"These athletes do not come around very often" - Experts give lavish praise to 'absolute phenomenon' Tadej Pogacar

Tadej Pogacar has continued his complete dominance of 2024's Grand Tours at the Tour de France. After winning the Giro d'Italia by nearly ten minutes, the UAE Team Emirates leader is now over five minutes ahead of main rival Jonas Vingegaard with two stages to go in France.

On stage 19, the Slovenian put the exclamation mark on his Tour de France with a 4th stage win of the race and utterly dominating the likes of Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel. "We are witnessing something very special here. These athletes do not come around very often and we have to enjoy it," Eurosport expert Dani Rowe says on the channel's coverage of the Grand Tour. "Team Visma | Lease a Bike did everything they could, it was clear that Jonas did not have the legs, he didn't try on La [Cime de la] Bonette, he couldn't follow on that attack of Pogacar. This man is in a league of his own."

With his four stage wins this Tour de France taking his overall tally to 15 at cycling's most iconic race, Mark Cavendish's newly broken record may soon be at threat by Pogacar. Also, with his six stage wins from the Giro d'Italia earlier this year added, the 25-year-old now has an incredible 10 Grand Tour stage wins already this calendar year, in the process breaking Eddy Merckx record of the most days spent in a Grand Tour leader's jersey in one year.

"It [10 wins] is enough to make about 8, 10 or 12 careers, what he's won this season alone," Australian sprinting legend and 24-time Grand Tour stage winner in his own right, Robbie McEwen on Eurosport's The Breakaway. "You hear of riders that win one Tour de France stage in their career and [say] 'I made it'. That makes a career, and he just does it time after time after time. He is an absolute phenomenon."