” Hes just 21, hes a lot fresher than Roglič. We could see that over the last few days. He understood he didnt require to attack, since Jumbo were more powerful. He just had to fly under the radar a little before the time trial.”
Warming to his point, Merckx argued that Jumbo-Visma had “above all, raced stupidly. 57 seconds – Ed.
” Theyve been raised by their own petard, they went searching for this defeat. It was clear that Pogačar wasnt going to assault them, he couldnt drop them in the mountains. However they need to have attempted to drop him a lot earlier, so they could get enough of a gap on him. Its an excellent lesson in biking.”
Merckx argued to LEquipe that Jumbo-Visma had actually “maybe forgotten the images of the 2019 Vuelta”– where Pogačar positioned third and won 3 stages– saying that riders did not pull off accomplishments like that at 20 without being massively talented.
As for whether Pogačar formed part of a new generation of racers together with racers like Remco Evenepoel (Deceuninck-Quick Step) or Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers), Merckx was also rather dismissive.
” Lets not get ahead of ourselves with Remco, he hasnt revealed anything so far. He talks a lot however Im waiting to see the rest. Im not sure if Pogačars success is great news for him– thats positioning the bar pretty high.
” Bernal wasnt so good this year, we d have to see what hes like when hes back in the thick of the action to see if hes able to be Pogačars rival in the years to come.”
All-time biking fantastic Eddy Merckx has provided a scathing review of Jumbo-Vismas strategy in the Tour de France, arguing that, if Primož Roglič lost the race, in big part the group have just themselves to blame.
Talking to LEquipe, Merckx told the French newspaper that Jumbo-Visma had actually played with fire by enabling Tadej Pogačar to remain so near to the top of the general ranking so late into the race, making it possible for the young Slovenian to pounce in the final time trial.
Pogačar was 57 seconds behind Roglič prior to Saturdays remarkable time trial, which saw Roglič ousted from yellow after leading for nearly 2 weeks.
Asked by LEquipe if he was amazed at the method things played out in the Vosges barely 24 hours before the race reaches Paris, Merckx replied: “Not at all. Ask my partner and individuals Im close to, Ive been saying for days that Rogličs 50 seconds were inadequate to be particular of winning.
” I might see Pogačar coming a mile off, and I had stated the only solution he had was to await the TT, because time was playing into his hands.
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” Hes just 21, hes a lot fresher than Roglič. Warming to his point, Merckx argued that Jumbo-Visma had “above all, raced stupidly. It was clear that Pogačar wasnt going to attack them, he could not drop them in the mountains. He talks a lot but Im waiting to see the rest. Im not sure if Pogačars success is great news for him– thats positioning the bar pretty high.
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