The Damned comparison with Merckx seems a stage that Pogacar will be destined to face throughout his life and it will not be possible to establish whether he ever crossed the finish line. In the days following the disarming victory of Liège, media of all kinds have made an effort to find points of contact and differences, imagining that the opponents of the real Cannibal felt like the Slovenian's current ones. "I've been asked this question so many times," Pogacar said, "and I I can only be happy and humble because I have an incredible talent for cycling."
Too smart to expose himself. Probably gratified that so many around him have time to devote to the matter. Basically uninterested in everything that happened so many years ago.
Merckx's Tours
The Belgians of Het Nieuwsblad, which they probably wanted to claim the originality of… “Merxian cannibalism”, so they put up some stakes to prevent the wind of words from carrying the discussion too far.
Pogacar announced himself at 20 years old, winning three stages of the 2019 Vuelta and reaching the podiumThe following year he won his first Tour. Five years later, He has three yellow jerseys and one pink one in his trophy cabinet, with 17 stages in France and 6 at the Giro.
What had Merckx done in the Grand Tours at Pogacar's age? He had only participated in the Tour three times (against Pogacar's five), winning all three., with 20 stage victories. He had already won the Giro twice (out of 3 participations), with 12 stage wins.
All Monuments
According to the numbers, another reason why the current world champion is compared to the Belgian is the ability to win on all terrains, among so many champions specialized in just one type of race. Merckx was like that too. Pogacar's list of victories is impressive: 2 times the Tour of Flanders, 3 times the Liège, 4 times the Lombardy, 2 times the Flèche Wallonne, 3 times the Strade Bianche and one Amstel Gold Race.
At the same age, Merckx had won 4 times the Milan-Sanremo, 2 times the Paris-Roubaix, 3 Liège, 3 Flèche Wallonne, 2 times the Ghent-Wevelgem and a Flanders. He has 10 victories in the Monuments, while Pogacar has 9. Just one race to go, with the difference that Merckx had already won them all, while Sanremo and Roubaix are still indigestible for Tadej.
In addition, it is worth noting that at the same age, Merckx was already wearing the second rainbow jersey and, at the same age as Pogacar, he was He arrived in Liège with 141 professional victories against the Slovenian's 95.
Forty undecided pursuers
After Liège's third place, Ben Healy approached the fresh winner and asked him how long he had left until retirement. “I have a contract until 2030,” Pogacar replied laughing. “Maybe that will be the right year.”
The meaning of impotence of rivals it is comparable to that of Merckx's time, even if some behaviors They also gave Pogacar's entourage something to think about.
«It's the first time in my life – said Matxin, head of sports management of the UAE Team Emirates – what do I see forty riders will arrive together in Liège to compete for 4th place. If they had gotten along, maybe they would have been able to reach Tadej."
The hardship of the cobblestones
And speaking of the fact that the Amstel Gold Race has shown a less incisive Pogacar, the Spanish coach agreed that something didn't go well that day.
«Tadej has only 14 days of competition – he said – and he has also travelled very little, so he can recover perfectlyThree days between the Amstel and the Flèche, then four before the Liège, are a far cry from the Grand Tours when you have to be alert and under pressure every day. The most challenging part was due to the fact that Before the Ardennes, Tadej raced on the cobbles twice, at the Tour of Flanders and at Roubaix, and it wasn't easy for him to readjust either."
And now Vingegaard
Speaking of difference compared to Merckx, after having won like Pogacar the Liège and the Freccia between the ages of 26 and 27, the Belgian went to the Giro and won it, also running Frankfurt and three other races in between. Then, beaten by Godefroot in the national championship, he went to the Tour de France and won that too.
Pogacar instead after Liège he took a week off from cycling and then he will move to Sierra Nevada to prepare for the Tour which he will arrive after the Dauphiné. And in France he will find Vingegaard, who due to unresolved problems will arrive at the Dauphiné with 10 days of racing left And without having performed a single classic. Do you understand why it's truly impossible to attempt any kind of comparison?
