‘He is now above me’: Eddy Merckx hails Tadej Pogacar in new documentary

Eddy Merckx says Tadej Pogačar has surpassed him, in a new documentary that sets out to explain the science behind the Slovenian’s dominance of professional cycling.

Anatomy of a G.O.A.T. premieres on Saturday 7 November on Eurosport 2 at 14:00 CET, and on TNT Sports 1 in the UK and Ireland at 15:15 GMT. It will also be available on demand on HBO Max in Europe and the United States from the same day. The 45-minute film is the first in a new series from the two broadcasters about the greatest athletes in sport.

Merckx, who won 11 Grand Tours including five editions of the Tour de France, was unequivocal in his assessment. “He’s bringing back a kind of cycling we had forgotten,” Merckx said. “He is now above me.”

Alberto Contador, a seven-time Grand Tour winner who now works as a pundit for the broadcasters, went further. He compared Pogačar to Usain Bolt, but said the comparison falls short, because the Slovenian dominates across the whole calendar.

“I believe Tadej Pogačar is the best cyclist of all time. Tadej wants to win everything,” Contador said. “If you think about it, it’s very hard to find an athlete in any other discipline across history who is so much better than their rivals. Tadej Pogačar is like that in every race he competes in from February to October.”

Geraint Thomas, the 2018 Tour winner, recalled racing alongside Pogačar at Liège-Bastogne-Liège. “There was one time I was racing with Pog in Liège doing like over 400 watts easily. He came up to me and just started having a chat,” Thomas said. “I was just a bit like, ‘Mate, I can’t really talk right now.’ He has another gear or two than me, that’s for sure.”

The film is split into five chapters and draws on data from WHOOP alongside interviews with Pogačar and those closest to him. His parents, Mirko and Marjeta, take part, as do his former coach Iñigo San Millán, his former UAE teammate Matteo Trentin and sports scientist Jean-Benoît Morin.

At just 28, Pogačar has already amassed more than 100 professional victories, including 13 Monuments. Three of those came this spring, at Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. In July, he claimed his fifth Tour de France title, joining Eddy Merckx, Jacques Anquetil, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain as the only riders to have reached that milestone. His palmarès also includes two world titles and the 2024 Giro d’Italia.

Next year he will target a record sixth Tour, and in the documentary he says enjoyment is the only thing that will keep him going.

“As long as you enjoy doing this sport, the results will come,” Pogačar said. “Once you stop having fun, you need to find something else that will make you happy.”