you can’t do anything.” Martin called it a “different level of dominance,” noting how rarely cycling sees one team and one rider combine so seamlessly.

That dominance, though, comes at a cost for everyone else. “There’s no doubt the budget of UAE is affecting the teams and the competition,” Bruyneel said. “They get whoever they want, whenever they want.” He added, “They’re buying away really good riders and good staff from other teams.” Hincapie went further: “Does the sport need a salary cap?”

Both agreed that Pogacar’s team strength, coupled with his natural ability, makes him untouchable in the sport right now. Bruyneel, who has watched cycling evolve for half a century, was unequivocal. “Since I’ve been actively involved in cycling, there’s never been anybody so dominant on all levels as Pogačar in the last 50 years, I would say.”

The statistics back that up. With his Lombardia victory, Pogacar became the first rider ever to podium at all five Monuments in a single season, a feat that left even the usually composed Martin lost for words. “That is unbelievable… that just sank in for me. That is unbelievable.”

He’s undefeated in any one-day race with over 4,000 meters of climbing in the past two years. He has three Monuments this season, a Tour de France title, the world and European road race and time trial championships, and twenty wins from fifty race days, a 40% strike rate. “Have we reached ‘no country for old men’ status in the WorldTour?” Martin asked, as he noted that not a single rider over 30 made the top ten in Bergamo.

The hosts debated whether such dominance is good for cycling. “I think it maybe gets a little bit boring after a while because you kind of know exactly what’s going to happen,” said Hincapie. “But at the same time, you have a once-in-a-hundred-year rider that we’re able to witness, greatness.”

Martin agreed and compared Pogacar’s run with another dominant sports star. “It’s like Tiger Woods in his most impressive run. You just have to enjoy it because it will be over.”

For now, though, there’s no sign of it ending. Pogacar has ten Monuments, four Tours de France, two world titles, and nearly all major races on his palmares, yet he’s still missing a few: the Vuelta, Milan–San Remo, Paris–Roubaix, and Olympic gold. Given his current trajectory, those too may soon fall.

“There’s nobody who can be compared right now with Pogacar,” said Bruyneel, and on the evidence of Lombardia, he’s right. Cycling may never see another rider win so relentlessly, so predictably, and so completely in control. What can anyone possibly do over the winter to bridge the gap in 2026?