Pogacar the brilliant madman: a legendary day in Coppi’s footsteps

When he set off, scrambling on the pedals, with 100 kilometers to go we all thought (even Eddy Merckx!) “but this is crazy…”. Yes, but a brilliant madman! Only Tadej Pogacar could think of attacking from so far away. But he who we have always considered as the oldest of modern champions has the courage that is even greater than his ambitions. Tadej is not only an absolute champion, the only one in business who can win everything from Sanremo (he has already come close) to Lombardia (he has won the last three editions), he has the pace of the show. And he knew that yesterday, on the demanding Zurich route, there was an appointment with the legend. By winning, as he won, he would have done like Merckx in 1974 and Roche in 1987, the only ones capable of slipping the rainbow jersey onto the yellow one of the Tour de France and the pink one of the Giro d’Italia in the same season.

happy cycling

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Yes, but how he won sums it all up, because Tadej is a happy cyclist. He improvises and simplifies the race tactics with the enthusiasm of a beginner, a student and a junior who does not yet know the rules of tactics. He ruins his plans and follows his instincts. He can do it because in addition to having the nature of an attacker he has immense cycling class and brazen talent. Was he the man to beat? Yes! He was the best cared for wheel in the group and everyone thought they could race on him, but not even two champions like Evenepoel and Van der Poel thought of responding to that unconventional attack. The last two world champions have the same propensity for spectacular feats as Tadej, but at that moment, at that precise moment they too thought it was a gamble, madness. This is what Gino Bartali had thought when Fausto Coppi set off 192 kilometers from the finish line, on the first of the five Alpine hills of Cuneo-Pinerolo in the 1949 Giro d’Italia. And so, when Bartali decided to react, to give life to the most legendary of the chases, it was already too late. How late was the attempt by Van der Poel and Evenepoel to respond personally, when the great work of their respective national teams had failed to close that “hole” which for over two hours remained oscillating between 45″ and minute and a half. Pogacar alone (51 kilometers from the finish) on the hills surrounding Zurich, against the small group of survivors, increasingly sifted by fatigue, orchestrated by the outgoing world champion Van der Poel and the Olympian and world champion in the time trial Evenepoel. Two giants dwarfed by the size of Pogacar. We had the impression that Tadej regulated his effort to maintain a reassuring margin without ever going overboard.

the previous ones

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We do not remember, in a World Cup, such a spectacular demonstration of strength and such a spectacular feat. Only Vittorio Adorni stayed longer in Imola (90 kilometres) but he was the survivor of a breakaway that began at 235 kilometers to get ahead of the great favorite Merckx. To find the number one who takes the hat from afar and then wins you have to go back to Coppi’s flight in 1953. In Lugano he attacked 85 kilometers from the finish line with the Belgian Derycke to remain alone less than 30 kilometers from the finish line where Giulia Occhini was waiting for him who was about to become the White Lady for everyone. Pogacar like Coppi, and perhaps better than Coppi, 71 years later… All the references, all the details of this feat, are there to tell us that this Pogacar World Championship is already legendary. At 26, Tadej has already won 3 Tours de France, a Giro d’Italia and Monument classics such as Flanders, Liège and Lombardy. The World Cup was a natural stage in his stellar journey. Now, if anything, we wonder how much and what he can still win. And we are reminded of the words of Geraint Thomas, Olympian and Tour winner, who felt honored to be beaten by what one day could be remembered as the strongest cyclist ever. It’s hyperbole, a stretch, but it gives an idea of ​​the value of Tadej Pogacar, the brilliant “madman”.