He is human after all! British amateur cyclist ‘beats’ Tadej Pogačar up 15km mountain… after five-minute head start; “I don’t really like the Eddy Merckx comparison”; Decathlon has two new smart trainers out… which don’t exist + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
“Maybe we shouldn’t have a country sponsoring a professional team. And that’s not just going to affect Israel, it’s going to affect UAE, it’s going to affect Bahrain”
In case you missed it on Friday, the latest episode of the road.cc Podcast is out, delving into the murky worlds of sportswashing, protests, and doping with former UCI president Brian Cookson:
> “Is sport a force for good? Or for battering people into submission?” Former UCI president Brian Cookson on Israel, sportswashing, banning nation state sponsors, and why protests highlight bike race security failures
“I don’t really like the Eddy Merckx comparison”: Tadej Pogačar admits he doesn’t “feel comfortable” being compared to legendary Belgian after Il Lombardia win caps another ‘Merckxian’ season
Apart from failing to catch Andrew Feather up a mountain, it’s fair to say this weekend was a pretty good one for Tadej Pogačar.
His stunning solo triumph (though long-range attacks are pretty much par for the course these days) at Il Lombardia saw him equal Italian icon Fausto Coppi’s record of five victories at the season-ending monument.
The Slovenian also became the first rider ever to win Il Lombardia, or any monument classic for that matter, five years on the bounce, and the first since Eddy Merckx in 1971 to win three monuments in a single season.
RCS
Pogačar’s Lombardy win, however, meant he achieved something even Merckx at his Cannibal, race-devouring pomp didn’t: a place on the podium at every single monument in one year.
Meanwhile, his staggering autumnal run of four one-day wins on the bounce – the worlds, the European championships, Tre Valle Varesine, and Il Lombardia – is the definition of ‘Merckxian’.
Which is why it was extra special for the world champion to receive a phone call from the man himself, the only rider able to stake a claim to being the greatest cyclist of all time ahead of Pogačar, shortly after the UAE Team Emirates star crossed the line in Bergamo.
However, after years of being labelled the ‘New Merckx’, it seems Pogačar is a bit fed up with the whole comparison game.
RCS
“I don’t really like that comparison,” he said in his post-Lombardy press conference.
“But it just happened that I was standing next to Ernesto Colnago when he got a phone call from Eddy Merckx.
“So yes, I was able to speak a few words with Eddy, and that was really cool. But I don’t feel comfortable being compared to him all the time.”
In any case, whether he likes it or not, Pogačar remains well aware that his exploits are continuing to rewrite cycling history.
“I always say, seven years in a row, that this is my best season so far,” he noted. “And again, I can say this is the best season so far.”
A proper Cannibal.
“I absolutely didn’t want to make Shirin lose”: Yara Kastelijn says she regrets chasing down Dutch teammate Shirin van Anrooij at dramatic gravel world championships
Of course, Il Lombardia’s history-making Pogi destruction wasn’t the only bike racing on this weekend. Though, to be fair, most of it was on gravel.
At Paris-Tours – a race I reckon Pogačar should take on next year, if he really wants to surpass Merckx as cycling’s male GOAT – Matteo Trentin rolled back the clock at the race formerly known as the sprinters’ classic, but now famed for its tough gravel sectors.
The Italian timed his sprint to perfection to beat Christophe Laporte secure his third career win at the French classic, after attackers Paul Lapeira and Thibaud Gruel needlessly threw away what looked like a certain shot at victory, the French duo’s game of cat-and-mouse seeing them caught in the final 500m.
A.S.O./ Tony Esnault
Meanwhile, over in Italy, Elisa Longo Borghini soloed to her second win of the week at the Trofeo Tessile & Moda, where Adam Yates added to UAE Team Emirates’ record-breaking season by outsprinting Tudor’s Mathys Rondel atop the Oropa in the men’s race.
