Cycling strategist Bruyneel makes bold statement: "Pogacar's 2024 season is the best ever, no doubt about it"

It’s certainly a topic of conversation this cycling year: who is the greatest rider of all time, cycling legend Eddy Merckx or Tadej Pogacar? The latter showed himself this season to be a true powerhouse, winning nearly every race he entered. Merckx, who rightfully earned the nickname 'The Cannibal', has an even more impressive record, especially in terms of how many major races he won. Former rider and ex-team manager Johan Bruyneel doesn’t make a definitive choice between the two in the podcast The Move, but he does offer a cautious opinion.

It happened yet again on Saturday, October 12. Pogacar won the Tour of Lombardy with ease, marking his fourth victory there. Only the Italian cycling great Fausto Coppi has won this autumn monument more times, but it’s likely that his record will be shattered by the Slovenian cycling superstar in the coming years. The Tour of Lombardy was a beautiful cherry on top of Pogacar’s awe-inspiring season. Liège-Bastogne-Liège, six stages, and the overall victories in both the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France, plus the world title in the road race – and that's not even listing all his wins…

"There were only two races where he started with the intention to win but didn’t. Maybe three, if you count that Tour stage where he was beaten by Vingegaard (Jonas, ed.)," Bruyneel discusses Pogacar’s astonishing year. "In every other race where he started with the intention to win, he won, except for some stages in stage races." This raises the question of whether any rider has ever had a better season. Bruyneel firmly believes not. "This season is undoubtedly the best ever, absolutely. I’ve never seen anything like this before. As a young boy, I watched Eddy Merckx race – although I don’t remember the details – if you look at the statistics, he may have won more races in a year, but he was never so dominant across all terrains in one season."

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Bruyneel: "How frustrating that must be"

As for whether Pogacar ranks above Merckx as the best rider ever, Bruyneel isn’t ready to go that far. "We can never say who is the absolute best. So much has changed over the years, it’s no longer comparable." Still, we detect just a hint of preference in Bruyneel's words. "Cycling is now a global sport. The sport has champions from all corners of the world. In Merckx’s days, cycling was a Central European sport: there were many Belgians, Frenchmen and Italians, with some Dutch, Spanish and Germans – that was it. There was no one else – it was always the same people competing against each other."

"Now it’s completely different," Bruyneel continues. "You see riders from Central Africa, North Africa, Asia and the United States – you name it. Also, this year, all three grand tours were won by Slovenians, plus the majority of the other races. You simply can’t compare that to before," Bruyneel repeats. "I think Pogacar is on his way to becoming the best ever," he says, despite the sensitivity of this topic within the cycling world.

In the Tour of Lombardy, Remco Evenepoel finished second, more than three minutes behind. When you finish with that kind of gap, you simply had no chance. Bruyneel sympathizes somewhat with his compatriot, as Evenepoel will need to make significant strides in the coming years if he wants to be Pogacar’s equal across all terrains. "It must be incredibly frustrating for the other riders, particularly Evenepoel. He’s a great rider, phenomenal. His record is fantastic as well. You’re obsessed with being the very best, which is undoubtedly Remco’s goal, and then you encounter Pogacar... who is simply unbeatable. How frustrating must that be?"