"Today's riders evidently don't really like cycling" - Eddy Merckx on how he sees Tadej Pogacar as a breath of fresh air in cycling
Cycling
On the eve of Liège-Bastogne-Liège five-time winner Eddy Merckx has previewed the battle between Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel, which is set to be the highlight of the race. He believes the World Champion will be the winner of the race.
“I say Remco Evenepoel. He is preparing for this. And it's time for him to win, otherwise I don't know when he will," Eddy Merckx told Il Messaggero. "Numbering him at the World championships in Australia was a great gesture. But he has to prove that he is superior to Pogacar." Of Pogacar, he added: "I like Pogacar a lot. He is complete, he races all year round, he does the classics, he does Roubaix, he does everything. He's not one of those you only see in stage races."
Merckx has talked very well of the Slovenian recently, specially as Pogacar took up the spring classics with great success, winning the Tour of Flanders, Amstel Gold Race and now Flèche Wallone this week. Having no weak spots and having great form in display, it will be hard for anyone to beat him under normal conditions.
"He knows how to manage himself, he knows how to correct mistakes, he knows how to improve. And he wins – even more than he who has never won Flanders, Amstel and Flèche in the same season – I'm happy to see that there is a rider who doesn't just prepare a race," he continues. "Cycling is not just the Giro d'Italia or the Tour de France, cycling is all year round."
Read also
In addition to the complements of late Merckx has also added that Pogacar is a different figure to the normal pro cyclist, arguing that “today's riders evidently don't really like cycling, in cycling you need passion. Pogacar loves racing, it shows, not just training."
The duo will have tough competition in Liège however both have shown incredibly high levels this year. Evenepoel also comes in as the defending champion, highly motivated and fresh off a training camp as he prepares for the Giro d'Italia. La Doyenne promises to deliver tomorrow.
Read also
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- What a race! I didn't expect Vanthourenhout to collapse like that, and Wyseure did take the fight to Nys, but there was no doubt at the end. I also wonder what Aubin Sparfel would be capable of were he to race in the elites now. In the U23 ranks he is making good work of Giel Lejeune, who himself is among the better riders in the elites, and a top 10 contender in the big races (3rd at Kleebergcross, 8th at Berencross and 5th at Heerderstrand). In the French Cup, Sparfel is significantly better than Romain Debord (8th at Koppenbergcross and 10th at the Euros) and Rémi Lelandais (12th at Koppenbergcross and 19th at the Euros).
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
Loading
🤩 Suivez la présentation des 49 équipes de #LBL et #LBLwomen en direct du Quai des Ardennes à Liège ! 🤩 Follow the presentation of the 49 teams of #LBL and #LBLwomen live from the Quai des Ardennes in Liège ! x.com/i/broadcasts/1…
1 Comments