And at the gravel world championships in the Netherlands (I told you there was plenty of gravel), Belgium’s Florian Vermeersch finally turned his two silver medals in the discipline into gold with an impressive solo ride.
Meanwhile, Tom Pidcock secured that rare double: sixth in both Il Lombardia and the gravel worlds, after jumping on a plane on Saturday night to take part in the off-road champs. Take that Pog, that’s a proper achievement.
However, the real drama of the weekend was to be found at the women’s gravel world championships, where Dutch multidisciplinary star Shirin van Anrooij looked set to take her first elite rainbow jersey – only to be caught and passed by her own orange-clad teammates right at the death.
Zac Williams/SWpix.com
The Netherlands played the numbers game for most of the race (they did have 25 riders at the start, after all), forcing Czech rider Julia Kopecký and Italy’s Silvia Persico to chase as Van Anrooij built her lead in the final 12km.
However, as Kopecký faltered near the finish, the Netherlands’ Yara Kastelijn, somewhat inexplicably, took up the chase, her pull at the front teeing up Lorena Wiebes.
The sprint supremo roared past the disconsolate Van Anrooij, within sight of the line and on the cusp of a career-defining triumph in front of home crowds, beating another Dutch colleague, Marianne Vos to take the rainbow jersey.
“I just don’t understand why it has to be closed down now,” a clearly upset Van Anrooij said at the finish, concluding that “my chance at the world title was taken away” by her own team.
“It’s clear: if someone is leading the race and is certain to become world champion, and they’re from the same country, you let them go.”
Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com
The bizarre team tactics also received some harsh criticism on social media, prompting Kastelijn to apologise to Van Anrooij and try to set the record straight.
“I absolutely didn’t want to make Shirin lose,” she said in a statement issued by her Fenix-Deceunick team on Sunday.
“I just wanted to get the most out of myself. Laurens ten Dam, our national coach, had also made clear before the race that the gravel world championships aren’t raced with the same mindset as the European road championships. I took that a bit too literally in the final.
“I regret it now, though. I learn from these kinds of moments. I’ve since apologised to Shirin.”
You can always rely on the Dutch for some drama, eh?
When blocking the bike lane just isn’t enough…
Parking on pavements is sociopathic. Parking in cycle lanes is sociopathic. Parking in front of traffic lights is sociopathic. Obstructing a bus route is sociopathic. So this Comax driver in #Southampton can be proud to be top of the high-score table.
— Simon Phipps (@meshed.cloud) October 11, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Well, at least the local cyclists can’t be accused of riding on the footpath to avoid the van in the cycle lane this time.
Another day, another bleak headline for the Ineos Grenadiers
It’s been a rough few months, and days, for the Ineos Grenadiers. After Rozman-gate at the Tour and Bradley Wiggins’ latest bus-related accusations last week, the British squad have now been forced to admit to the use of carbon monoxide rebreathers.
The controversial method, now banned for non-diagnostic purposes by WADA, was used by other teams, such as Visma-Lease a Bike and UAE Team Emirates, ahead of last year’s Tour de France, purportedly as a means of testing and optimising riders’ altitude training.
While Ineos denied that they had used the dangerous rebreathers – which have also been linked to performance enhancement – for testing purposes at the 2024 Tour de France, the British squad have since confirmed that they were later utilised in early 2025 as a “measurement method” at a training camp.
An itinerary seen by The Times shows the tests were carried out days before WADA introduced measures to restrict their use, while Ineos have stressed that carbon monoxide was never used to “enhance performance” and that the British squad “always adhered to UCI rules and regulations on this issue”.
Read more: > Ineos Grenadiers admit to using now-banned carbon monoxide rebreathing test – but team insist they did nothing wrong
Chris Boardman launches new Bike Bus guidance as Cycle to School Week kicks off, with half a million children set to take part
Over 500,000 children could take part in this year’s Cycle to School Week, which kicked off today with a little help from Chris Boardman, the Bikeability Trust has said.
