Pogacar on Merckx comparisons after Il Lombardia win: 'I don’t really like that comparison'
Tadej Pogačar admitted that a phone call from cycling legend Eddy Merckx made his latest triumph at Il Lombardia feel even more special. Moments after taking a record-equalling fifth consecutive victory in Bergamo, the world champion spoke briefly with Merckx, the man he is so often compared to, a comparison he says still makes him uneasy.
“I don’t really like that comparison,” Pogačar said in the post-race press conference. “But it just happened that I was standing next to Ernesto Colnago when he got a phone call from Eddy Merckx. So yes, I was able to speak a few words with Eddy, and that was really cool. But I don’t feel comfortable being compared to him all the time.”
The connection between the two feels almost inevitable. Pogačar became the first rider since Merckx in 1971 to win three Monuments in a single season, adding the Tour of Flanders, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Il Lombardia to his ever-expanding list of achievements. Merckx had done the same more than fifty years ago with victories at Milan–San Remo, Liège–Bastogne–Liège and Il Lombardia.
On Saturday, the world champion once again dominated the Race of the Falling Leaves, attacking on the Passo di Ganda with 36.5 kilometres to go and riding solo to his tenth Monument victory. It was a win that also underlined the scope of his 2025 campaign, as Pogačar became the first rider in history to stand on the podium in all five Monuments in a single season.
“To win five times in a row, it really feels like this race suits me perfectly,” he said. “But I also have such a good team around me that we can make it happen every year. Big thanks to all my teammates.”
For Pogačar, 2025 has been another season of rare consistency and control, marked by 20 victories including the Tour of Flanders, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, the Tour de France, the World Championships and the European Championships.
“I always say, seven years in a row, that this is my best season so far,” he reflected. “And again, I can say this is the best season so far.”
A call from Merckx may not have changed how Pogačar views their connection, but it gave a human touch to a season that already feels historic.
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