Pogacar immediately puts up impressive numbers again, here's how fast Merlier rode during winning European Championship sprint

Sunday was undoubtedly the day of Tim Merlier (Soudal-Quick Step) and Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates). While the Belgian claimed the European Championship title with a blistering sprint, the Slovenian soloed to his second victory in the GP de Montréal. Both riders shared their race data on Strava, revealing numbers that can only be described as impressive.

First, let's look at Merlier, who powered his way to his first European Championship title with a dominant sprint around the outside. His Strava file shows that after nearly five hours of intense racing (averaging 47.4 kilometers per hour), the Belgian sprinter still had an impressive final kick in his legs. Merlier’s top speed during his sprint? A staggering 72.9 kilometers per hour! And that was with a headwind. Interestingly, it wasn’t even his highest speed of the day; during the descent towards the Kolmontberg, the Wortegem-Petegem native clocked a top speed of 74.8 kilometers per hour.

Pogacar displayed absolute dominance once again on Sunday, dropping everyone on a climb and soloing to victory. His Strava file shows that during this attack, he claimed the KOM on the Côte de Camillien-Houde. The numbers are astonishing: the Slovenian covered the 1.64-kilometer climb, averaging a 7.7% gradient, at a blistering 28.5 km/h. Even his peak speed uphill was remarkable, hitting a maximum of 36.2 km/h.

Pogacar has been producing these mind-blowing figures throughout the year. Earlier this season, IDLProCycling.com analyzed his spring Strava files, which also revealed some incredible performances. For instance, he set the KOM on the Sainte-Marie climb in Strade Bianche, finishing over a minute faster than the second-fastest rider on that segment, Tom Pidcock.

However, his most astonishing achievement came during this year's Tour de France, where Pogacar delivered "arguably the best climbing performance ever" on the Pla d'Adet. With a normalized power output of 7.16 watts per kilogram for nearly 30 minutes, Pogacar posted one of the greatest numbers in climbing history, proving it to be the best version of himself to date.