Active Travel Commissioner Boardman was in Worcester this morning to get the festivities underway, joining Oldbury Park Primary School’s Bike Bus and launching Bikeability’s new Bike Bus guidance.
The resources include example route plans, videos, family guides, risk assessments, and fully funded training designed to encourage and support teachers and parents as they “help children get to school under their own steam” and “make bike buses the new school run norm”.
393,000 children have already pledged to take part in Cycle to School week (141 per cent up on last year’s numbers), with Bikeability predicting that total could hit half a million by the end of the week, which will also feature cycling training sessions across the country.
More than a school run—it’s a movement 🚲
This #CycleToSchoolWeek, with @Chris_Boardman & @BikeWorcester, we’ve launched the Bike Bus Leader Guide, backed by @activetraveleng.
Providing the tools & training for a safe, fun, pedal-powered school run.
👉 https://t.co/id2hDxz924 pic.twitter.com/pDTFuJ8Ofi
— Bikeability (@BikeabilityUK) October 13, 2025
“I’ve spoken to thousands of pupils across the country over the years, and every time I’ve asked who would like to cycle to school more, I’ve seen a sea of hands go up in the air,” Boardman said today.
“Cycle to School Week is a brilliant opportunity for kids to start the day active, energised and ready to learn, and we hope to see as many families as possible taking part this year.
“It’s also fantastic to see the release of the new Bike Bus guidance, which will help more pupils and their parents enjoy a safe, sociable and fun way to get to classes together. It’s what the kids want, and what we want for them.”
Other high-profile, Olympic gold medal-winning names will also be taking part in Cycle to Work Week, with South Yorkshire active travel commissioner Ed Clancy set to celebrate Tinsley Meadows Primary’s Walk and Wheel Challenge, while Dame Sarah Storey will be at Thorn Grove Primary for a Gert Cycling in Schools session.
Pure, pure class
Poor SRAM catching strays in the comments, too…
Decathlon has two new smart trainers out... which don’t exist (even though they definitely do)
Just in from the bonkers world of bike industry embargoes (oh joy) is the news that Decathlon’s new D500 and RCR smart trainers… don’t exist yet, because we’ve been told the information is under embargo.
This is a completely blank image, Decathlon have told us…
The D500 (£349.99) and the RCR (£749.99) are both listed for all to see on Decathlon’s website, providing strong evidence they do in fact exist. There are even 28 reviews* from other countries under the D500 model, providing even stronger evidence that it exists.
According to Decathlon, though, they don’t exist. So, you didn’t get this from us. Capeesh?
You can definitely not check out the D500 trainer here and the RCR here.
* It has become apparent that Van Rysel’s outgoing D500 trainer – that we reviewed on road.cc – was previously listed at the same web address as the non-existent one on Decathlon’s website, so the 28 reviews are almost certainly for that. It’s the new one pictured above that doesn’t exist yet, just to clarify.
“Installing cycle lanes may be ‘politically correct’, but the reality is that when they impact parking provisions, it has a detrimental effect on local businesses”
> Cycle lane plans would put “economic vitality” of town at “serious risk”, warms MP – due to loss of six car parking spaces
Just when you thought you’d seen the daftest bike lane designs imaginable…
Well, you can’t accuse the Canadians of lacking a sense of humour. This looks, ahem, ‘fun’:
good morning to the bike lane big finish designers
— trick van treat (@derek.bike) October 13, 2025 at 2:06 PM
“Big finish”, indeed.
Gravel racing, where old pros go to crash: 61-year-old British Tour de France finisher Adrian Timmis suffers broken collarbone, shoulder blade, ribs, and a partially damaged lung in horror crash at gravel world championships
I told you last week that the gravel world championships was a veritable who’s who of retired professional cyclists, indulging those dormant competitive urges by taking on cycling’s brave new off-road world.
