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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Peloton Legends (source) RANK 1: Eddy Merckx · RANK 2: Bernard Hinault · RANK 3: Fausto Coppi · RANK 4: Gino Bartali · RANK 5: Jacques Anquetil Someday Tadej may surpass them; yet, let's not forget these riders.
Just come away from Ronde Vlaandaren centre Oudenaarde. Delighted to find much space dedicated to females.......sometimes forgotten that Nicole Cooke and Lizzie Deignan both Ronde winners, that's more than GB men have managed...
Comparing Pogacar with Merckx is like comparing Tiger Woods with Jack Nicklaus. Tiger may have been the more talented golfer and has indeed surpassed some of Jack's achievements, including the total number of PGA tour wins, but has not been able to match Jack's record of majors, which is perhaps the most important statistic. Whether Pog will surpass Eddy only time will tell.
The 2nd best is Jonas not Remco. This was seen in the Tour
You're talking about GTs, then that's absolutely right. But overall, Remco is 2nd
We don't know that because Jonas doesn't race One-Day-Races (and that it's a pity). I think LBL and Il Lombardia are suitable for Jonas, he could obtain very good places, IMHO, better than Remco. For example, in Il Lombardia Jonas would have closed the gap with Tadej easily instead Remco couldn't.
You're extremely delusional. Jonas already raced Lombardia, twice, was nowhere to be seen. And if you think he could catch Tadej on Saturday... Completely lost
You may be right but that does set some interesting questions. It’s generally known that his strength is recovery which gives him an advantage in stage racing so he may lack the power to beat the best in day races but then that means that all the others, Pog included, really suffer from a good drop in strength during stage races (compared to their day potential), even for specific TTs which logically should be treated a little like day races.
Check out procyclingstats to look up his performance on classics races. From 2020 to ‘22 he raced 6 monuments, several of which Pogacar won.
really? Jonas raced Lombardia in 2021 and 2022, in both years he finished TWO MINUTES behind Pogacar. Remco finished THREE MINUTES behind Tadej, then in theory, Jonas would arrive 1 minute before Remco. I think the gap climbing, Jonas could have closed or at least reduced it much more than Remco. In the flat, obviously Remco is stronger than Jonas but I don't think he is strong enough to balance what he loses climbing. Obviously, all that is in theory, I hope one day can see this awesome battle in the reality.
Based on UCI ranking points, Remco is a far 2nd to Tadej. Jonas is ranked 8th. Some names ranked higher than Jonas are MVDP, Roglic, O'Connor, Philipsen, Hirschi.
only because Jonas doesn't ride a lot. If you go off-season in August (horror!), obviously your ranking position will drop, but that doesn't means your quality dropped.
was, we don’t and won’t know until next year. At the rate Remco improved he could take over At the rate Pog improved he could stay number 1 At the rate Jonas could improve he could be 2 or 1 At the rate any improves they may stall next year and get overtaken There’d be little point to stay interested if everything was a foregone conclusion. I would have thought Visma’s reversal of fortunes since last year would have been enough to remind of that.
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