Tadej Pogacar adds a new masterpiece to his impressive list of achievements. Launched into the attack 102 kilometers from the finish line, the Slovenian was proclaimed road world champion for the first time by winning alone in Zurich (Switzerland), on Sunday, September 29, after completing the last hour of the race alone in the lead, without shuddering.
Appearing exhausted on the last of the seven laps of the 26.7 kilometer circuit, the three-time Tour de France winner benefited from scoring points in the final among the other podium candidates.
The 26-year-old Slovenian, however, maintained a significant lead over Australian Ben O’Connor (2my at 34 seconds) and over the Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel, defending champion and third of the day (at 58 seconds).
With this world title, Tadej Pogacar becomes the third rider in history, after Eddy Merckx in 1974 and Stephen Roche in 1987, to win the Tour of Italy, the Tour de France and the world championship in the same year.
“Pogi” He caught the other favorites and took the risk of going to the front very early, despite a very mountainous route of 273.9 kilometers and 4,470 meters of positive elevation gain around Zurich. He first recovered after several escapes, including his compatriot Jan Tratnik, who got up to bring him back to the group.
True to his offensive temperament, Pogacar again shook this leading group twenty kilometers later, and only the Frenchman Pavel Sivakov, his teammate in the “normal” season at the UAE Emirates, was able to follow him, until the penultimate passage along the Zürichbergstrasse, a 1.1 km climb at 8% average, 50 kilometers from the finish line.
Trapped behind, Mathieu van der Poel and the Belgian Remco Evenepoel, other big favorites of the day, tried to take revenge on the Slovenian. Without success. The Latvian Tom Skujins and the Irishman Ben Healy set out together in search of Tadej Pogacar, before being caught by other competitors.
Early deprived of Julian Alaphilippe, who retired after dislocating his left shoulder during a fall after an hour of racing, the French team had difficulty making an impact in the final. The first Frenchman on the line, Romain Bardet, finished in eleventh place in his last participation in a world championship.
