Eddy Merckx on Pogacar’s dominance: 'He has only one real rival'
As the 2025 Tour de France slips into the history books, few are better placed to reflect than Eddy Merckx. Speaking to De Telegraaf, the 80-year-old, five-time winner of the Tour, offered his take on the race with typical directness - saluting Tadej Pogačar’s dominance, raising questions about the depth of his competition, and saving his highest praise for Mathieu van der Poel.
Merckx’s verdict on the 2025 edition was blunt. “The real tension in this Tour de France was never there,” he said. “Pogačar was never, never, never in trouble.” He repeated it for emphasis, before turning to the man many still consider his biggest rival. “Vingegaard wasn’t a competitor. Over three weeks, he could only hold on.”
Pogačar’s fourth yellow jersey puts him just one behind Merckx, Anquetil, Hinault and Indurain. When asked by De Telegraaf if the Slovenian could equal or even surpass the historic five-win mark, Merckx was unequivocal: “Absolutely.” But he doesn’t see the achievement in the same light. “He is very strong, there’s no doubt about that, but we are talking about different generations,” Merckx explained. “Pogačar has less competition than I had in my time. If there was more, it would be harder for him to win so much.”
As for future threats? He dismisses most. “Remco Evenepoel? No, certainly not. Remco is more of a time trialist. He falls short in the mountains to take on Pogačar for the Tour. I also don’t see Vingegaard closing that gap quickly.”
Merckx, whose own palmarès includes 525 wins, 11 Grand Tours and 19 Monuments, doesn’t hand out comparisons lightly. But with Pogačar, he sees a reflection: “In terms of winning mentality, I definitely see some of myself in him. And he’s an all-rounder. He excels in one-day races too. He really only has one rival.”
That rival, in Merckx’s eyes, is Mathieu van der Poel.
“Fantastic! He had an unbelievable Tour, what an athlete!” Merckx said with admiration. “His commitment is exceptional and he does beautiful, unexpected things all the time. Like that attack in stage 9 with Rickaert - he almost made it. I have a lot of respect for how he showed himself.”
Van der Poel’s early exit due to illness was a disappointment for Merckx. “It’s a shame he had to go home. Otherwise, we would’ve seen more great things from him. He gave everything, everywhere. I thoroughly enjoyed the way he raced, but I always do when Mathieu is on the bike.”
And then Merckx voiced what quite some people have wondered aloud in recent years - though in his case, it sounded more like a wish than a prediction.
“Between Van der Poel and Pogačar, we’re seeing a beautiful rivalry in the Classics. It’s therefore a pity that Mathieu isn’t more of a Grand Tour rider. He’s the only one who could really challenge Pogačar.”
From one legend to another, that might be the highest compliment of all.