And this weekend’s races spanned the entire range of the ex-pro spectrum, from newly minted retiree Romain Bardet to 90s classics legend Johan Museeuw (and cycling’s Dorian Gray himself, Alejandro Valverde, who must be turning 100 soon, surely).
Added to that venerable list of retired roadies-turned-gravel junkies is Adrian Timmis, the former British pro, Olympian, and Tour de France finisher.
A Milk Race stage winner as an amateur, Timmis turned pro in 1986 with ANC-Halfords. He won a stage at the Midi Libre the following year, before making his Tour debut with the ill-fated British squad.
Timmis finished 70th overall at his first and only Tour, taking a respectable 16th on the stage to Avignon and 31st on the iconic time trial on Mont Ventoux, won by Jeff Bernard and his headband, despite his ANC-Halfords sports director describing him as “gone” a few days beforehand in the Pyrenees.
Timmis’ performance at the chaotic British team earned him a contract at the much more established Z Peugeot outfit, alongside fellow ANC alumnus Joey McLoughlin, and he saw out most of the rest of his career at Raleigh.
Yesterday, four decades on from his stint as a world champs regular, Timmis was back on the global stage, taking part in the men’s 60-64 age group, alongside Museeuw, at the gravel world championships in Maastricht.
And it’s fair to say it didn’t go too well.
“After 100km I was in a front group of five or so for my age group,” Timmis wrote on Facebook. “With 30km to go we were passing a group of dropped riders from the age group in front (riders go off in five year age ranges), when one of those riders swung across and took my wheels out, hitting the ground hard, breaking my helmet, and not knowing where I was for a minute or two.
“The end result: a broken collarbone, scapula, five ribs and a partial damaged lung. I’m also on am epidural for the pain.”
Ouch.
“Not sure when home but hopefully this week sometime. Well, almost finished a bucket list of riding for GB at gravel, road, track, MTB and cyclocross.
“But that’s it folks, retiring from racing for good. Happy with what I’ve achieved.”
I don’t blame you Adrian, after all that.
“The best cycle network is only as good as its weakest links”: Mass ‘Glow Rides’ organised for next week to highlight need for safer cycle routes for women
Earlier this year, Cycling UK launched a campaign urging increased investment in active travel to get more women cycling, particularly in infrastructure designed with women in mind, the charity pointing out that seven years of cycling progress has “reduced barriers for men, but not women”.
The ‘My ride. Our right’ campaign aims to highlight that many women are missing out on the freedom and benefits of cycling, with nine in 10 women afraid to cycle in towns and cities.
A lack of safe, well-lit infrastructure and cycle routes, as well as threatening behaviour on the roads are cited as the major factors putting off women from cycling that should be addressed to remove barriers.
And now, the campaign is co-ordinating with other cycling groups, supporters, activists, and communities across the UK to bring attention to the issue through a series of mass ‘glow rides’.
That means that next Wednesday 22 October, communities will get on their bikes after dark to “light up the night” and call for safer streets and better cycling infrastructure, especially for women at night.
Over 40 rides are already planned, from Bristol to Belfast, Liverpool to Llanberis, and Oxford to Aberdeen. You can find your nearest glow ride on Cycling UK’s easy-to-use map, while the charity is also encouraging communities to bring their bikes and lights and host their own ride if there’s not one local.
“These ‘glow rides’ show that women across the country are fed up with a lack of safe cycle routes in their areas,” Cycling UK’s chief executive Sarah Mitchell said today.
“Communities have long called for transport choices that not only make the commute to work cheaper, but also connect with schools, local high streets, and green spaces.
“We all know cycling is an affordable, healthy and sustainable way to get around. It binds us more closely with our communities and gives us more freedom to travel. It’s time to listen to local people and deliver a transport system that works for women and their everyday journeys.”
