Now for Tadej Pogacar there are no more adjectives, and comparing him to the greatest of all time, such as Eddy Merckx, even seems reductive. The Slovenian phenomenon also won by a distance Tour of Lombardyseparating the group of the best when there were 48.5 kilometers left to the conclusion of the “dead leaves classic”, which he won for the fourth consecutive year, equaling the record of Fausto Coppi, who achieved the same result between 1946 and 1949. The 2024 Giro di Lombardia was a very good edition, with second place for Olympian Remco Evenepoel, who also arrived alone, but was more than three minutes behind Pogacar. Evenepoel’s crying after the finish was emotional, a symbol of his impotence against Pogacar, considered by many to be the Michael Jordan or Roger Federer of cycling. Italy smiled thanks to Giulio Ciccone’s third place, author of a good performance. Pogacar took his 25th success of 2024 in Como, another memorable feat, considering that in the same year he won the Giro, Tour, World Championship and two classics, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Giro di Lombardia. Results that place him among the Martians of cycling, on a par only with Eddy Merckx, who in 1972 won the Giro, Tour, three classics and established the record for the Ora. Despite not participating in the Olympics due to the controversy with the Slovenian Olympic Committee, Pogacar would probably have won there too, adding Olympic gold to his collection, which together with Paris-Roubaix is one of the few victories he still lacks. However, given the young age of the world champion, these triumphs are probably only postponed. Pogacar made the gap 6.5 km from the summit of Colma di Sormano, separating everyone and progressively increasing the advantage, becoming the first, since 2006 with Paolo Bettini, to win the autumn classic wearing the world champion jersey. At the end of the race, Pogacar celebrated with his parents present, raising his bicycle into the sky after the finish line and declaring that he was happy, but asking not to be compared to Merckx, stating that it is enough for him to be the best of his era. However, also considering the words of the “Cannibal” who admitted after the World Cup “maybe he is already better than me”, it seems that Pogacar is already going further. His next challenge could be to confirm what he has already shown: things never seen before in cycling.
John
John, founder of Odnako, combined his journalism degree with technical expertise to revolutionize global news consumption. Before Odnako's 2011 launch, he gained diverse experience across the media and tech fields, setting a solid foundation for his mission to provide comprehensive, unbiased news. His vision and leadership have since established Odnako as a trusted, innovative news platform worldwide.