"Tadej Pogacar definitely went for their throats before they could even pull out their pocketknives" - How L'Équipe described Slovenian's World Championships raid

Tadej Pogacar's attack and victory at the 2024 World Championships will be one of the most highly regarded victories in his already very illustrious career and that is with no surprise. 100 kilometers on the attack, the final 51 of which by himself, against a group of top riders in the peloton that battled the entire way to the line to catch the rider that was without a doubt the strongest on the day and in the entire season.

“Let’s forget history, kilometers, strategies for a moment, and let’s try to hold on to a piece of this pure madness, this fury, because it’s rare to experience something that comes so close to absolute beauty, to the essence of cycling in general, and to a world championship in particular," L'Équipe wrote this Monday after the triumph of the Slovenian.

"Tadej Pogacar definitely went for their throats before they could even pull out their pocketknives, but how could Remco Evenepoel and Mathieu van der Poel think they could give him even a meter of freedom? The Belgian admitted after the finish that he thought it was a suicide mission."

The answer actually is quite simple as to why he did not have an immediate response from his main rivals: They did not believe an attack that far from the finish could succeed, specially when there were several domestiques still able to support the peloton's chasing efforts. It was a move that felt illogical and 'stupid' according to Pogacar himself; but from time to time risk rewards the brave. It must be said that having the power of Pogacar makes it much easier for the risk to be rewarded...

"Pogacar took the risk of leaping into the void, where his rivals were unprepared, which cost them the victory. They then tried in vain to keep going, but the toughness of the route broke the remaining manpower. They no longer had the resources to come back, and from there, it was every man for himself, which ruined any collaboration." It must be said that having seen the Slovenian's power, one could argue that he could on paper have the possibility of attacking later in the race and have the ability to do the same damage even if his rivals were ready for it.

Pogacar's climbing performances this year have had no matching and although the Zurich course was not the hardest, it proved to be hard enough for him to use it to his advantage, taking a victory that will mark his career but will also see him for the first time take on the rainbow jersey; taking over Mathieu van der Poel. "In Switzerland, after a fierce battle, he turned the best riders in the world into slaves. Soon, there will be no more references to the past, no more comparisons. The story now belongs to him".