Tadej Pogacar could match Eddy Merckx's unique record at Il Lombardia

Last Sunday, at the Cycling World Championships in Rwanda, Tadej Pogacar added a new page to his already impressive career. With this victory, the Slovenian cyclist joined an exclusive group of cycling legends who have managed to conquer the road race rainbow jersey multiple times in a row. This triumph, which reinforces his status as one of the most complete and dominant cyclists of the modern era, was also a new milestone in the history of the sport.

Pogacar became the sixth male cyclist in history to win the world title in two consecutive editions, joining a list of champions that includes Georges Ronsse (1928 and 1929), Rik Van Steenbergen (1956 and 1957), Rik Van Looy (1960 and 1961), Gianni Bugno (1991 and 1992), Paolo Bettini (2006 and 2007) and Julian Alaphilippe (2020 and 2021).

What puts his achievement even more into perspective, however, is that only one cyclist in history has ever achieved anything further: winning three consecutive world titles. That honor goes to Peter Sagan, who was crowned world champion in 2015, 2016 and 2017.

Although the Slovenian has not yet achieved that feat, many point to the fact that he could do so in the next few years, especially with the announcement of the route for the 2026 World Championships in Montreal, which is a copy of the annual GP Montréal which Pogacar won twice in the past, finishing second this year after he allowed teammate Pavel Sivakov to have this victory.

Pogacar's dominance in elite cycling is not just limited to the World Championships. In 2024, the Slovenian became one of the very few cyclists to win two Monuments and the World Championship in the same year. This feat alone is not unprecedented, as the previous year Mathieu van der Poel had also achieved the same, joining an exclusive list of names such as Tom Boonen, Rik Van Looy and the legendary Eddy Merckx.

In fact, Merckx took things to another level back in 1971 when achieved the feat of winning three Monuments in one season alongside a rainbow jersey and Tour title. To this day unrepeated, Pogacar could match this achievement in two week's time if he goes on to win his fifth consecutive Il Lombardia.

These types of victories have positioned him not only as a specialist in one-day grand tours, but as a true competitive monster who is capable of dominating both one-day races and three-week events.

The most surprising thing about this whole context is that Pogacar achieved it at the 2025 World Championships held in Rwanda, a country that until a few years ago, was not known for being a regular venue for competitions of this caliber. But with the honor of first-ever rainbow race in Africa, and the settled Tour du Rwanda, the African nation will be always commemorated in relation to the Slovenian's stunning victory.

With the titles he has accumulated in his short but impressive career, Pogacar has no intention of stopping. At 27, his career is in its prime, and all indications are that he still has many years of success ahead of him.