Seven victories in a fortnight of racing: this is Tadej Pogacar’s record at the start of the season. By winning the two stage races (the UAE Tour and Tirreno-Adriatico) in which he took part, as well as the only one-day race he contested (the Strade Bianche), the Slovenian is in a way undefeated . The rest, for him, are the classics: Milan-Sanremo, then A Travers la Flandre, the Tour of Flanders, the Flèche wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, where he will defend his title.
And while at the start of the season the announcement of his participation in all these classics, and in particular the Tour of Flanders, surprised some, the double winner of the Tour is today the theoretical favorite of each race in which he takes part. . Including Milan-Sanremo, next Saturday. “I think Pogacar flies, he is in the condition of his life. Two years ago we compared Remco Evenepoel to Eddy Merckx, but they were wrong. In fact, Tadej Pogacar is the new Eddy Merckx” has thus commented Patrick Lefevere at the finish of the two seas race.
The boss of Quick-Step – Alpha Vinyl also seems determined not to field a pure sprinter at Milan-Sanremo, despite Fabio Jakobsen’s great form. According to him, the race will be made too difficult by the Jumbo-Visma and by Pogacar. Should we see in this the first effects of the advent of a “new Merckx”?