Tadej Pogacar discerns a substantial probability of clinching five Tour de France titles, yet this isn't the objective he champions.
Tadej Pogačar didn't necessarily need to triumph in the second last stage of this year's Tour de France to secure his third yellow jersey, but his victory there, coupled with the way he achieved it, demonstrated his unquestionable dominance over the past three weeks.
And it wasn't only during this year's Tour that Pogačar shone at his best. Previously, he had clinched victory in the Giro d'Italia for the first time in his career, making history as the first individual to conquer both races in the same year since Marco Pantani in 1998.
This rare double has been accomplished by only eight riders in history, and Pogačar, a youthful 25-year-old from a small town in Slovenia, is the latest recipient of this prestigious honor. He had never anticipated such success.
As Pogačar informs CNN Sport,"When I was younger, I never imagined I could win a stage in the Tour de France." After capturing his initial Tour de France victory – considered the pinnacle of cycling achievements – everything else was essentially extra.
"I'm just racing for enjoyment, not feeling obligated or anything, and approaching races with a carefree attitude."
Pogačar claimed the title as the youngest cyclist in the post-World War II era to win the Tour when he surprised Primož Roglič four years ago, outstripping his compatriot in the second last stage of the race.
His second victory followed, appearing more like a procession than a competition. However, Pogačar was defeated twice by Danish rider Vingegaard the following year, seemingly the only competitor capable of challenging the Slovenian over a three-week race.
The rivals have since developed a fierce rivalry, and the 2024 edition of cycling's most prestigious race presented Pogačar with an opportunity for retribution. He was relentless in his pursuit of victory, winning six stages in total, with five of those in the mountains. Vingegaard fought valiantly but ultimately fell short.
As the youngest rider to win the yellow jersey three times, Pogačar is moving ever closer to the all-time record of five victories, jointly held by Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, and Miguel Indurain. Lance Armstrong – who captured seven consecutive Tours de France from 1999 to 2005 – received a lifetime ban from all professional sports and had his titles removed in 2012 due to doping infractions.
"I prefer not to consider the future or the potential records that may be broken," says Pogačar. "But three now, three Tour de France victories, and perhaps another decade of my career if I remain in good health. So the likelihood of achieving five Tour de France victories remains strong, although it is not my primary objective."
Instead, Pogačar is mapping out his career event by event, meticulously outlining which competitions he intends to target each year alongside his UAE Team Emirates team.
Unusually for a cyclist, his talent allows him to win races of varying lengths and on diverse terrains. This includes one-day classics, which typically require the sacrificing of explosiveness by Tour de France competitors in favor of endurance.
He states that he desires to conquer all five cycling monuments – with only Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix remaining – and also to capture all three Grand Tours by adding the Vuelta a España to his palmarès. Only one individual, the legendary Belgian cyclist Eddy Merckx, has ever achieved this feat, which was before the modern era of cycling.
For Pogačar, these ambitious goals seem within reach rather than absurd. Winning the red jersey of the Vuelta would make him the eighth male cyclist to conquer all three Grand Tours, an additional remarkable accolade well within his grasp.
As for this year, Pogačar acknowledges that "everything fell into place perfectly." After securing the Tour, he opted to skip the Olympics due to exhaustion, although he later admitted that the Slovenian Olympic Committee's surprising decision not to select his partner, Urška Żigart, also played a part in his decision.
He returned to his bike for the Plume Strong Cycling Challenge in Switzerland at the start of September, a charity event aiming to raise around $1.1 million (1 million euros) for humanitarian causes, including the development of 15 rural secondary schools in Sierra Leone.
Pogačar took part in the first leg of the ride from the Swiss city of Zürich to Venice in Italy. "It aligns with my nature, cycling and raising money," he explains. "So events like these appeal to me ... just taking a small part in the challenge."
The event also provided an ideal opportunity for Pogačar to prepare for the next major race on his calendar: the world road race championships, which commence in Zürich later this month.
Finishing third last year, no Slovenian has ever won the road race at the world championships, which takes the form of a mass-start event across a single day and permits the winner to don the iconic rainbow jersey throughout the ensuing season.
A success in Zurich would further underscore the broad range of skills that Pogacar possesses. It's no surprise that he is idolized in his homeland of Slovenia, where fans rejoiced at his return from the Tour de France by gathering in the streets of Ljubljana, the capital, and Komenda, a town with approximately 6,540 inhabitants.
"It was quite wild," Pogacar shares about his homecoming. "There were so many people in both locations, it was beyond belief that such a large crowd could turn up in my hometown. It was truly delightful to witness. Slovenia has excellent supporters, and I'm deeply thankful for them, as well as the fans who cheer us on during the Tour de France."
Raw talent alone hasn't been the driving force behind Pogacar's rise to cycling's pinnacle. He attributes his success to his team, stating, "The planning and organization they put in place behind me made it all possible." He also credits competitors like Vingegaard, a more reserved and reserved figure in the peloton, for motivating him to elevate his performance.
"Jonas clinched the top spot twice during the Tour de France," says Pogacar, "which fueled my ambition for the Tour even further and gave me more motivation."
"Competition between top riders and teams drives us to our limits," says Pogacar. "We all respect each other, but when it comes to competing, we're eager to outperform one another and push ourselves to new heights."
With Pogacar and Vingegaard both in their prime and still having many years in cycling ahead of them, their rivalry appears set to continue.
In time, the lively Slovenian is likely to keep breaking records, with his name appearing more frequently alongside the sport's legends. Regardless of his feelings on the matter, comparisons have already been drawn between Pogacar and Merckx, the iconic figure who claimed 11 Grand Tours in the 1960s and 70s and is widely regarded as cycling's greatest ever.
"Comparing myself to Eddy Merckx is impossible," says Pogacar. "It's flattering, but also a bit frustrating. All I want is to be myself, to race my own races and create my own history, not someone else's."
Last year, Merckx himself proclaimed that Pogacar has the potential to "win it all" and described the young rider as a "blessing" for cycling fans. There are few who would disagree with that assessment.
CNN's Issy Ronald provided additional reporting.
Despite his victories in the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia, Pogačar continues to enjoy cycling for enjoyment rather than feeling obligated. His ambition is to conquer all five cycling monuments and capture all three Grand Tours, which includes the Vuelta a España.
In conversations with CNN Sport, Pogačar expressed his gratitude for the support of his hometown Komenda, with around 6,540 inhabitants, who celebrated his Tour de France victories with a large crowd.
