"The greatest of his time, yes" but Stephen Roche hesitates to call Tadej Pogacar the greatest of all time just yet

In 2024, Tadej Pogacar did something only Stephen Roche and Eddy Merckx had ever done before in combing victories of both the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France with a Rainbow Jersey triumph at the World Championship road race.

On Friday night, Pogacar's 2024 season, which also included two monument victories among other successes, was rewarded as he claimed both the Eddy Merckx Trophy and the Velo d'Or at the 2024 edition of the prestigious ceremony. Watching on from the all-star crowd in attendance, was Irish cycling icon Roche, who spoke to L'Equipe to give his praise to the Slovenian leader of UAE Team Emirates.

"He had everything he needed to pull off this treble, so we were surprised without being surprised," Roche reflects on Pogacar's Triple Crown triumph. "Everything has to come together for him to succeed, and the World Championship route has to suit him, and that was the case, so from the start of the season, we (Roche and Merckx ed.) knew we were going to be caught. And I'm happy about that, because he's a very fine ambassador."

Can Pogacar continue his all-conquering dominance into 2025? "I think so, but we're lucky that others are here too, like Remco Evenepoel, Jonas Vingegaard and Primoz Roglic, who have all been injured this year," assesses the Irishman. "Vingegaard, he's the one who's going to achieve something in 2025, to come back from what happened to him (a heavy crash in April) to finish 2nd in the Tour, that shows something. There are still some great Tours de France to come, and I think the level will even out a bit, especially as it's hard to keep up."

So good was Pogacar's season in 2024, that some have already called the 26-year-old the greatest of all time. Although Roche is clearly a massive fan of the Slovenian, he doesn't feel it's time to call him the G.O.A.T. just yet. "It's hard to compare, and that's why I can't say he's the greatest of all time. The greatest of his time, yes, but you have to respect what Merckx, Indurain and all the others have done," the 65-year-old concludes. "He's the best of the moment. And he'll be one of the greatest of all time in any case, but we'll take stock at the end, and we're a long way from that."