“I can see him winning two Grand Tours and becoming world champion" - Jan Bakelants backs Tadej Pogacar to emulate Stephen Roche and Eddy Merckx
Cycling
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."
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- That’s a first point, everyone can have an off year or just stagnate before a new upward cycle. What would have been more interesting is including Skjelmose’s performance into the discussion, things have also been expected from him after several performances in the past but he hasn’t really progressed either, his TdF was basically what you would have expected but he’s 26 and been kind of stuck at this level for at least 2-3 years. Maybe he’s a late developer or maybe he needs something to change but as manager I’d be just as demanding and worried about both. Perhaps the recruitment concept was to have enough talent so at least one every year would be in shape and they’ve just been unlucky. Don’t want to rub it in but you could even say Mads lost a notch, so is it the riders or is it more to do with the team?Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- Bingo...I was also going to say that young pretty women are obsessed Pogi fan girls... who are chasing him. All glossy "____" (blank) about Tadej. PS: You can all fill in the "blank" yourselves, whatever you prefer. The definition of glossy is: It looks unusually shiny, glazed over, watery, or vacant/unfocused.PogiSloFans12-11-2026
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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
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