Pozzato saw amazing Van der Poel in 2024 despite dominant Pogacar: "He really had some bad luck this year"

2024 may have been the year of a remarkably dominant Tadej Pogacar, yet Mathieu van der Poel also had a fantastic cycling year. The Dutchman from Alpecin-Deceuninck won two Monuments in his rainbow jersey and became the gravel world champion. Speaking to WielerFlits, Italian former rider Filippo Pozzato expressed his admiration for the Dutchman's year.

"I think Mathieu van der Poel is the best rider for one-day races," said Pozzato, who also saw the Dutchman in good form at the World Championships. "He was then also very much stronger than usual. It was a tough race, and he was on board. If he could have made the jump, he would have just won, right?" the former rider looks back on the road race in Zurich.

While Mathieu guided his teammate to victory in Milan-Sanremo and finished third in Liege-Bastogne-Liège, he did win the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. So only in Liège was he defeated by Pogacar, but he wrote two more Monuments in 2024 to his name. "Van der Poel is incredibly unlucky with this year in that respect. This was the perfect season for Pogačar. It's unthinkable that if Van der Poel wins those races, you won't win the Vélo d'Or. But that's just the way it is," Pozzato concluded.

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Pozzato full of admiration for voracious Pogacar: "I like him very much as a rider"

And so the Italian also witnessed an ultra-dominant season from Pogacar. The discussion of whether the Slovenian is making cycling less attractive with his displays of power does not apply to Pozzato. "I think it's good for the sport. Tadej is a great champion. I like him very much as a rider." Still, according to the former rider, there is a downside. "I might have preferred in Lombardy that Remco Evenepoel had won, just for show and excitement, because in the last big races, Pogačar won all of them. It would have been better for the crowd if Remco could have beaten or challenged him," the former Milan-Sanremo winner is honest.

For Pogi, Pozzato has nothing but admiration. For the Italian, it is mainly the world champion's riding style that makes him such an attractive rider. "If he thinks about attacking, he immediately does it. Whether it's 100 kilometers or 10 kilometers... It's the same for him. But he can also do that now because he is much stronger than everyone else." Pozzato does not know whether Slovenia's supremacy will continue next year. "I think it will be hard for him next year to consolidate all he has accomplished."