'The best rider I've ever seen': Even UAE Team Emirates are astounded by Tadej Pogačar's Tour de France brilliance

The eulogies can start being written. Tadej Pogačar is on the cusp of winning a historic Giro-Tour double, becoming the first man since Marco Pantani in 1998 to win both Grand Tours back-to-back. 

Two stages remain in the Tour de France, a final summit finish in the Alps and a mountainous time trial that finishes in Nice, but with a time gap of 5:03 to Visma-Lease a Bike’s defending champion Jonas Vingegaard, the UAE Team Emirates rider is all but certain to win his third Tour.

In conquering the Giro and Tour, he has won a combined total of 10 stages, and he could very feasibly add two more to that tally. What the sport is witnessing is not only history, but an athlete operating better than they ever have before.

“Tadej is in his best shape ever. He’s incredible. It’s unbelievable how strong he is,” his teammate João Almeida said. “Personally, I’m super happy to be part of this. In the end, it’s like history, so I’m super proud. I think we can see Tadej is stronger in every terrain.”

Matxin Fernández, UAE’s sports manager, has long since suggested that the 25-year-old was on the path to eternal greatness, perhaps even one day surpassing Eddy Merckx as the greatest bike rider in the sport’s history.

There is no doubt in Matxin’s mind that the Pogačar who steamrolled the opposition at the Giro and has done much of the same at the Tour is “the best Tadej Pogačar I have ever seen in my career. It’s the best rider I have ever seen in my career.”

In the last two Tours, Pogačar has been beaten by Vingegaard, but in 2024 he’s got his revenge on the Dane, dishing out repeated defeats on his great rival. “I think he wanted to get last year out of his head, and this year he has shown he is an amazing bike rider,” his teammate Nils Politt said. “He’s the best in the world.”

Of the 50 race days he’s ridden this season, Pogačar has won 16 of them – almost one every three days. He’s unmatched, unrivalled, and absolutely unbeatable. How has he reached such stratospheric heights? “He’s ridden less in respect to other years and focused on the Tour de France after passing through the Giro d’Italia,” Matxin answered.

“In January, February, March, he saw other riders go and win in Saudi or Valenciana, but he didn’t start those races. [He only had] four races before the Giro and he was hungry. Every opportunity is an opportunity to try to win.”

Out on the road, it’s a case of his superteam doing what they need to do for their superstar, and letting him do the inevitable. “We started here with the best team,” Matxin added. “Adam [Yates] was podium last year and he works for Tadej; Almeida was on the podium in the Giro [in 2023], he’s also a super domestique; [Pavel] Sivakov and [Marc] Soler are two of the best riders on climbs. [UAE have] a super team around him, all believing in Tadej.

“We believe in our plan, we maintain our plan, and with the super legs of Tadej and our guys, it’s simple. This Tour de France is one step more than the Giro.”