There is rarely a race that goes by at this point in Tadej Pogacar's extraordinary career where record-breaking and history-making feats are not being ticked off.
Rather than ease himself into a new campaign, Pogacar has clicked straight into top gear by leaving his beleaguered rivals in his wake at the Strade Bianche, Milan–San Remo and then last weekend's Tour of Flanders.
His season opener on the hills of Tuscany saw the UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider seal a record fourth Strade Bianche crown – and Pogacar's third in a row – finishing one minute ahead of Frenchman Paul Seixas.
Two weeks later, the 27-year-old Slovenian was back on top of an Italian podium following a first Milan–San Remo triumph after edging out British rider Tom Pidcock by the tightest of margins, a feat achieved despite hitting the deck in a nasty crash 32km from the finish.
Then in Belgium on Sunday, Pogacar defended his Tour of Flanders title by securing a record-equalling third victory in the race, finishing 34 seconds head of Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel, making it four Monuments on the spin including last year’s Liege-Bastogne-Liege.
“What can I say – when a rider wins like this, people think it is normal. It is not normal,” UAE Team Emirates-XRG sports manager Joxean Fernandez Matxin told The National.
“He didn’t just win – he controlled a race that normally cannot be controlled. Against the best classics riders in the world. This tells you where his level is. Not only physical, but mental, tactical. He is racing with clarity.”
Next up for the four-time Tour de France champion is Sunday's Paris-Roubaix, a race Pogacar has made clear is one of his priorities for the campaign.
“It’s no secret that Paris-Roubaix is one of the big goals for this part of the season,” said Pogacar, who finished second in his race debut last year, 78 seconds behind reigning champion Van der Poel. “The few races I’ve done so far have gone perfectly, so the motivation is high but the pressure is low.
“I’m going to enjoy it no matter what the result and I’m looking forward to a good weekend of racing. We have such a strong team with guys who have been on the podium here before so it’s not only me who is capable of a result.”
Win this weekend and Pogacar will have completed a clean sweep of all five Monuments, joining Rik van Looy, Eddy Merckx, and Roger De Vlaeminck in the history books as the only riders to do so.
But mastering the cobblestones in Northern France is up there with the toughest challenges in cycling and arguably the hardest one-day race on the calendar, rightly known as “Hell of the North”.
“Paris-Roubaix is different. Completely different,” explained Matxin. “Here, watts are not enough. You need luck, you need calm, you need respect for the race. The pavé – it does not care if you are the strongest. One mistake, one bad line, one puncture … finished.
“Why [is it known as] 'Hell of the North'? Because it feels like this. The sectors, the dust, the crashes, the noise … it is chaos. Beautiful chaos, but chaos.
“For Tadej, this is the challenge. He likes to suffer, yes – but here, suffering is not controlled. It comes from everywhere.”
Standing in the way of Pogacar's latest slice of history will be the formidable figure of Van der Poel, who last year became the eighth rider to complete a hat-trick of race wins and only the third to triumph three times in a row.
He did so despite being hit in the face by a water bottle thrown by a spectator – described as “attempted manslaughter” and like “getting hit by a stone” by the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider – as well as having to change his bike with 15.6km to go.
“To beat Mathieu van der Poel in Roubaix … this is maybe one of the hardest things you can do in cycling today,” added Matxin. “Mathieu, he is made for this race. The explosivity, the bike handling, the confidence on the cobbles.”
Before the race last year, UAE team principal Mauro Gianetti was less than enthusiastic about letting his star rider compete, worried that any fall might affect his Tour hopes, following a crash-hit Strade Bianche win.
As it happened, Pogacar did crash on a tight bend with 38km to go which prevented him from seriously challenging Van der Poel. But was there any chance of him skipping the race?
“In the end, he is a racer," said Maxtin. “And not just any racer – he wants to experience everything, to test himself everywhere. Once he has this idea in his head … it is difficult to change. And we support him in that.”
Once Paris-Roubaix is out of the way, preparations will begin in earnest for Pogacar's stab at a fifth Tour title with cycling's greatest race taking place from July 4 to 26, starting in Barcelona.
“After Roubaix, we take a breath,” said Matxin. “Reset. He will not race everything. We are not chasing numbers – we are building condition, step by step, towards July.
“You will likely see altitude, then usually Liege, Romandie and Suisse – but always with one idea: arrive at the Tour fresh, hungry, and ready.”
And, as is now the norm for Pogacar, ready to make more history.
