Eddy Merckx, the cycling legend, has given his blessing to Tadej Pogačar, who became one of the select few to win both the Tour de France and the Ronde of Flanders. Merckx described Pogačar’s win as “XXL” due to the way he raced with “panache and style”, making it understandably popular with cycling fans. Merckx is confident that given the right circumstances and ambition, the Slovenian cyclist could win almost any race, including the infamous Paris-Roubaix, despite it not traditionally suiting him.
At the same time, Merckx also showed admiration for Mathieu van der Poel and Neilson Powless, who finished second and fifth respectively at the Ronde of Flanders, and for their respective intelligence and impressive displays. He also showed criticism for Wout van Aert, fourth in the race, for not being able to keep up with the top attacks.
The company mentioned in the article is Alpecin-Deceuninck, a professional cycling team owned by Finish-based Development Team Cycling Solutions. It is a UCI WorldTour team, which is the top tier in professional cycling, and is based in Belgium. The roster of Alpecin-Deceuninck consists of many talented cyclists, including Mathieu van der Poel, who finished second in the Tour of Flanders.
Tadej Pogačar is a Slovenian professional road bicycle racer currently signed to the UCI World Team UAE Team Emirates, which is based in the United Arab Emirates. He gained a lot of attention in direct consequence of winning both the Ronde of Flanders and the Tour de France, as he became only the third rider in history to do so, following Eddy Merckx and Louison Bobet. It appears as though his future in road racing is set for greatness, with Merckx firmly behind him in everything he does.
