Tour de France: Merciless Tadej Pogacar moves into yellow with victory to stir memories of Eddy Merckx

He just bolted clear. Rue Mercy? Never has a street in France been so badly named. Let us say though that everyone who witnessed Pogacar’s merciless finish will remember it. Michael Matthews, a strong finisher got into position and after making his move he looked up to see Pogacar going a second time. The gap widened. Pogacar stole a backwards glance before punching the air.

For a young man who has won so much, the joy was still heartfelt and infectious. The fruits of his labour came coloured in yellow, the tunic he’s worn many times and so far it’s always been a good fit. He’s 23 and he’s having the time of his life. Cycling’s greatest Eddy Merckx was at the start in Binche and it was as if Pogacar had decided, “Now that you’re here Eddy, I’d better be sharp.”

Merckx, 77, retired more than four decades ago and certainly in the earlier years of retirement, he was irked by the quality of those presumed to be the “new Merckx”. “I have heard many times ‘this is the new Merckx’ without the conditions being fulfilled,” he said last October. “With Tadej I think we are really there this time. He is 23 and has already won the Tour de France twice. Incredible. At 24, I had not even won the Tour.”

Most believe Pogacar will now go on to his third consecutive Tour victory and though that is understandable, the presumption is unfair. Yet it’s also true that anyone who watched Roglic and Jonas Vingegaard get off their bikes and make their way to the Jumbo-Visma team bus could not have avoided thinking three words: dead men walking. The strongest team in the race had another difficult day.

Their plan was audacious and involved their race leader Wout van Aert insinuating himself into a break and leading from the front. Van Aert did that but not in the way they’d hoped. Wanting a group six or eight or ten, Van Aert found himself with just two companions. Three against the peloton on a day when many teams were contributing to the pace was never going to work. Van Aert, again ultra strong, survived longer than his fellow escapees, being overhauled just 11 kilometres from the finish.

From there to the end, he lost seven minutes and the Yellow Jersey on his back. He could have played it safe, held it for another day but Van Aert is one wise enough to know that it’s not how long you live but what you do while alive. He has lived his cycling life to the full and on the road to Longwy, he thrilled us. It might have worked but he will have more good days in this race.

It was another good day for Ineos Grenadiers’ young star Tom Pidcock. Fourth across the line in Longwy and now up to fifth overall, one place lower than teammate Adam Yates, one place higher than Geraint Thomas. They are close enough to Pogacar to believe they can so something on the difficult climb to Super Planche des Belles Filles.

For those hoping Pidcock might soon be challenging for overall victory at the Tour de France, it was encouraging to see Pogacar paying particular attention to the Yorkshire rider when the race was raging. He was sometimes on his back wheel but always keeping an eye on where he was. Pidcock was pleased with how he rode. “I think I did a good sprint but I think Pogacar was stronger.” You could say that Tom.

And so could every rider in the race. You wonder about the kid from a small village north of Ljubljana. I met him in Monaco in December, turned up 45 minutes late for our interview. He waited with a smile and said it wasn’t a problem. He was in no rush, which was a bit of a statement from a kid who’d already won the Tour de France twice. He then told stories of home and family and girlfriend. Tilen, his older brother, got him into cycling. They trained together, sprinted to every telegraph pole and no matter what Tadej did, Tilen beat him. Every time. Tilen is now working for a transport company in Ljubljana. Loves his job, enjoys his life. What Tadej wanted people to understand was that life is so random. Two brothers, same passion, the one who seems to have the greater talent works for a transport company, the other wins the Tour de France.

He told too of the day in August that he proposed to Urska Zigart, the girl he has loved since he was 18. They drove from their home in Monaco up to La Turbie where they had lunch and looked out over the Riviera. Asked if he was nervous, not really he said. As has become apparent at the Tour, not much makes him nervous.

Was Urska surprised? “I don’t think it was a complete surprise. But yeah, she was quite a little bit in shock. Yeah. It was a special moment. One of the nicest of our lives, I think.” And what did he say when she said “yes”? “We were talking bullshit. Just normal bullshit.”

And then he spoke of something that helps us to understand what we’ve now seen so many times. Many pro bike riders live in Monaco and it’s understandable that plenty want to go on training rides with him. Affable by nature, he says yes to everyone and is then disappointed that they want to race up the climbs. His heart’s never in it and they beat him. It makes their day.

“I love to train and I love racing but when we’re training in December two months before the start of the season, I just want to have a nice bike ride, no pressure, no racing.” Like he knows there is a time and a place for everything. On Rue Mercy, chasing down Roglic, surging clear of everyone, he raced like a junior pursuing his first win. In his element.

He has given his sport a true champion, the likes of which we have not seen since, well, Merckx.

-The Times