The world champion jersey with the rainbow on the chest is one of the most coveted jerseys in cycling. On Sunday, Tadej Pogacar wants to win it for the first time – and thereby pull off an even bigger coup.
Tadej Pogacar is getting tired of being compared to the greatest in history. “I can’t compare myself to Eddy Merckx because that wasn’t my time. It’s both flattering and annoying because you just want to be yourself,” says the currently best professional cyclist in the world. “You want to do your own thing, ride your own races and write your own story – not someone else’s.”
Pogacar can add another, anything but ordinary chapter to his own – already unique – story – which will only fuel the comparisons with Merckx. If the Slovenian becomes world champion for the first time in Zurich on Sunday, he will win the so-called triple crown of cycling. Only two riders have achieved this so far, the Irishman Stephen Roche and Merckx.
“Can make history”
To win this – highly unofficial – crown, a professional must win two of the three major national tours in one year and become world champion. Pogacar won the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France this year. The Zurich course with its 273.9 kilometers and an almost brutal 4,470 meters of elevation seems tailor-made for the 25-year-old. “Tadej can make history,” says his sports director Joxean Matxin. He is 25 years old and has ridden two major tours for the first time this year: “And he won both.”
After his Tour victory at the end of July, Pogacar made it clear what was important to him from now on: “The rainbow jersey looks good on Mathieu, but it would suit me too. It’s my big dream.”
Van der Poel cautious
The Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel is the reigning world champion until Sunday. The 29-year-old is just as outstanding a rider as Pogacar – and yet he says of a successful title defense: “The chance is small.” The classic specialist has never won a race of this length in combination with the altitude.
He too has recently subordinated everything to the World Championship race. Van der Poel went to a high altitude training camp, lost a few kilos and now looks really slim. And he is probably a good five kilos heavier than Pogacar, which should be the deciding factor given the profile on Lake Zurich. “You don’t have the opportunity to take a breather,” says German Maximilian Schachmann about the course.
Seven laps on the Gold Coast
A lap of the north side of Lake Zurich, called the Gold Coast because of the beautiful sunsets, must be completed seven times. The organizers have marked two main climbs, but apart from a short flat section by the lake, it is actually up and down the whole time.
Who can challenge Pogacar for the triple crown? Actually, the only person left is double Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel. Belgium’s prodigy already won the world time trial title on Sunday and is much more stable on the uphills than van der Poel. It is questionable whether his form is good enough, however. But Merckx might be happy if a fellow countryman ensures that there is no other triple crown holder.
Source: Stern
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
