"Pogacar has definitely written history" - Nothing but praise from Eddy Merckx following Pogacar's Tour of Flanders win
Cycling
Eddy Merckx is someone who respects Tadej Pogacar quite a lot, and following the Slovenian's victory at the Tour of Flanders originating from an aggressive performance, the Belgian legend has had nothing but praise for the new champion of the Ronde.
"This Tour of Flanders was magnificent. It's been a long time since I've enjoyed something so much," Merckx admitted to L'Équipe. "This fight with the equally strong Mathieu van der Poel was great. I can't repeat myself enough: what a rider Pogacar is! He is more than a champion and we must realize what he has achieved. Previously, only two riders managed to win both Tour of Flanders and the Tour [De France] and that strengthens his performance."
The race this Sunday was by all means quite an exciting one, with a very long fight for the breakaway, an unusual and surprising attack by Team DSM, a large group of favourites attacking from 110 kilometers out, the many attacks between the 'big three' inside the final 60 kilometers and their simultaneous chase to the head of the race, and then the fireworks on the final ascents. Fatigue was very much present, as the riders rode the fastest edition in the race's history.
"Pogacar has definitely written history. His racing style revives the old cycling," Merckx argues. "We lost that for a while. Pogacar does the opposite of cycling according to the computer and his presence is therefore enthusing. He takes the level to a new dimension and is therefore a role model in cycling."
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"He already owns a great position at 24 years old. I do not think that Milan-Sanremo is difficult for him to win," the 'Cannibal' continues, believing that Pogacar could be the next winner of all five monuments. "Had he attacked on the Poggio later this year, everything would have been playable. He learns very quickly from such mistakes. Last year he lost the sprint in the Tour of Flanders, but then he already knew how to win. The same goes for Paris-Roubaix: if he says he needs to put on a little more weight to compete, he'll do that one day."
Asked if he had met Pogacar in person, Merckx revealed that it has happened already in the past: "We once had a meal in Italy on the initiative of a partner. I discovered an extraordinary type of person there and at that moment he had already conquered my heart."
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Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- And we, what are we doing?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- And yet, it attracts people, even you. What’s more, it attracts the rival fanboys to fill cyberspace with endless pointless my hero is better than your hero blabla that’s all been heard before and only helps sell the site as an advertising platform. You know what the solution is but most can’t resist. No different than women who follow and discuss celebs through gossip magazines.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- he is doing 460 watts for 35 min to achieve 7 w/kg with VO2 at 96 , just unreal numbers.abstractengineer08-11-2026
- Just do it, and put up with the consequencesJumpyjohn08-11-2026
- "was a headliner at the Tour de France" Nobody cared about Piddie. Only rivals that were there for Pogi, Jonas, Remco, Sexias, Lipo, Del Toro and they were all expected to lose. Piddie was not even in any conversation.abstractengineer08-11-2026
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