World Road Cycling Championships in Zurich: Never a world champion: Pogacar’s dream of a rainbow

Pogacar can add another, anything but everyday chapter to his own – already unique – story – which should only further fuel the comparisons with Merckx. If the Slovenian becomes world champion for the first time on Sunday in Zurich, he will win the so-called triple crown of cycling. Only two drivers have managed this so far, the Irishman Stephen Roche and Merckx.

“Can make history”

For 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 course in Zurich with its 273.9 kilometers and an almost brutal 4,470 meters in altitude 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 driven 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 reserved

The Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel is the reigning world champion until Sunday. The 29-year-old is just as outstanding a driver 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 also recently subordinated everything to the World Cup race. Van der Poel went to a high-altitude training camp, lost a few kilos and now looks really thin. And it is still probably a good five kilos heavier than Pogacar, which should be the deciding factor when it comes to the profile on Lake Zurich. “You don’t have the opportunity to blow through it,” says the German Maximilian Schachmann about the course.

Seven rounds on the Gold Coast

A lap on the north side of Lake Zurich, called the Gold Coast because of the fantastic sunsets, must be completed seven times. The organizers have marked two main climbs, but apart from a short flat section by the lake, it’s actually up and down the whole time.

Who can challenge Pogacar for the triple crown? Actually, only double Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel remains. Belgium’s child prodigy already won the world title in the time trial on Sunday and is significantly more resilient in the mountains than van der Poel. However, it is questionable whether the form is good enough. But Merckx might like it if a compatriot ensures that there are no more triple crown winners.

dpa

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