Pogacar Once Again Proves Greatness in Cycling World

All sports have their greats. Fans of each particular sport generally think their hero or legend is not just the best within that given sport at that particular time, but is also the athlete that transcends their particular event and is a genius in a way that no other star is. Some snooker fans will claim that Ronnie O’Sullivan is the greatest sportsman of all time; lovers of darts will say the same about Phil “The Power” Taylor; whilst those who get their kicks watching track and field may point to Usain Bolt as the greatest of all time.

Others might point to Michael Schumacher (or Ayrton Senna or Lewis Hamilton), whilst many, many more, put Lionel Messi on the pedestal as not just the GOAT, but effectively the GOAT of the GOATS. In truth, comparing athletes of different eras from within the same sport is quite probably a pointless exercise. But trying to claim that, for example, Muhammad Ali is “better” than Lester Piggott, simply borders on the nonsensical.

All that said, in Slovenian megastar Tadej Pogacar, cycling may just have its entrant to the “my GOAT is better than your GOAT” argument. Cycling has, of course, had many, many greats over the years, even if some of the best have had their reputations irreparably damaged due to doping allegations or convictions. By cycling, here we are referring to road racing, with Lance Armstrong still revered by some (who would claim that what he did was no different to most of his rivals). Other great champions, such as Eddy Merckx, Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault, make up some of the sport’s other legends. But Pogi may just be the best of the lot.

Pogacar Completes Triple Crown

Tadej Pogacar celebrating
Credit Alexandre0504 via Wikipedia

On the 29th of September, 2024, the brilliant Pogacar added to his legend by winning the UCI Road World Championship. He won the men’s elite road race over a course of just over 170 miles (273.90km) with one of the most stunning rides of all time. That sounds like hyperbole but the Slovenian attacked from around 100km out, moving clear of the star-packed peloton before catching the breakaway group.

With a massive 51km still to go, he struck out on his own with another vicious solo attack and held on to win with relative ease. To ride from the front for so long on the demanding Zurich course truly is right up there with the best performances we have ever seen. He came home in 6 hours, 27 minutes and 30 seconds – more than half a minute ahead of the second-placed rider. Pogi had won pretty much everything else in the world of road cycling but his previous best in this event was when he came third in 2023. What a way to break his duck!

Three Major Wins in a Year

By landing this title, he joins the very select list of riders to have landed the sport’s “triple crown” which is made up of the world title, the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia in the same year. That is a group of just three now, with the two others to have managed the incredible feat being the legendary Merckx and Irishman Stephen Roche.

Belgian Merckx was the first cyclist ever to win all three events in the same year, doing so in 1974, whilst Roche managed it in 1987. That year’s Grand Tour successes were the only two wins Roche managed in cycling’s three blue ribband multi-day events, so whilst a great cyclist, he is not among the true legends of the sport.

Merckx most certainly belongs in that category, boasting a win in the Vuelta, five at the Giro, five in the TDF and numerous wins in the big stage races. In addition, he won the world championships three times and, until being overtaken by Mark Cavendish in 2024, held the record for the most stage wins at the Tour de France as well.

Eddy “The Cannibal” Merckx

We mention the incredible accomplishments of Eddy “The Cannibal” Merckx because following Pogacar’s win at the worlds in Switzerland the highly respected Belgian icon told the French newspaper L’Equipe, “It’s obvious that he is now above me,” and he went on to say that, “Deep down, I already thought as much when I saw what he did on the last Tour de France, but tonight there’s no more doubt about it.” That’s quite the mark of approval from a man many would still say is the greatest cyclist of all time.

Like all of us who watched the race unfold, the Belgian was also blown away by the style of Pogacar’s success. He noted the difficulty of comparing athletes from different times, saying “you can never compare eras” but then – comparing himself to what Pogi had just done – said “I didn’t attack with 100 kilometres to go in a World Championship, but what he has done is unimaginable… He’s out of the ordinary.”

Pogacar’s Record


Out of the ordinary indeed, and given he only turned 26 a week or so ago prior to completing the calendar triple crown, the best may be yet to come. Road cyclists typically do not peak until their late 20s, with several of the greats winning Grand Tours well into their 30s. Chris Froome, for example, only won his first TDF at the age of 31, with Pogacar the youngest winner of the Tour de France in modern times and the second youngest ever.

The Slovenian already has, incredibly, 17 stage wins in France to his name. That puts him eighth on the all-time list and is all the more remarkable given modern GC riders tend to win fewer stages than in the past. He was also the first rider since Merckx (1972) to win three separate jerseys at one Tour, doing so in 2020 and 2021!

He has three GC wins at the TDF to his name, and also finished second in 2022 and 2023. His only appearance at the Vuelta yielded a third-place finish in 2019, and he has won almost all of the Classic races, including the Giro di Lombardia three times.

Who knows what the Slovenian may achieve in the future but come what may, his feats of 2024 will go down in cycling history. With Pogacar, we are watching a genius at work, and it is not just the wins, but the authority and style of them, with all three Triple Crown victories coming with (apparent) real ease and in dominant fashion.