"Tadej Pogacar will retire as the best cyclist in history" - Tour de France champion has no doubts
Cycling
Tadej Pogacar's return to competition is getting closer and closer. After another epic spring campaign, the Slovenian has went silent for a while to prepare for his main objective of the season - the 2025 Tour de France. And where else to test the legs than at the Criterium du Dauphiné.
The Giro d'Italia is coming to an end, and the name of Pogacar is once again on everyone's lips. Oscar Pereiro's as well. The former cyclist and the first Tour de France (2006) champion of the "post-Armstrong" era (albeit after disqualification of Floyd Landis), spoke at the Senate Day about the UAE Team Emirates - XRG star.
The event is a tribute ceremony to the 90th anniversary of the Vuelta a España, a race that hopes to count on the participation of Tadej Pogacar himself later this summer. Speaking to media, Pereiro was clear about Pogacar's not-so-near future: when the Slovenian retires, he will already be better than Eddy Merckx!
"Tadej Pogacar will retire as the best cyclist in history. It's true that comparing different eras is complicated. But according to Edddy Merckx himself, what Pogacar does he has never seen before. Pogacar stands out above the rest, and as I said he will retire as the best of all time," said the Galician.
Tadej Pogacar continues to add to his historic track record
History awaits Tadej Pogacar
The next few months look set to be decisive in Pogacar's narrative as the best in history. The UAE leader is going to face, consecutively, the Tour de France, Vuelta a España (barring a surprise) and the cycling World Championships (to be held for the first time in history in Africa with a brutal mountain course through Rwanda) as defending champion.
His arch-rival, Jonas Vingegaard, is expected to rise up to Pogacar's challenge and ride all three races as well. If Tadej Pogacar manages to win all 3 races, he will have taken a giant step towards equaling the historical palmares of 'The Cannibal' Eddy Merckx.
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
claps 22visitors 7
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- yeah... you're right...PogiSloFans04-11-2026
- Podcast sounds great. Two so called experts stating the f*cking obvious.wrsty04-11-2026
- A mindset that reminds me of Tim Declerq. I loved watching that guy just pound away the kilometers, hours at the front, holding an entire breakaway in check on his own. Bjerg seems like a similar guy. Curling, the team sport.RidesHills04-11-2026
- He will be lol, but he can still win on the climbs hahaawp04-11-2026
- I would love to have his inconsistency. How many wins this year? 2 TdF stages, a WC, a Euro championship, San Sebastian, multiple wins early year. Monument podiums. I'd take it. I don't think he has a chance in the TdF, but he is still amazing.mij04-11-2026
- He's not going to win the TdF. Maybe if they make every single stage a TT he could win. But I still believe Tadej would just sharpen his TT skills and win.mij04-11-2026
- You beat me to it. Should he make a full recovery (likely) and go light early in the year. One, two, three. Don't ask me, I don't give a damn. Should he be on a Feel-Like-He's-Fixin'-to-Die High.Yepperoni04-11-2026
- The deciding factor may be the (TBD) number of (any type of) kilometers without Pogacar.Yepperoni04-11-2026
- Unexplained chronic fatigue is an all too common bitch. The hard to find definitive answer may lie buried in gut mechanisms. A mystery of the deep.Yepperoni04-11-2026
- It's weird to say Evenepoel would be making a "serious mistake by adding the 2027 Giro d'Italia to his calendar, warning that such a decision could even be interpreted as a lack of confidence in his ability to win the Tour de France." It may well be a mistake but with so many commentators (of all sorts) continuously claiming almost everything Remco does as being a mistake, almost nobody should care what the pundits and the disparagers should say. His team may not want him to do the Giro, and that matters. But it's possibly or probably up to Remco to decide and it may not have to be decided on until a month or so ahead of the race. Yes , Remco is inconsistent much like the majority of the best riders but he's enjoying a period of not having been recently injured (or sick). Whatever he does he need not be concerned with critics who will second guess any perceived failure no matter what. I suspect he will have enough other races on his schedule so he won't be considering it. But the worst reason to not race it is because of what some will say - humorous that be.Yepperoni04-11-2026
Loading
10 Comments