PublishedSeptember 29, 2024, 09:37
CyclingFrom Merckx to Pogacar: Comparison Is Not Reason
Cyclists are continually pushing their limits, even causing some spectators to grit their teeth. Yet, these giant strides can be explained.
by
Robin Carrel, Zurich
The Slovenian is the overwhelming favorite for Sunday’s World Championship.
IMAGO/Photo News
“Me? A cannibal? But I eat sweets…” Tadej Pogacar’s dominance has led to flattering comparisons. However, being called a “cannibal,” like the nickname of the legend Eddy Merckx in his time, does not suit him. Afterwards, as far as results on a bike, he could also be called “Badger,” the nickname given to another myth of the little queen, Bernard Hinault. The two glorious cyclists, however, validate the metonymy.
“We are talking about different generations, but I like his character and temperament,” explained the Frenchman in the columns of the Gazzetta dello Sport this spring, while the Slovenian was crushing the Giro with his class. “Tadej is a natural competitor. Every time he races, he wants to win. He doesn’t always succeed, but very often. However, that’s not the most important thing. I like his attitude. He is like Eddy and me.”
“What a rider this Pogacar is!” Merckx exclaimed this spring after the Slovenian won the Tour of Flanders. “I cannot say it enough: he is much more than just a champion. One must appreciate what he has accomplished; it is no small feat. The panache and audacity needed to achieve such exploits have already earned him a place in history. He shows a form rarely seen in cycling before him. He is a wonderful kid, so easy to get along with… I was immediately captivated!”
If, in terms of achievements, Tadej Pogacar is getting closer to the greatest, he could take another step in their direction this Sunday around Zurich. The Slovenian is the massive favorite for the World Championship road race, so much so that despite the unpredictable nature of a course of about 270 kilometers, bookmakers do not even give him odds of less than two to one. The rainbow jersey is one of the last bastions resisting him, alongside Paris-Roubaix, and the protégé of Tessino Mauro Gianetti within Team UAE has loudly proclaimed that his goal on a bicycle is to win everything.
This summer, during the Tour de France, some self-proclaimed “whistleblowers,” particularly on social media, explained that the numbers “Pogi” puts up on a bike are not human. That the watts produced by someone who crushed the Giro and then the Grande Boucle were roughly those of an extraterrestrial. These downcast spirits took as an example his data during certain climbs, which were stronger than those of a certain Marco Pantani, during the period when EPO was endemic in professional pelotons, forgetting that progress has come through this.
“People have compared Pantani’s numbers from twenty-five years ago,” calmed Raphaël Faiss from the Center for Research and Expertise in Anti-Doping Sciences. “But it was also not possible to compare Laurent Fignon with Eddy Merckx! There is also a quarter of a century between those eras… But cycling is changing. One example: by working on small details like helmets, shoes, and clothing for track athletes, we gained four seconds over four minutes around a velodrome. Technique and preparation evolve. Not exponentially, of course, but very rapidly due to the extreme professionalization of all professions in cycling.”
A basic example. It is not an insult to the Neuchâtelois Valère Thiébaud to say that he is not at the level of an athlete like Rohan Dennis a few years ago. Yet, a few weeks ago, by covering 53.451 kilometers at the Granges (SO) velodrome, the Swiss broke the Swiss record for the hour and smashed the world record of the hour (52.491 km) set by the Australian in the same place less than a decade ago. “I fought with different weapons than he did,” said Thiébaud then. “Because the technical progress on bikes has exploded in recent years. Even if the same rules that were in place during his record were applied, I exerted much less power than he did.”
Furthermore, professionals today no longer have a stigma about sharing their training. What was once the domain of omniscient sports directors, accompanied by doctors with dubious practices, has now become a team effort. Better still, the riders themselves are trained from a very young age in preparation techniques and openly discuss the watts they produce. Pogacar, in particular, opened up earlier this week about his figures and his method of preparation in a specialized podcast. Unimaginable for riders just a few years ago.
“I’m not surprised. That they talk about it this way, but also the numbers they admit,” continued Raphaël Faiss. “All of this is known; there are no secrets around the values required to compete at a high level. Athletes willingly share theirs, and it’s also a way to bluff opponents. Before, there was a doctor who prepared an athlete for a fee, like Doctor Ferrari. Now, it has evolved thanks to the structures put in place by the International Cycling Union: one coach for every eight riders.”
In the days of the great rides of Gino Bartali, Eddy Merckx, and even during those of Miguel Indurain, Chris Froome, or even… Thibaut Pinot, young cyclists were held back in their progress. Between the governing bodies that regulated the development of bicycles for young riders and managers who kept their greatest talents in reserve so as “not to burn them out” before the age of 25, a great potential long went untapped. Today, one can shine earlier. But tiring more quickly as they approach their thirties, that’s true too.
And so the time is gone when the head of a team did absolutely everything. “Now, the manager manages, the doctor takes care of the medical side, the sports director does the tactics, and the coach ensures that the rider arrives in shape at the right moment,” Faiss illustrated. “There is a physio, an osteopath, a scientific officer, a specialist in aerodynamics, one in textiles… All positions are filled by people with a doctoral-level education in all teams.”
Thanks to this, we are no longer talking about marginal gains like the Sky team of the past. But about giant steps.