Meanwhile, Jill Borcherds, a ‘glow ride’ organiser in Stevenage, added: “The best cycle network is only as good as its weakest links. Our glow ride will highlight some examples of where things are not so great on our streets and cycleways including dark and secluded routes with only busy road alternatives.
“We want cycling to be a practical choice for everyday journeys in Stevenage – as well as leisure rides – for women and everyone else.”
Don’t try this at home, kids! (Unless you live at Thorpe Park, of course)
And today’s award for ‘The Most Mountain Bikery Thing in the World’ goes to…
Good job the water was turned off, that would have been an entirely different video, then. And you thought Tom Pidcock’s descending videos were mad…
“I started to have doubts about whether I would be able to continue at all”: Tadej Pogačar admits knee injury almost forced him to pull out of Tour de France during final week, and describes race as a “necessary evil”
If you thought Tadej Pogačar looked a bit glum during the final week of this year’s Tour de France, now we know why.
In an interview with Slovenian website siol.net at his Pogi Challenge yesterday, the world champion revealed that he suffered serious knee pain during the Tour’s last few days, even admitting that he began to doubt whether he could continue at the race when it entered the Alps.
Pogačar was in ruthless, dominant form during the opening two weeks of this year’s Tour, winning four stages and taking a commanding lead in the GC.
However, during the final week, he cut a somewhat jaded, dejected figure, and was even dropped (shock, I know) by Wout van Aert on the hilly Parisian circuit which provided a nice, if rain-soaked twist to the Tour’s traditional finale.
ASO/Charly Lopez
And, speaking yesterday, Pogačar discussed in-depth the stresses and strains of winning cycling’s biggest race – an event he also bluntly described as a “necessary evil”.
“The Tour is really something special, tiring, long, full of stress… sometimes I just say that the Tour is a necessary evil for every team,” the 27-year-old said.
“This year was the fastest Tour in history, if I’m not mistaken. Every day was stressful, an extremely demanding route in the first ten days, full of traps, loops, final climbs, it was hectic.
“And then came the second week, where the route was written to my skin, everything went great, like butter, and then came the last week.
“I really wanted another Alpine victory, especially in the stage on the Col de la Loze, to avenge the defeat from two years ago. But, to be honest, not everything went according to plan.”
Zac Williams/SWpix.com
According to Pogačar, that hiccup in UAE Team Emirates’ carefully calculated plan presented itself in the shape of knee pain, which flared up after stage 16’s trip to Mont Ventoux, where he finished fifth, and left the Slovenian worried that he’d be forced to DNF while in yellow, Pascal Simon-style.
He continued: “The day after the stage with the finish on Mont Ventoux, I had problems with my knee and I started to have doubts about whether I would be able to continue at all, whether I would be able to endure the queen stage.
“And then, on the stage with the finish on La Plagne, on top of that, the weather was extremely bad. It was cold, and my body went on the defensive. I was holding back water because my body was in shock. I had had enough of everything. I really wasn’t feeling my best.
“But I think any cyclist who has ever been on any grand tour knows that three weeks is no small feat. After the first week, you’re already tired, and then you have two more weeks. I don’t think anyone comes home rested, especially not after the Tour de France.”
Zac Williams/SWpix.com
Despite the Slovenian’s third-week ailments, he still finished second on the Col de la Loze, the best of the GC contenders, and third on La Plagne, finishing 4.24 ahead of Jonas Vingegaard in Paris and with a third King of the Mountains title to boot.
Which isn’t too shabby for a dodgy knee if we’re honest.
So, what’s the lesson we learned today? At the moment, only two things are capable of defeating Tadej Pogačar: persistent knee pain and Andrew Feather. I’d put my money on Feather.
The proof that Tadej Pogačar can, in fact, be beaten (if you’re a hill climb specialist taking part in a hill climb and starting a few minutes before him)
Hang it in the Louvre…
Or maybe hang it in front of Remco Evenepoel, Jonas Vingegaard, and Mathieu van der Poel’s turbo trainers. They need all the motivation they can get this winter.
