"Pogacar has made such a leap forward that he is almost untouchable now" - Danish ex-pro estimates even Jonas Vingegaard will struggle to catch up to Tadej Pogacar
Cycling
Except a few rare occasions when Tadej Pogacar perhaps underestimated his opponents, the Slovenian rode a perfect 2024 season. Winning with 50km solos had become his daily routine and so was the scenario at the last monument of this season - Il Lombardia. Pretty much a formality for the new world champion who took his 4th title and equalled the legendary Alfredo Binda.
While impressive, the experts are gradually beginning to lose interest in such overwhelming dominance:
"It was a bit like watching a penalty without a goalkeeper, where you just waited to see which corner Messi would kick it," Michael Rasmussen told Ekstra Bladet. "Nobody tried to ride away. They were already fighting, while Pavel Sivakov led the group." The Frenchman himself finished sixth.
The dominance of UAE Team Emirates is as important to Pogacar's success as the Slovenian himself, says the 2005 and 2006 Tour de France mountain jersey winner. "After all, they are completely up against the superior power. If Pogacar is at the start with a team consisting of Majka, Sivakov and Hirschi, then the rest are already powerless."
Jonas Vingegaard
Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike) is one of them, Rasmussen thinks. The team of Danish two-time Tour winner is perhaps the only one who can compete with the overwhelming power in the deposit of UAE Team Emirates. The Dane ended the season early to welcome his second child, but also to already prepare for the 2025 season. Hopefully better than this year's which was hampered by terrifying crash in Itzulia.
Rasmussen suggests Vingegaard will still need to step up his best form to be able to catch the Slovenian whom he defeated at the Tour back-to-back in 2022 and 2023. "With the step he has taken now, in a sport where only marginal improvements can be seen, he has increased his lead so much that he is almost untouchable. At least over this season."
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- What a race! I didn't expect Vanthourenhout to collapse like that, and Wyseure did take the fight to Nys, but there was no doubt at the end. I also wonder what Aubin Sparfel would be capable of were he to race in the elites now. In the U23 ranks he is making good work of Giel Lejeune, who himself is among the better riders in the elites, and a top 10 contender in the big races (3rd at Kleebergcross, 8th at Berencross and 5th at Heerderstrand). In the French Cup, Sparfel is significantly better than Romain Debord (8th at Koppenbergcross and 10th at the Euros) and Rémi Lelandais (12th at Koppenbergcross and 19th at the Euros).
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
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IL MAESTRO! 🥳 @TamauPogi takes his fourth @Il_Lombardia in a row, combined with his 25th win of the season! 🎉 Unstoppable. 😮💨 #IlLombardia2024
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