‘His cycling is poetry’ - Hinault backs Pogacar to break cycling’s biggest Tour de France record

Pogačar joined cycling’s most exclusive club last weekend by claiming his fifth Tour de France title. Only Jacques Anquetil, Merckx, Miguel Indurain and Hinault had previously reached that mark.

Speaking at the presentation of the final stage of the Tour de l’Avenir, Hinault said Pogačar’s continued dominance came as no surprise. The Frenchman first took notice of him when he won the prestigious under 23 race in 2018.

“His cycling is poetry,” Hinault told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “He already impressed me eight years ago when he won the Tour de l’Avenir. Since then, he has never stopped improving.”

“It is beautiful to see an athlete remain at the top for so long. Merckx managed it, and so did I. And it is not over for him yet.”

Hinault said Pogačar’s willingness to attack from distance placed him in the same category as the most aggressive champions of previous generations.

“When he wants to make the race, he makes it,” Hinault said. “He does not ask himself too many questions, just like Eddy and me.”

“Think about the two World Championships he has won and those attacks from so far out. It is impressive. The same applies to the Classics.”

For Hinault, Pogačar’s impact goes beyond his results. He believes the World Champion has changed how people watch cycling by making races unpredictable long before the final kilometres.

“Did you see how many people were on the roads during the Tour? Pogačar has attracted many new fans to cycling. Before, they might only have watched the final kilometres. Not anymore.”

Eddy Merckx recently suggested that Pogačar could win six Tours and become the first rider to win the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a España in the same season.

Hinault believes both achievements are possible.

“He has no limits,” he said. “There is enough time to recover between the Grand Tours, and he could win more than six Tours. He has an advantage over his rivals.”

Hinault expects Pogačar to remain at the highest level for another three or four seasons, potentially until the age of 32.

He does not believe physical fatigue will be the biggest danger to Pogačar’s dominance. The greater challenge, he suggested, could be maintaining the same level of motivation.

“He knows how to manage himself, so I do not think physical wear will be the problem,” Hinault said. “Mental fatigue could be more important.”

“But he enjoys himself. He loves competing and he thrives when things become difficult.”

The 71-year-old Frenchman was also asked how a race between himself, Merckx and Pogačar might have unfolded if all three had competed in the same era and under the same conditions.

The five time Tour winner refused to select a winner, but insisted neither he nor Merckx would have accepted defeat before the race had begun.

“That is every champion’s dream, to compete at the same time and under the same conditions,” Hinault said.

“I do not know who would win, but Eddy and I would not start already beaten.”

“And if we had found Pogačar in our way, we would certainly have trained even harder. To beat him.”

Despite Pogačar’s relentless pursuit of new records, one distinction still belongs to Hinault. The Slovenian tried to win the final stage in Paris while wearing the yellow jersey, but could not match Hinault’s victory on the Champs Élysées.

“The stage is much more beautiful now with Montmartre, and yes, Tadej wanted to win,” Hinault said.

“But the only rider who has won on the Champs Élysées in the yellow jersey is still me.”