Eddy Merckx: “Often heard about ‘the new Merckx’, but with Tadej Pogačar we are there”
Monday, October 11, 2021 at 8:01 PM
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Eddy Merckx has praised Tadej Pogačar. The 23-year-old Slovenian won the Tour of Lombardy on Saturday, after he also successfully defended his title in the Tour de France earlier this year and put Liège-Bastogne-Liège on his palmares. “He has no weaknesses,” Merckx says in an interview with EverythingBike.
The Belgian is now 76 years old and is regarded as the best cyclist of all time. Merckx tells his story during an event of shoe sponsor DMT. Striking: next to the living legend is the rising star itself. “I have often heard that the new Merckx stood up, without those riders meeting the conditions,” says the old man. “But with Tadej, I think we’re really there this time. He is only just 23 years old and he has already won the Tour de France twice. That is really unbelievable.”
“I already understood that he had something special when he won three stages in the Vuelta a España in his first year as a pro,” Merckx continues. “The last of these was a 37-kilometer solo, with the entire Movistar squad close behind. And this year in the Tour he smashed the competition in the Le Grand Bornand stage, finishing them minutes behind. He has the mentality and quality of a great champion. They have no weaknesses.”
Pogacar also won on the Col du Portet – photo: Cor Vos
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Many victories in Tour, Vuelta and Giro
That is why Merckx also thinks that Pogačar can become the best rider of his generation and possibly his successor. “Tadej is only at the beginning of his career. I think he can do better than I could in some races. He is 23 years old and has already achieved thirty professional victories, all in a grand way. At the age of 24 I hadn’t won the Tour yet, he has already won two. We will surely enjoy the great champion that he is for many years to come; it will do this sport good.”
However, the Belgian warns the youngster. “I can only tell him to keep his feet on the ground. Because every year he starts from scratch and every year he will have to prove that he is the strongest. But he knows that very well. He has a great team around him that can help him a lot and arrange everything down to the last detail. Tadej is a complete driver. If he continues to do what he does, he will win the Tour, Vuelta a España and Giro d’Italia much more often.”
Merckx, The Cannibal
Many see Merckx as the greatest rider ever. His honors list is endlessly impressive and unparalleled. The Cannibal – as his nickname is – won the Tour five times, the Giro five times and the Vuelta once in his career. In the grand tours he was good for a total of 64 stage victories, of which he booked 34 in the Tour. That record was matched last summer by Mark Cavendish. Merckx also became world champion three times and won no less than nineteen (!) monuments.
Cavendish equaled the impossible this summer: just like Merckx 34 stage victories in the Tour – photo: Cor Vos
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