Tadej Pogacar is the 5th rider to win first race as World Champion - We look at the other four who have
Cycling
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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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- I have no sympathy for Ayuso or the situations he gets himself into. He was a traitor in the UAE team, he hated Pogi and never wanted to work for him. He always had excuses why he couldn't perform. No riders in the team liked his character and did not approve the kind of person he was on a deep, moral, or personal level. I just don't care about him. Ad acta.PogiSloFans11-11-2026
- Great response! I love the article also. Interesting to see which "Legends" will be covered. There are a few out there :-)
DareDevil11-11-2026 - This is one of the reasons why Ineos is failing, G can comment on his pod but why has he not attracted talent from the peloton to Ineos. He has lot of inside track. Also ratcliffe handling of Man United is also disastrous.abstractengineer11-11-2026
- Theirs a few on the team who may be able to step up/progress to Grand Tour wins but that'll come, not in '27 tho 🤷 - Roglic mayve appealed on a 2 yr for immediate results but other riders would be set aside and the existing riders wouldn't like that
leedorney11-11-2026 - Hey @santiagobenites, that's why @leedorney is wrong. He doesn't see the bigger picture.PogiSloFans11-11-2026
- the rot started in 2022 with Bernal's accident Signings- Just super helpers and non winners. Foss GC Leaders - Reliance on injured Bernal and retiring G Talents - On domestique duty dont learn how to win. Sprinters - No top Sprinter signed Tactics- Outdated Save the leader, trains. Just money badly spent even though there were opportunitiesabstractengineer11-11-2026
- Whole team is a mess. They don't have any really top tier "podium lock" GT riders, and they don't really have a solid classics block. Just a bunch of spare parts. I don't know why any rider would go for them either. Feels like old mate with the money is likely to pull out at any given moment, and that doesn't bode well for their ability to jack up their budget and say "let's buy half a dozen shit-hot talents to ride support/lead our team" - which is what they probably need to do to get competitive again.wrsty11-11-2026
- Pogi is a Goat. He has power numbers that are once in a century. Jonas is a once in a generation, He has power numbers 1 level lower than Pogi. Even if both are equal which they were before 2024, Pogi would have won on sprint bonuses. For Jonas to win he has to crack Pogi, which is impossible. Therefore Giro is a good option considering the TT in TDF. He cannot win but if something happens to Pogi , he should be still in a position to win the TDF, Giro or no Giro, because the others are a level below him.abstractengineer11-11-2026
- for what?frieders311-11-2026
- Blah blah blah!frieders311-11-2026
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TADEJ POGACAR (UAE TEAM EMIRATES) WINS GIRO DELL' EMILIA! 👏🇸🇮 The world champion did his first race in the rainbow jersey and as expected, he won it in big style. He won by 2 minutes after going solo with "only" 37 km to go. God help us all. #GirodellEmilia
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