A huge step towards taking his 3rd Tour de France title in Nice, Tadej Pogačar well and truly drops Jonas VIngegaard on his way to victory on stage 15 💛🇸🇮 #TDF2024
“I can see him winning two Grand Tours and becoming world champion" - Jan Bakelants backs Tadej Pogacar to emulate Stephen Roche and Eddy Merckx
CyclingMonday, 15 July 2024 at 19:00
Tadej Pogacar has reached a level rarely seen in cycling history throughout 2024. Early season wins at the Volta a Catalunya and Liege-Bastogne-Liege were followed by a first career Giro d'Italia triumph. Now, as the Tour de France enters the third week, the Slovenian is three minutes clear in the fight for the Maillot Jaune.
Just where will Pogacar's season on dominance come to an though? In his rest day press conference, the UAE Team Emirates leader again quashed talk of a historic Grand Tour hat trick at the Vuelta a Espana, saying; "It is 99 percent certain that I will not participate in the Vuelta a Espana this year," but for Sporza analyst Jan Bakelants, a different treble could be on the cards.
"I don't see that happening this season," says Jan Bakelants about the potential lure for Pogacar of becoming the first man ever to win all three Grand Tours in the same calendar year, on the latest episode of Sporza's Vive le Vélo. “What I can see him doing is winning two Grand Tours and becoming world champion, like Stephen Roche.”
In the long and storied history of cycling, only Eddy Merckx in 1974 and the aforementioned Stephan Roche in 1987 have ever managed to win the Giro d'Italia, the Tour de France and the road race at the World Championships in the same calendar year. In 2024 of course, there is also the added prize of a potential Olympic gold medal in Paris later this summer.
In Bakelants opinion, an Olympic win would be bigger than a Vuelta win for Pogacar. "Easy, becoming Olympic champion. Winning the three Grand Tours is unique, even if it is 'only' the Vuelta. It is the third of the three," he clarifies. "Up until 4 or 5 Olympiads ago, the piece of gold in the professional peloton did not have the value it does today."
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- Does everything need to have a point? If so, 99% of the internet should be wiped away. In relation to recent articles with quotes from other riders, my statement points to the ever more obvious reason why they are asked to comment on the effect of his return.Mistermaumau22-12-2024
- If anyone would be interested enough to launch an official survey as to who out of these three should shut up, I don’t know who’d win but I’m due Boonen would be way back in 3rd place.Mistermaumau22-12-2024
- And your point is what exactly?vappaxbipmv22-12-2024
- MVDP dominates this sport even more than Pogaçar dominates road racing. Also he can beat Tadej on the road quite regularly, the opposite is unlikely.Mistermaumau22-12-2024
- If you listen to team radios you'll hear each DS telling their riders to ride faster, fight their way to the front, and all occupy the same 8 places.Sweep22-12-2024
- You're talking about a sport where equipment and clothing is measured in grams.Sweep22-12-2024
- “During a TT, I am basically blind”. That was his quote after crashing into the barriers in a TT. The problem isn’t the UCI, radios or air bags. The problem is the riders and their teams.JoeyB22-12-2024
- I think you overestimate scientific knowledge and for sure the spreading of it. There are huge numbers of people in similar situations, if there were an easy solution somebody would be making big money out of it. Nerve pain can have many complex origins or be due to complex combinations of reasons. Even if you discover a reason there is not always a solution. Migraines haven’t been solved either. I have had lower back/hip nerve pains on and off for over 30 years, no kind of doctor has ever found a way to reduce, prevent or solve the problem. It may just be that some people are born with nerves that are too short or get twisted out of position during certain movements.Mistermaumau22-12-2024
- Amazing ride by her and very promising for her future. On a side note, it’s a bit worrying all these wins riders have after emotional moments in their lives, someone will come up with emotional doping at some point. Maybe give them fake news just before a big race to get hormones pumping.Mistermaumau22-12-2024
- I doubt he will have the energy to do that if he continues to do leadout for Phillipsenabstractengineer22-12-2024