“It isn’t the most exciting sport right now. Who can challenge Tadej Pogacar next year?” – Jan Bakelants claims all tension is gone

Another championship, another demolition job. Tadej Pogacar’s latest exhibition at the European Championships in France — a staggering 75km solo escape that left Remco Evenepoel once again battling only for silver — has reignited debate about whether anyone in the peloton can still touch the Slovenian. For former pro Jan Bakelants, the answer is increasingly bleak.

In a column for Het Laatste Nieuws, Bakelants described Pogacar’s dominance as both awe-inspiring and damaging to cycling’s sense of unpredictability. “It isn’t the most exciting sport right now,” he admitted. “I don’t know if that’s necessarily bad, but I understand the people who miss the tension.”

The European Championships route, featuring repeated ascents of the brutal Côte de Saint-Romain-de-Lerps, was supposed to offer a tactical showdown. Instead, it became another one-man show. Pogacar’s attack on the third climb with 75km remaining saw him drop Evenepoel with apparent ease, maintaining and even extending his advantage despite a determined solo chase from the Belgian. Behind, Juan Ayuso, Paul Seixas and Christian Scaroni fought over the minor medals, but the gold was long gone.

Bakelants was unsparing in his analysis of Belgium’s approach. “They went after him early, but that was naïve,” he said. “If you make the race hard, you’re mainly tiring yourself out and playing right into Pogacar’s hands. The harsh reality is there’s just nothing you can do against him.”

Indeed, Pogacar looked utterly unflustered even when isolated — with Matej Mohoric dropped well before the final climbs. He simply measured his effort, marked the key attacks, and then rode away. For Bakelants, that simplicity underscores the current imbalance in men’s cycling. “When Pogacar is racing, there’s very little tactic involved. He felt he was about to be isolated and decided to go alone. Race over.”

Evenepoel, who once again finished runner-up after a gutsy but futile chase, didn’t escape criticism either. “He was on Pogacar’s wheel and got dropped — simple as that,” Bakelants said. “He can be proud that he then rode three minutes clear of the rest, but he needs to stop thinking in black and white: winning is good, not winning is bad. When you keep running into the same rider for two years, you have to accept he’s just better at the moment.”

As the season heads towards its finale at Il Lombardia, Bakelants sees little prospect of change. “Who else but Pogacar is going to win Lombardy?” he asked. “Evenepoel and the rest don’t stand a chance right now.”

The Belgian admitted that such dominance, while historically impressive, risks turning cycling into a foregone conclusion. “It’s like watching cyclocross with Mathieu van der Poel — it’s always the same story,” he said.

Yet Bakelants hasn’t entirely given up hope. He believes the next generation — riders such as 19-year-old Paul Seixas, who claimed bronze in France, and UAE’s Isaac del Toro — could eventually inject fresh energy. “It’s too soon to say if they can ever reach Pogacar’s level,” he said, “but it’s that kind of young talent that will bring excitement back. Only when all the pieces fall into place will we see truly thrilling battles again.”

For now, though, cycling remains trapped in the Pogacar era — magnificent to watch, but, as Bakelants suggests, a little too predictable for its own good.