Peerless Tadej Pogacar wins Rainbow Jersey with epic 100km attack, completing fabled 'Triple Crown' at 2024 World Championships in Zurich

Tadej Pogacar is the 2024 men's elite road race world champion! Although he was heavily fancied pre-race, not many predicted the Slovenian to take victory via a 100km attack, but that's just what Pogacar did, writing more cycling history in the process as he secures the fabled 'Triple Crown' in 2024.

Six riders got themselves into the day's breakaway, home rider Silvan Dillier, Portugal's Rui Oliveira, Norway's Tobias Foss, Germany's Simon Geschke, Poland's Piotr Pekala and Luxembourg's Luc Wirtgen being the riders to get themselves up the road. 

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A number of big names didn't last very long though. Julian Alaphilippe was forced into an early abandon following a crash, with the likes of Mikel Landa, Joao Almeida, Mattias Skjelmose and more also leaving the race very prematurely.

After some time of calm, at around 130km still to go, Pablo Castrillo reignited the action by attacking on the Witikon. Although the Spaniard couldn't fully snap the elastic himself, the peloton was suddenly strung right out and as nation after nation attempted to launch counter attacks, the big favourites' nations were put on high alert. In the end, a ten man chase group broke free from the peloton, with Jay Vine, Laurens De Plus, Stephen Williams, Mattia Cattaneo, Jan Tratnik, Magnus Cort Nielsen, Pavel Sivakov, Kevin Vermaerke, Johannes Staune-Mittet and Florian Lipowitz those attackers.

With 105km to go, the chase group joined the early breakaway. Just 5km later though, the status quo of the race was shifted again as Tadej Pogacar launched a savage attack from the peloton. Although Quinn Simmons and Andrea Bagioli attempted to follow, they were soon dropped as Pogacar linked up with compatriot Jan Tratnik from the breakaway. Notably though, there was no sign of Mathieu van der Poel or Remco Evenepoel. At 90km to go, Tratnik and Pogacar joined up with the break, although there was no hanging around as the Slovenians continued to push on.

The next time up the Witikon, there was just under 80km to go and Pogacar launched another brutal attack dropping all the breakaway riders except Pogacar's trade teammate at UAE Team Emirates, Pavel Sivakov. The Belgians were leading the chase from the peloton behind, but the gap to the leaders was touching a minute when Remco Evenepoel himself attacked to try and chase down Pogacar at just over 70km to go. The Olympic champion couldn't break free, but his acceleration did take the time gap down to around 40 seconds. 

At 64km to go, it was Van der Poel's turn to attack from the chasing group. The stop-start nature of the chase was only benefitting the lead duo though. Inside the final 60km, an attack from the chase finally got distance as Ben Healy, Oscar Onley and Toms Skujins broke free. Up ahead meanwhile, Sivakov dropped away from Pogacar, leaving the Slovenian solo heading into the final 50km.

At just over 31km to go, the time gap finally ticked ominously over the 1:00 mark to Healy and Skujins, with the Van der Poel - Evenepoel group now as good as 1:30 down on the incredible Pogacar. On the final ascent of the Witikon, Skujins put the pressure on Healy as home crowd favourite Marc Hirschi attacked clear of the main group behind. Given the accelerations though, the time gap to Pogacar was dropping back under a minute. At 21km to go, Healy and Skujins were back to just 45 seconds back on the lone leader.

When Healy and Skujins were caught by the chasing group of Hirschi, Evenepoel, Van der Poel, Enric Mas and Ben O'Connor, the gap to Pogacar had been cut again to within 40 seconds and just 15km to go. Had the Slovenian gassed out? At just over 12km to go, the neutral service car was taken out of the gap as a slightly swaying Pogacar began to start looking behind.

Seemingly having a second wind though, Pogacar kicked again on the final little rise, regaining some vital seconds of advantage over the chasers in the process and at 5km to go, his lead was back to 46 seconds. As the cooperation in the chase broke down and the one after the other attacking returned, victory was all but assured for Pogacar then. Taking silver and bronze, Ben O'Connor and Mathieu van der Poel respectively.

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Renaud Breban

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