Axel Merckx: You would have to combine Van der Poel, Pogacar, Cavendish and Evenepoel to surpass my father
In modern cycling, Tadej Pogacar is often hailed as the rider closest to matching the legendary Eddy Merckx. Yet Axel Merckx, son of the five-time Tour de France champion, remains cautious in his assessment. Speaking to Het Nieuwsblad, the former professional and current Hagens Berman Jayco team manager drew a clear distinction between current brilliance and the all-encompassing dominance his father once displayed.
“Pogačar is as strong as my father in his best years,” Axel Merckx said. “But can he repeat that year after year, like my father did? And will he ever break the hour record, or win Milan-San Remo seven times and Liège-Bastogne-Liège five times, like my father? That’s doubtful.”
For Merckx, the issue is not only about winning but about doing so across every terrain, season after season. “Mathieu van der Poel as a spring classics specialist, Tadej Pogačar as an all-rounder, Mark Cavendish as a sprinter, and Remco Evenepoel as a time triallist, four incredible champions, are each superior in their own domain, but you would have to combine them all to surpass my dad,” he said.
Merckx’s remarks come amid growing debate about Pogačar’s place in cycling history. His Tour victories and Monuments, achieved in one of the most competitive eras the sport has known, already have many wondering if he is the greatest of all time.
As a manager of one of the world’s leading development teams, Merckx also reflected on how the sport has evolved. “When I was an under-23 rider, I still trained the way my father did. Now development teams arrive at races with a bus worth a million euro. These riders are spoiled. Do they still have the drive to move up? They live like professionals before they have even signed a pro contract.”
That early professional lifestyle, he warns, comes with risks. “Eighteen-year-olds are still kids. Not everyone can handle that life physically or mentally. I see many young riders collapse, quit, fall into depression, or take years to reach their potential. The problem is that many compare themselves to Evenepoel, but Remco is one of a kind.”
Merckx also revealed to Het Nieuwsblad that he nearly brought Evenepoel into his team. “I had Remco at my house and we had an agreement, but he developed so quickly that the big teams came in. Of course, we would have loved to have him ride with us for a year, and at the time it hurt to lose him, but in hindsight his choice was the right one.”
