"Nothing is a given" - Marc Madiot warns that Tadej Pogacar doesn't automatically win next year's Tour

Tadej Pogacar left no room for doubts with his dominant performance in the first two weeks of Tour de France and successfully defended his 2024 title. With four Tour de France titles to his name now, the Slovenian is already high on the all-time ranking, but at the age of 26, he can take his record to a completely different level in years to come.

"He was the best, the strongest, the most complete. It's not illogical that he would be the winner," Groupama - FDJ manager Marc Madiot summed up the Slovenian's victory at Cyclism'Actu.

Now four-time winner of Tour de France, Tadej Pogacar is only one step away from joining the all-time greats Jacques Anquetil, Bernard Hinault, Miguel Indurain and Eddy Merckx who all have in common to have won the Grande Boucle five times. At the moment it does seem likely, if not certain, that the Slovenian should join this prestigious club. Sooner rather than later. But Madiot warns:

"Based on the current situation, we'd like to say yes, it's going to be easy and simple to achieve. But beware of time, habit, and relaxation. Nothing is a given. Remember, in the past, many victories were predicted for certain riders: Jan Ullrich, who was predicted to win several times, only won one. So: observation and prudence are the right words."