What Tadej Pogacar finds himself without qualifications. The Slovenian has decided to make the history of this sport and become the best of all time and, little by little, he is taking steps to achieve it. In Zurich won one of the only titles he was missing: the World which gives him the right to wear the rainbow jersey. But it’s not just what he did, but how, as Pogacar did more than a third of the race alone, attacking 100 kilometers from the finish line.
Ben O’Connor, After his second place in the Vuelta, he surprised with silver, after an attack just over a kilometer away. The podium is finished Mathieu Van der Poel, who won in the final sprint over the rest of the group made up of Remco Evenepoel, Hirschi and a deserving Enric Mas, who had options until the end.
It was a devastating attack, one of those that goes down in history and for which suicide is assured for every cyclist. It was also almost the case for him, since in the last lap he had a lot of difficulty maintaining the advantage of more than a minute that he had managed to take. However, he managed to achieve a legendary victory, one of those that will be remembered, defying the logic of a sport in which excesses are costly and even more so in a World of 275 kilometers, in which the demand of the course is what ultimately selects the race.
Pogacar He was the clear favorite to win. We knew that at some point he would attack, it remained to be seen when. What was not among the options was that he did it with 100 kilometers remaining, with his lead more than under control. But there, the modern cannibal reappeared, to leave behind him Evenepoel And Van der Poelcompeted with the Slovenian theorists of Zurich, and won without opposition.
Even if in the end the race seemed long, something that, coming from him, already attracts attention. He struggled to maintain the gap in the final kilometers, after having covered 100 kilometers alone. Despite this, the force with which the UAE team prevailed was brutal. A cyclist accustomed to giving recitals almost every time he races, chose the best time of the season to show himself in a way never seen before. To the favoritism with which he arrived, he responded with an abysmal and abusive superiority, to put on the rainbow without opposition of any kind.
The World Cup practically put the icing on the cake of the season in Zurich. Everything was against Pogacar, since the Slovenian was the big favorite to win the rainbow. Competition was very limited, with Remco Evenepoel and Mathieu Van der Poel as the only two capable of competing head to head with the United Arab Emirates.
In an all against Pogacar, the Belgium of Evenepoel and Holland de Van der Poel were the other selections to consider. For the rest of the teams, like the Spanish, the French or the Italians, the options were more than limited. They needed to consolidate into an early escape in which they would gain enough of an advantage over the peloton that when the dreaded attack from the modern cycling cannibal arrived, they would be far enough away to not be hit.
In the case of Spain, despite the best team in recent years, with Mikel Landa And Enric Mas as leaders, but with strengths like Ayuso, Aranburu, Lazkano either Castrillo, It all started badly. Landa had to retire due to a fall, while Pello Bilbao He also fell to the ground and eventually gave up as well. Only Castrillo, revelation of the Vuelta, tried unsuccessfully to get out and escape. Enric Mas remained, favorite until the end.
Pogacar blew up the World Cup at 100 kilometers
Although the attack of Tadej Pogacar, What was not expected was that he would attack 98 kilometers from the finish line. He left the peloton, without Belgium and Holland being able to stop him. The Belgians had tightened the pace of the race with Slovenia, aware that they had to closely control the Tour champion. But they couldn’t.
Pogacar set off alone in search of the leading group of the race, without opposition or anything resembling it. He pushed alone until he met his compatriot Tratnik, who was waiting to take him to the group at the head of the race, in which there were real threats like Cort Nielsen, Vine, Sivakov, Lipowitz and Oliveira.
He chased them 10 kilometers later and with 77 kilometers to go, he left with his teammate – but not the national team – Sivakov. The two men were hand in hand for several kilometers, until Pogacar launched the final attack, eliminating his UAE teammate. Behind them, it was Van der Poel or Evenepoel’s turn to move. The first to do so was the Belgian, who managed to select the peloton, taking the Dutchman and, also, Enric Mas in his wheel. The Spaniard was the only one already holding on in the main group, while Pello gave up definitively after the fall suffered at the start of the event.
In front of them were Healy and Skujins, whom they managed to catch on the last lap. Enric Mas came out to stop Hirschi, who wanted to win at home. The Swiss did it again in the final straight, five kilometers from the finish line, while Pogacar had already assured his victory despite the threat of birds. The Slovenian crossed the finish line almost a minute ahead, proclaiming himself unopposed world champion.
The favorites came from behind, with Ben O’Connor in second position, after an equally devastating attack, a little over a kilometer away. Enric Mas tried, but he could not win bronze against a very fast Van der Poel, who outperformed the others and left Evenepoel without a medal, which must be confirmed “only” with the time trial gold.
