Tadej Pogacar the best cyclist in history? "I already put him in second place, behind Eddy Merckx" José de Cauwer claims
Cycling
Tadej Pogacar is at such a level in cycling currently that it feels impossible to escape him. Winning two monuments, two Grand Tours, the World Championships, over two dozen World Tour races in a single year... There are absolutely no doubts that the Slovenian is the best rider in the peloton currently; but simultaneously many begin to place him amongst the very best in the sport's history.
"Historically, you can put Pogacar's year among the big ones. I already put him in second place, behind Eddy Merckx. Five times Tour, 5 times Giro, the Vuelta, 3 times world champion and then some things on top of that," José de Cauwer said in words to Sporza. "We'll have to wait a bit longer for that. At the moment he is the best rider in the world". But this does not exclude the possibility that Pogacar will one day reach or be in similar terms of Merckx' palmarès, taking into consideration he has only recently turned 26 years old and seems to have everything fit perfectly in his career.
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What Pogacar is doing looked rather impossible in modern cycling. Whilst in Merckx' days there was little distinction between climbers, sprinters and more; in modern cycling riders specialize in very specific terrains and excel in them. The level is also much more levelled which meant that few riders over the past decades managed to have dominating streaks. It's plausible to argue that Pogacar's feats are already superior to those of Alberto Contador, Chris Froome and Vincenzo Nibali who thrived in the Grand Tour scene over the past decade.
But what he's done this year, on top of his pro career since 2019, has provided him with a great argument for comparisons with the sport's absolute best. De Cauwer, compatriot of Merckx, does not shy away from putting the two in an already similar position. As a perfect example, the UAE Team Emirates rider just by himself has more UCI points currently than several World Tour teams.
Behind him is another generational talent, but one who has had to settle for a minor place on several occasions because of having such an incredible rival. "World champion time trial, double Olympic champion. Nobody has ever done it, because it was almost impossible of course," de Cauwer says, of course, of Remco Evenepoel. "But he is right next to it. And if people have to look for the second best rider, then everyone ends up with Evenepoel".
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- 1. Pro riders, especially at that speed, wouldn't easily fall over. 2. Again, pro riders wouldn't really have that problem. In reality, upright bikes are inherently less stable, as their center of mass is higher. 3. Yes, the US. And we do have very complex roads (in the East, especially the mountains). Also, I don't think there are worse roads in developed countries than the US (for bikes). And remember, due to people wanting the bikes the pros ride, the UCI almost has the ability to decide what is sold, at least what is popular. So, if they allowed recumbents, or didn't exist, then people would choose what is most effective. Recumbents are more faster, and ones with fairing are much faster and are mostly weatherproof, making riding more practical for more weather conditions, increasing their usage for commuting, and in the end increasing health. Long story short, the UCI actually contributes to mortality, due to their foolish rules.acem8201-03-2025
- A joke stops being funny when try to explain why it is funny. There is no need to overanalyize it and explain your understanding or anybody else's understanding of the joke.Cyclingsbestfan01-03-2025
- Price gouging, plain and simple. Just another nail in the coffin of UK cycling. You have to feel for the athletes who are out there trying to inspire the next generations, unfortunately less and less people will be reached as we are priced out and the sport will suffer.Jezla01-03-2025
- it's on FloBikesfrieders301-03-2025
- That’s a terrible analogy, especially the Vin/CR part. It would have been more interesting to add a few and compare with tennis.Mistermaumau01-03-2025
- 1. In one sense yes but if they’re closed it wouldn’t be easy to avoid lateral knocking and that would often lead to crashes by toppling over. 2. Yes, technically everything would be possible. You’d still need to train though and I’m not sure many would feel comfortable doing so in traffic. 3. Are you in the US? Roads in many parts of the world are too complex for the flag thing to be a big help, especially now that taller SUVs have caught up. I’d be enthusiastic about anyone kickstarting the sport but I have no illusions about it becoming popular in public or for mobility. No past 2-wheel faired concepts ever gained traction, the at the time audacious Sinclair C5 was an even bigger flop than Delorean cars or soon the Cybertruck ;-) BMW’s roofed motorbike wasn’t much better accepted, there is no money to be made from these types of vehicles though I admit I’ve been surprised by the relative popularity of double front wheeled motorbikes but then they have a pretty generic motorbike look. People are very resistant to change when it comes to locomotion.Mistermaumau01-03-2025
- It’s 2025, surely you can figure out a workaround? Not going to suggest the obvious for fear of it turning viral and adding another 1-2% to global electricity consumption but in this era where EVERYONE uploads or livestreams almost EVERYTHING, it doesn’t take a genius to organise a hack.Mistermaumau28-02-2025
- And even then he’d still better take a replacement battery with :-)Mistermaumau28-02-2025
- I got it was a joke but yes a lot of people won’t get the style of humour, especially those who equate the sponsor with team and rider choices and unfortunately, whenever a rider or team messed up, the media never hesitated to include the sponsor’s name in the story so it’s not surprising. Can you imagine the damage done to a company like Festina to have its name permanently associated? Lucky ONCE got out before things blew up.Mistermaumau28-02-2025
- Ok, thanks, just wanted to make sure I didn’t misunderstand it for something more cryptic :-)Mistermaumau28-02-2025