Philippe Gilbert suggests a way to keep tension in Pogacar's dominance: "Directors have to adapt and show the battle behind the leader better"

Philippe Gilbert has won five monuments in his career, but none in such dominant fashion as the likes of Tadej Pogacar and Mathieu van der Poel displayed this spring. Maybe a bit dull? Gilbert doesn't share the opinion, enjoying the fireworks in every race these phenomenons line up to.

"This year has been exceptional," Gilbert begins his look back at the 2024 Classics season in L'Equipe. "Not just because of the names of the winners, which is impressive in itself, but especially because of the way they have dominated the races." He points to a number of standout moments, such as Mathieu van der Poel's impressive sixty-kilometre solo at Paris–Roubaix, and Tadej Pogacar's devastating attack on La Redoute in Liège–Bastogne–Liège.

"All of that impressed me enormously and I thought it was fantastic to see," Gilbert continues. "It really was a top year, and we can even speak of 'total cycling'. This generation of attacking riders shows a huge evolution: they dare to attack from far away and do so with the certainty that they can win. I only stopped two years ago, but it is already a completely different world."

The dominance of riders like Pogacar and Van der Poel raises the question whether this is not at the expense of the tension in the races. Gilbert sees it differently: "That question is irrelevant to me," he says. "It is up to the television directors to maintain the tension in a race. Look at the Giro di Lombardia: Pogacar rode a fantastic solo, but a lot happened behind him that was hardly visible. The directors have to adapt and show the battle behind the leader better."

According to Gilbert, there are plenty of opportunities to keep the viewer engaged, even when the winner seems to be known. "As a commentator for Eurosport, it is sometimes difficult to maintain the tension when you know that someone like Pogacar is not going to collapse or fall. But that does not mean that the rest of the race is not interesting. The camera should be focused more often on the battle for the other podium places."