As the cycling world turns its focus toward the world championships in Montreal, Canada, the sport’s defining figure is conspicuously absent from the start list. Tadej Pogačar, the double tenant of the event and standard-bearer of modern professional cycling, will sit out the remainder of the season due to a convalescent period following a crash at the Tour d’Espagne, leaving his rivals a rare window of opportunity.
That unexpected pause forces a broader look at the Slovenian champion’s extraordinary trajectory. His remarkable run of success has supercharged a persistent debate across the sport: is Tadej Pogačar already the greatest male cyclist of all time?
The Anatomy of a Historic Season
To understand the magnitude of the debate, one only needs to examine what Pogačar achieved in a single campaign. UAE Team Emirates rider Tadej Pogačar captured both the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France general classifications in the same calendar year, winning six stages in each grand tour. According to cycling records, he became only the eighth male rider in history to secure the Giro-Tour double.
His dominance extended far beyond those two Grand Tours. He claimed his first rainbow jersey at the road race World Championship, won two prestigious Monuments, and finished outside the victories in only two of the 11 races he entered. Records show he tore through the white roads of Tuscany and conquered mythical climbs despite headwinds that slowed the rest of the peloton, such as his ascent of the Col du Galibier.
Reflecting on his ambitions before that campaign began, Pogačar maintained a characteristically laid-back demeanor despite mounting expectations. According to Cycling Weekly, he remarked at the time that the season could be super good, really good, or mediocre, refusing to entertain thoughts of failure while targeting a rare triple crown that included the world championship road race.
Chasing Eddy Merckx and Historical Precedent
Pogačar’s staggering win rate forces comparisons with the undisputed historical benchmark of the sport: Eddy Merckx. The Belgian legend accumulated five Tour de France titles, five Giro d’Italia titles, and a staggering 525 road and track victories throughout his career, inheriting the unofficial greatest-of-all-time designation from Italian champion Fausto Coppi.
At 26 years old, the Slovenian rider has already amassed a palmarès that places him shoulder-to-shoulder with the historical greats of road cycling.
What the Late-Season Absence Means for the Peloton
Pogačar’s forced absence from the autumn calendar due to his Tour d’Espagne crash alters the competitive landscape for the final months of the season. Rivals who spent the spring and summer chasing a shadow in races across Europe and North America finally find a measure of tactical breathing room.
For fans and analysts, the hiatus offers a moment to catch breath and evaluate the human side of a generational athlete who seemed, for much of the year, entirely untouchable.
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