The Triple Crown: Tadej Pogacar is hunting history at the World Championships

Tadej Pogacar is no stranger to making history. In 2024, the Slovenian star has taken his already extraordinary career to new heights, cementing his status as one of the greatest cyclists of his generation. He’s won the Giro d’Italia in commanding fashion, leaving his rivals in the dust with a jaw-dropping six stage victories. Just a few weeks later, Pogacar triumphed in the Tour de France, picking up his third yellow jersey and once again dominating the competition, including fellow superstars like Remco Evenepoel and Jonas Vingegaard. In doing so, he became the first rider since Marco Pantani in 1998 to win both the Giro and the Tour in the same year, a rare double in modern cycling.

But for Pogacar, the season isn’t over yet. On the horizon is another monumental challenge: the 2024 UCI Road World Championships in Zurich on Sunday. If he can pull off a victory in the elite men’s road race, it won’t just be another addition to his illustrious palmarès. It would complete a feat that only two riders have ever achieved: the Triple Crown of Cycling.

The Course: A Brutal Test in Zurich

The Road Race at the World Championships is always a prestigious affair, but this year’s course in Zurich stands out for its sheer difficulty. At 274 kilometers in length and featuring 4,200 meters of climbing, it’s a test that will push riders to their absolute limits. The route favours climbers and classics specialists, and is widely regarded as the hardest world championship course since the 2018 edition in Innsbruck, Austria, which similarly rewarded pure climbing ability.

Mathieu van der Poel, the defending world champion, will line up with ambitions of keeping his rainbow jersey, but the Zurich course isn’t perfectly suited to his strengths. In contrast, it plays directly into the hands of Pogacar, who excels in the kind of relentless climbs and gruelling long distances that this year’s road race will present.

The course begins with rolling terrain before heading into a series of punishing climbs, including some with double-digit gradients. It will sap the strength of the peloton, as only the strongest climbers and riders with supreme endurance will have anything left for the final kilometres. With such a demanding profile, the race is likely to see attrition, leaving just a handful of contenders fighting it out in the closing stages. For Pogacar, a rider who has shown time and again that he thrives in races of attrition, this could be the perfect platform for one final victory in what has already been an iconic year.

The Triple Crown

Winning the Triple Crown in cycling is one of the sport's most exclusive achievements. It refers to winning three of the most prestigious titles in a single season: the Giro d’Italia, the Tour de France, and the World Championships road race. To achieve the Triple Crown is to reach the pinnacle of success in road cycling, as it requires not only the ability to dominate over three weeks in both Grand Tours but also the versatility and stamina to conquer the one-day test of the World Championships.

Only two male riders have ever completed the Triple Crown: Eddy Merckx in 1974 and Stephen Roche in 1987. Both of these men are legends of the sport, and their Triple Crown victories stand as crowning achievements in their careers.

Merckx’s 1974 season is often considered the most dominant in cycling history. He won the Giro in May, then added a fifth Tour de France title in July before finishing off the year with a victory at the World Championships in Montreal. His ability to win across multiple formats and terrains—whether in mountainous stages, sprints, or time trials—earned him the nickname "The Cannibal."

Stephen Roche’s 1987 campaign, while less dominant than Merckx’s, was no less remarkable. After winning the Giro by the narrowest of margins, Roche went on to stun the world by taking the Tour de France, defeating Pedro Delgado and Jean-François Bernard. At the World Championships in Austria, he secured his place in history by outsprinting his rivals to secure the rainbow jersey for Ireland.

For Pogacar, joining this illustrious duo would solidify his place among the very best in cycling history. A victory in Zurich would be a fitting conclusion to what has already been one of the most spectacular seasons in modern cycling.

Can Pogacar Do It?

Given his form this year, Pogacar is the overwhelming favourite to win the World Championships and complete the Triple Crown. The sheer dominance he displayed at both the Giro and the Tour is unparalleled in recent memory, and his performances in stage races have already set him apart as the most talented rider of his generation.

One of Pogacar’s greatest strengths is his versatility. He’s not just a climber or a time trialist; he’s a complete rider who can excel in a wide range of terrains and race formats. His ability to win six stages at both the Giro and the Tour, which included mountaintop finishes and time trials, is evidence of his all-round capability. That same versatility will serve him well on the tough Zurich course, where endurance and tactical acumen will be just as important as climbing ability.

Another factor working in Pogacar’s favor is his team. Slovenia have brought a strong team to Zurich, including four time Vuelta winner Primoz Roglic, who is a medal contender in his own right. Expect his teammates to set a fierce pace on the climbs, thinning the peloton and eliminating many of Pogacar’s rivals before the final showdown.

However, while Pogacar is the favourite, the World Championships are notoriously difficult to predict. The one-day nature of the race means that anything can happen, and a host of strong riders will be lining up with ambitions of their own. Van der Poel will undoubtedly be motivated to defend his title, while riders like Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic will also be gunning for the win. If Remco Evenepoel can replicated his performance from the Olympic road race in Paris, then he could put a serious challenge towards Pogacar’s hopes of the triple crown.

Then there’s the unpredictable nature of cycling itself. A crash, a mechanical issue, or a perfectly timed attack from a rival could all derail Pogacar’s quest for history. Yet if there’s one thing we’ve learned about Pogacar, it’s that he thrives in the face of adversity. His tactical intelligence, paired with his raw physical talent, has seen him overcome challenges time and again.

A Moment of History Awaits

As Pogacar prepares to take on the world’s best in Zurich, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Victory would not only cap off a season for the ages but also place him in the pantheon of cycling legends alongside Merckx and Roche. It would cement his legacy as the most versatile and dominant rider of his generation and, perhaps, as one of the greatest ever to grace the sport.

In a year that has already delivered so much, Tadej Pogacar is now on the verge of history. All eyes will be on him as he hunts down the elusive Triple Crown at the 2024 World Championships.