"It's amazing to be in this era of cycling" - Fred Wright loving the challenge of competing against Tadej Pogacar, Mathieu van der Poel and co

Over the last few years, the generational talents of Tadej Pogacar and Mathieu van der Poel have dominated much of the Monuments and Grand Tours between them. As such, opportunities for the rest of the riders have been a little limited, but for one, Bahrain - Victorious' Fred Wright is loving the challenge of trying to compete against the best in the world.

"It's amazing to be in this era of cycling and to be to be racing with these guys," says former British national champion Wright in conversation with Rob Hatch for TNT Sports' The Gruppetto, after having claimed top-10 finishes at both Milano-Sanremo and Paris-Roubaix already in 2025. 

"They do sort of carry an aura around them in the peloton as well," continues the 25-year-old. "I was gonna say that it’s funny, in Sanremo I'd almost have liked to have been able to watch it on TV. Whereas there I am, you know, just desperately hanging on in the second group on the Cipressa and trying to survive and then these two [Pogacar and Van der Poel] are taking chunks out of each other in the front. I didn't actually get to watch very much of that moment, but I did watch plenty of it afterwards and it was pretty special."

Although Wright has had numerous high placings in big races and is often there or thereabouts, as evidenced in Sanremo and Roubaix, the Brit has just one professional win added to his palmares - the 2023 British National Championships win. So just how does someone like Wright go about taking that next step and begin to win against the likes of Pogacar and Van der Poel?

"I think it's fascinating as well for me just trying to work out how to get results and how to do well when these guys are there and so strong," he explains. "You really have to try in the classics to just try get ahead of them and let them come to you, or hope that they don't come to you."

It's not impossible either, with Wright noting an example of a rider upping their level to compete. "It's good to see someone like Mads Pedersen actually be able to [compete with them]. I think without that puncture he would have been fighting for the win as well (in Roubaix ed.)," Wright concludes. "It's an amazing time for cycling, that's for sure. It's just when you're suffering on the bike, thanks to them, it's maybe not so great."