Tadej Pogačar’s victory at Milano-Sanremo may have been one of his greatest yet–just in the way he did it. As commentators said, it was an impossible win, given the circumstances. Winning La Primavera was already a daunting task.
With two relatively short and “easy” climbs, it has always seemed to be very tricky for a rider like the UAE Emirates rider to take off in his typical fashion. It’s simply not hard enough to get a gap alone. Last year, Mathieu van der Poel and Filippo Ganna managed to hold on, and Pogi couldn’t match them in the sprint. The goal this year was to attack on the penultimate, and harder climb, the Cipressa. But things did not go according to plan. Not. One. Bit.
The GOAT?
Former pro Adam Blythe didn’t hold back in his assessment of the race. Watching Pogačar recover from a crash before the Cipressa and then take over was…incredible.
“He is an animal,” Blythe said on TNT Sports, as per Cyclinguptodate, describing the ride as something beyond even Pogačar’s already high standards. His performance was the stuff of legend. A crash just before the Cipressa would have been a disaster to almost any rider. Pogi himself said he figured the race was over. Had he not had a strong team, he said, he would have gone straight to the hotel, and skipped the Poggio. But he didn’t. And he ended up giving one of the most inspiring performances in recent history.
After clawing his way back to the front, the Slovenian didn’t just survive—he took control, attacking decisively and forcing the race open on the Cipressa. The effort was astonishing. Imagine the matches it takes to burn to catch back on–he was half a minute behind, as top teams rode tempo–and then found himself at the front just as the climb began. Then, astonishingly, his team took control and it was Mexican Isaac Del Toro who set up the launchpad for Pogi to go.
The ride on the Cipressa
“Opening that race up the way he did after that crash. It was phenomenal,” Blythe said, later going even further: “He is the GOAT. No doubt about it.”
With Milano-Sanremo now conquered, attention naturally shifts to what remains. In Blythe’s view, the checklist is remarkably short. “He has one more Monument to win: Roubaix. Then the Vuelta.” And yes, Eddy Merckx won MSR seven times, along with a whole lotta other races, beating some of the biggest stars of his era, but you can easily argue it was a different time, wasn’t it? This isn’t just about recency bias anymore.
Pogačar is not the kind of rider that’s supposed to win Roubaix…but who knows what he can or can’t do at this point.
Is it possible for him to win Paris-Roubaix?
Last year, he made the winning move with van der Poel, but a crash foiled his chances to contend for the win. But surely, in a sprint, you’d think the Alpecin-Premier Tech rider would take it? So what can Pogi do this year? It would be unfathomable to think the Slovenian could drop MvdP on the flats the way he did on the Poggio. Right? Btw, another crazy sidenote is that Pogačar and Pidcock went a full 10 seconds faster on the final climb this year. Why that’s crazy is a) there was no team leadout like last year and b) there was a bit of a headwind. That increase explains why van der Poel couldn’t hang on. In 2025, he stayed with Pogi, although he said he “died a thousand deaths doing so.”
Tadej Pogačar clearly, really, really wants to win Paris – Roubaix
As for the Vuelta a España, Blythe was classic Blythe: “He could probably win it in his sleep.”
Pogačar has only done the Spanish Grand Tour once, back in 2019. It was essentially a breakout race for him, and the beginning of his reign. He was third overall and best young rider. But he is much, much faster now.
Many have asked if he would do something never done before in men’s cycling–a true triple crown, winning the Giro d’Italia, the Tour de France and the Vuelta, all in the same year. Sure, riders have raced all three in one year, but never GC contenders.
As far as Roubaix, cycling fans have a few more weeks to wait and see what happens. Both the men’s and women’s Hell of The North goes down on April 12.