NOS Cycling•
Nothing but respect and praise. “He is a phenomenon,” many say. “Boring? I don’t know, I take my hat off to you.” The year of Tadej Pogacar will go down in history. He wins the Tour, the World Championships, the European Championships and he competes in the top three in all major one-day races.
As a worthy end to his season, the Slovenian also won the Tour of Lombardy for the fifth time in a row on Saturday, after another powerful solo.
And that results in this honors list:
Shortly after his victory in Lombardy, Pogacar received a mobile phone in his hands: Eddy Merckx, the Belgian all-rounder who is widely regarded as the best rider ever, was on the line.
“That was very cool, a nice surprise,” Pogacar responded. “I keep getting compared to him. It doesn’t bother me, but I don’t like it either. I just enjoy this unforgettable day.”
Merckx’s time
Mathieu van der Poel described it to Belgian media last week: “It must feel a bit like the time when Eddy Merckx raced for us. Pogacar is currently doing what he wants on his turf.”
The only one who beat Pogacar several times in a direct match this year was Van der Poel himself. He defeated the Slovenian in Milan-Sanremo, Paris-Roubaix and in the second stage of the Tour.
“But that was really on my turf, and even then it was a close call. I don’t think I pose a threat to him on his turf.”
Goals: Milan-Sanremo and Paris-Roubaix
Conversely, Pogacar has set himself the goal of also winning Milan-Sanremo and Paris-Roubaix. “Those are my goals, I have never won those competitions.”
Besides Van der Poel, there are only two others who have defeated Pogacar in 2025: Mathias Skjelmose defeated the Slovenian in the sprint in the Amstel Gold Race and Wout van Aert even rode away from him in the final stage of the Tour.
But it must be said: it was a rested Van Aert versus a rider who had just been the best over all mountains for three weeks.
The rest of the pack? They can work during the winter break. Daan Hoole is one of them. He would have liked to give his season some extra shine with a nice place of honor at the European Championships, but thanks to Pogacar’s superior power, things turned out differently.
“We rode in a group about ten minutes away from him. We were approaching the finish, we still had two laps to go, and the moment we crossed the finish line, a woman suddenly stood on the road. She said: stop! The road was then blocked by stewards. We were taken off course.”
The organization was afraid that the group, containing four of the five Dutch people who had started the European Championship, would be doubled by the Slovenian in the final.
Hoole: “It’s a bit sad. And it’s also bizarre. The peloton wasn’t very big there, but when you see who is right behind him. They are all quality riders and the number ten already finishes in about seven minutes. That’s a lot. Especially when you consider that Pogacar did everything alone.”
Pogacar cracks Evenepoel and solos to victory at the European Cycling Championships
The last 75 kilometers Pogacar rode alone on the undulating course. The competition, even time trialist Remco Evenepoel, came no closer. It was illustrative of the season, in which few riders are in the same finish photo as Pogacar. Whether it was in Strade Bianche, Tour of Flanders, Liège, the World Cup or the European Championship. He rode the competition within minutes everywhere.
Fuses
Evenepoel, who finished second behind Pogacar at the European Championships, the World Cup and in Lombardy, sighed with a smile to Sporza on Saturday: “Maybe I should ask Pogacar to stop next year or in two years.”
To add something more serious: “No, it’s just a nice motivation to work towards his level. I have continued to fight for it in recent weeks. We will take that with us, and in the winter we will work to get closer to him.”
View six great victories for Pogacar in 2025 below:
It almost threatens to become boring. Hoole cannot come up with a solution so quickly, if one is needed at all. “Even if they make the courses easier, it is still difficult to beat him. I don’t know either. It is also beautiful.”
“But for some people it is also a bit boring. When I sit in front of the TV? I take my hat off to that. It is also stupid to make the courses easier, just not to let him win.”
Within his Lidl-Trek team they discussed many tactics last year, but the conclusion? “You just know that when he is at the start, you are driving for second place. Ciccone came second behind him in Liège, which is actually the highest possible for us. A lot of respect for what he does.”