He is human after all! Former British hill climb champion Andrew Feather ‘beats’ Tadej Pogačar up 15km mountain… after five-minute head start
At Il Lombardia on Saturday, Tadej Pogačar proved once again – not that it needed proving – that he’s the best bike racer on the planet.
The world champion ended his 2025 campaign (yet another contender for the greatest season we’ve ever seen) in typically imperious fashion, attacking with 38km to go, leaving Remco Evenepoel rooted to the spot in the process, to solo to a history-making fifth consecutive triumph at the Race of the Falling Leaves.
RCS
That Il Lombardia victory means that Pogačar ends his season with 20 wins from just 50 race days.
Those 20 victories include three monuments, a second world title, a first European championships success, three other one-day races (Strade Bianche, Flèche Wallonne, and Tre Valle Varesine), the Critérium du Dauphiné, the UAE Tour, and, of course, his fourth victory at the Tour de France.
But… he is beatable. And a four-time British hill climb champion (and full-time solicitor) from Bath proved it.
Feather winning the 2023 British hill climb champs
Yesterday, on home roads in Slovenia, Pogačar was finally ‘beaten’, and by hill climb supremo Andrew Feather no less, on the 15km, 7.6 per cent average Krvavec climb, where baby Pogi won his very first youth race back in 2009.
Of course, I have to add a caveat here. The ‘race’ in question was the Pogi Challenge, the world champion’s attempt to give something back to his adoring home fans by overtaking them at speed as they toil up a monstrously tough mountain.
Starting five minutes behind the main field, Pogačar spent the opening nine kilometre flat section chatting and taking photos with participants, before lighting it up – with the help of UAE Team Emirates domestique Doman Novak – on the climb.
By the time he reached the top and high-fived all the cow and bear mascots Slovenia has to offer, the four-time Tour de France winner had passed 1,187 riders and set a new record for the Krvavec ascent, covering the 15km in 40.44.
But one rider held firm. Feather, a super lightweight hill climb specialist, finished the climb in a blistering 44.15, holding off the Pogi charge from behind and taking the ‘win’.
“What a day,” the 40-year-old posted on Instagram, alongside a video of him picking up a comedy-sized cheque from Pog himself.
It’s not quite flying up the Struggle in the depths of autumn surrounded by people in fancy dress, but I know what he means.
Meanwhile, Pogačar was jokingly asked whether he was now in the process of signing Feather up for the UAE mountain train.
“Our team is already full,” the world champion laughed.
“But if someone can climb that fast, you can always use them. Maybe he never wanted to be a pro. Everyone has their own path.”
And that path is riding up very steep hills very fast.
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Latest Comments
That does look nice, but a shame not to see a Campagnolo option.
Has Bishops Stortford been annexed by the USA?
Meanwhile, at the other end of the bell curve, my less than affluent neghborhood (which is in easy reach of the town centre and the business district) is almost devoid of cyclists (unless you count food delivery riders or youngsters on Heath-Robinson inspired contraptions) There are, however, a surprising number of high spec Teutonic cars that seem to have had their accelerators replaced by toggle switches.
Greg really should have a horn fitted as Mr Gove is famous for paying attention if there's toot in the vicinity.
“I don’t think they have kept us informed enough. A lot of it has been out of the blue, without any information. think if they had kept us better informed people might be more positive.” My local authority has a project, and it sent a leaflet about it to every house in the area: it's just been stalled because there wasn't enough consultation.
@chrisonabike Personally I don't think these dockless bikes should be allowed to surge like that - it's dangerous to other road users - something should be done to reduce their power.
Time for these few motor vehicles that remain to be crowded into narrow lanes that stop at every side junction while the majority of traffic has a clear run!
I was thinking the headline is wrong. Cyclists have long overtaken drivers when they've been stuck in queues of motor traffic...
@ktache Someone should educate him on the highway code.
