cycling
Merckx raves – Pogacar wants all five monuments
Winner of the Tour of Flanders 2023: Tadej Pogacar. photo
© Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP
Even Eddy Merckx was thrilled when Tadej Pogacar won the Tour of Flanders. The great Belgian watched the race on TV and sees an opportunity for the sport in Pogacar.
Even the great Eddy Merckx, who was never at a loss for criticism, showed his true joy at Tadej Pogacar’s triumph in Flanders.
“It’s been a long time since I had so much fun in a bike race. It was an extraordinary moment,” said the Belgian cycling legend of the sports newspaper “L’Équipe”. Pogacar is more than a champion. “With his driving style, his drive and his daring, he went straight into history.”
Before Pogacar, only two riders had won the Tour de France and the Tour of Flanders in their careers. Merckx himself, of course, and Frenchman Louison Bobet in the 1950s. He revives a time that seemed long forgotten. “Pogacar is the opposite of the computer cycling that has taken over the past few years,” said Merckx. He is a role model for the sport.
Target all five monuments
Pogacar himself is now aiming for victory at all five of cycling’s monuments. The 24-year-old is still missing wins at Milan-Sanremo and Paris-Roubaix. However, Pogacar will skip the 120th edition of Roubaix next Sunday. “I have to gain a few kilos for Roubaix. And my hands have to get a little tougher for that. Then we’ll see,” said the Slovenian. It is definitely a goal for the future. Merckx is certain: “If he says that, he will definitely do it one day.”
In addition to Flanders, Pogacar has already celebrated victories in the Tour of Lombardy and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. So far only the Belgians Rik Van Looy, Eddy Merckx and Roger De Vlaeminck have managed to win all five monuments. Pogacar finished fourth at Milan-Sanremo this year. “I was in really good shape there. The race will probably be the most difficult to win,” said the two-time Tour de France winner. Merckx immediately gave him a tip: “He just has to attack a little later.”
The competition definitely believes Pogacar is capable of success in Roubaix. “He wouldn’t have any technical problems driving there. If at some point you’ve won everything umpteen times, maybe you’ll get bored and you’ll look for goals. Then Roubaix might be one of them,” said Rolf Aldag, sports director at Bora-hansgrohe. And the German champion Nils Politt, second in the “Hell of the North” in 2019, said: “Roubaix is a bit different. But he is a world-class racer – and he can do everything.”