"Something no one has ever tried before"; Contador explains why he disagrees with the popular opinion about Pogacar

With a total of 68 victories, including two yellow jerseys in the Tour de France, three red jerseys in the Vuelta a España, and two pink jerseys in the Giro d'Italia, Contador has had a career that many cyclists can only dream of. Yet his record is already a lot less impressive than that of the 27-year-old Pogacar, who has had another exceptional year.

“What can you say about Tadej Pogacar's season? There isn't enough time to summarize it all,” the 42-year-old Spaniard begins his story at Eurosport, for those who want to give it a quick try: UAE Tour, Strade Bianche, the Tour of Flanders, Flèche Wallonne, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Dauphiné, Tour de France, World Championships, European Championships, Tre Valli Varesine, and Lombardy. Amazing, exceptional, unparalleled... superlatives fall short.

It is therefore the unprecedented versatility of the world champion that surprises Contador the most. "What sticks in my mind most is that Pogacar decided to attack in tough races such as Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix to try to win. It’s something we’re not used to and something no one has ever tried before, with all those exceptional performances in the Dauphiné and the Tour de France with four stages.”

Pogi's season was so good that he even gave away a victory in the fall. “Later, Pogacar could afford to win races with teammates, as he did in Montréal with Brandon McNulty.” It was the prelude to a highly successful fall. “He continued with the classics and the European Championships, the World Championships, and his fifth Tour of Lombardy.”

Another dominant year for Pogacar, who earned a tidy twelve million euros for his efforts. It was an even better year than 2024, when he won Strade Bianche, Catalonia, Liège, the Giro, the Tour, Montréal, the World Championships, Giro dell'Emilia, and Lombardy. This brings the discussion to the fore once again: isn't his presence boring for cycling?

“For me, it's a privilege to enjoy every Pogacar victory,” Contador seems to disagree completely. “There are people and experts who say it's become boring, but I believe we are watching a rider who is becoming the best in the history of the sport.”

Another popular question is, of course, the comparison with Eddy Merckx. How does Contador view this? “We can't say for sure yet that he's the best ever, but Pogacar is only 27 years old. He still has many years of cycling ahead of him, but there are also great riders coming up behind Pogacar. Today, however, the gap is still quite large,” concludes the Spaniard.