@chrisonabike HS2 was merely the biggest in a long line of transport investment failures, just the most spectacular. It was an ego project which never had an economic case, as all the independent analyses showed, but it still went ahead. Just imagine what kind of cycle network we'd have if that £100bn had been used for cycling.
17 thoughts on “He is human after all! British amateur cyclist ‘beats’ Tadej Pogačar up 15km mountain… after five-minute head start; “I don’t really like the Eddy Merckx comparison”; Decathlon has two new smart trainers out… which don’t exist + more on the live blog”
Not referenced above but I
Not referenced above but I think worth mentioning: superbly classy gesture from Pogacar to throw a salute to thank Rafal Majka for his service just as he teed up for the decisive attack at Lombardia.
I guess it is easy to be
I guess it is easy to be gracious when you win so often.
We probably learn more about any rider from how they react to being beaten.
And Pogi seems to take defeat
And Pogi seems to take defeat graciously. He loves racing.
HarrogateSpa wrote:
There have been plenty of riders who have won plenty and not been gracious about losing, the Texan being the prime example in my time of watching. Also, Pogacar has often been notably gracious when losing, see just recently when he was pretty much humiliated by Evenepoel in the worlds time trial by being caught and passed and yet when he came in the first thing he did was ride over to Remco to offer his congratulations. The boy’s got class, in my opinion.
You could bé right.
You could bé right. Definitely a learning game cycling …
Shirin van Anrooij learnt it
Shirin van Anrooij learnt it bitterly.
The van rysel d500 trainer
The van rysel d500 trainer does exist you reviewed it last year /s
https://road.cc/content/review/van-rysel-interactive-turbo-trainer-d500-310225
thrawed wrote:
That appears to be a completely different D500 from the one that doesn’t exist referenced here today though.
I think you mean it doesn’t
I think you mean it doesn’t appear to not be a completely different one.
Well yeah that’s why I had
Well yeah that’s why I had the sarcasm tag… I’m pointing out the absurdity of decathlon rebranding another magene trainer to call it the exact same model name as the last one.
It’s an annoying and common
It’s an annoying and common problem with Decathlon products but then they also change the brand name of identical products eg. a Triban shirt may now be VanRysel…
“Tom Pidcock secured that
“Tom Pidcock secured that rare double: sixth in both Il Lombardia and the gravel worlds…” That won’t make history.
Possible but he’s not done so
Possible but he’s not done so badly this year Positive IS usually better than négative…
Baron Eddy Merck also won 17
Baron Eddy Merck also won 17 six-day track races as well as all his road victories – so Pogacar has a long way to go before he’s better than Merck.
kingleo wrote:
That’s a bit like saying that no cricketer can be rated as better than Denis Compton unless they also, like Compton, have had a successful professional soccer career – or in the current era saying that Van der Poel is a better rider than Pogacar if you factor in all his CX and MTB wins. I think it’s pretty clear that when the “greatest of all time” debate is being held it refers solely to the road racing discipline.
Re Shirin van Anrooij. It’s a
Re Shirin van Anrooij. It’s a bike race, not a club social ride, the first rider to cross the finish line wins. If you aren’t having a good day and are struggling and another rider chases you down and beats you then that’s bike racing. Why should they “gift” you the race, just because they are from the same country? And then that rider could miss out on extra prize money and potential sponsorship.Train harder next time.
RM wrote:
Have you watched bicycle racing before? If SVA had been chased down by a single rider that would be one thing although still antithetical to the team ethos, but she wasn’t. She was chased down by a group with Kastejilin towing Wiebes to the line, both of them her teammates. Nothing to do with her not having a good day or struggling or not training hard enough, she was leading the world championship race but if a group decide they’re going to chase a single rider down if all the riders are of equal ability and fitness the group will win. To group together to chase your own teammate down is totally against the team spirit in cycling, which is not the individual dog-eat-dog sport that you appear to think it.