This past Saturday, October 5,
Tadej Pogacar made his world champion's jersey debut in style with a spectacular victory in the Giro dell'Emilia. With an attack 38 kilometers from the finish line, the Slovenian launched himself on the first of the five climbs to San Luca to break the curse of the rainbow.
And, counting the UAE Team Emirates star, only five riders in history have managed to win on their first day of competition after becoming world champions. This is confirmed by the X (formerly Twitter) account
StatsOnCycling. Before Pogacar, only Spain's
Abraham Olano,
Tom Boonen,
Francesco Moser and
Freddy Maertens achieved this milestone. Below, we review the year in which each achieved it and the race in which they did it.
Freddy Maertens - 1976
The former Belgian rider won the World Championships in 1976 in Ostuni, Italy. Then, as world champion, Maertens won the Flanders Championship ahead of Willy Planckaert and Serge Vandaele.
Francesco Moser - 1977
A year after Freddy Maertens' feat, the Italian Moser was to emulate the Belgian after winning the San Cristobal World Championships in Venezuela. After becoming world champion, he went to the Circuit de l'Aulne (also known as Boucles de l'Aulne) and took the victory ahead of Herman van Springel and Ronald de Witte.
Abraham Olano - 1995
The historic Spanish rider had a fantasy 1995. After winning the World Championships in Duitama, Colombia, Olano wore the rainbow jersey for the first time in the Subida al Naranco, where he managed to beat Fernando Escartín, who was 2nd, and José Manuel Uría, 3rd.
Tom Boonen - 2005
Boonen's is the most special case of the five. The Belgian was proclaimed world champion in 2005 at the Madrid World Championships, but he would not make his debut in the rainbow jersey until 2006, as his next race was on January 27, 2006, at the Doha G.P. There, Tom Boonen beat Lars Michaelsen and Erik Zabel.
Tadej Pogacar - 2024
Finally, the one we have already mentioned. For the first time in his career, Pogacar became world champion at the Zurich World Championships. He did so after a historic attack 100 kilometers from the finish. Not even a week later, the Slovenian raced the Giro dell'Emilia, where he had been 2nd in the last two editions (in 2022 behind Enric Mas and in 2023 behind Primoz Roglic), and with an attack 38 km from the finish he entered this select group of 5 riders who have managed to overcome the curse of the rainbow.
