Does Pogacar have a rival in the World Championships?

The Zurich 2024 Road World Championship is approaching, which will take place on September 29th and all bets point to the clear favorite, rarely has there been one so clear, Tadej Pogacar who once again offered us a new display of superiority in the GP Montreal held a few days ago. Will there be anyone capable of challenging him?

Zurich 2024 World Championship: Everyone against Pogacar

On rare occasions has a cyclist been as favored as Tadej Pogacar in this 2024 to win the rainbow jersey at the Road World Championship in Zurich. His season has been excellent and without hardly any setbacks, from those first days of March when he dominated in Strade Bianche with a marathon escape despite then lacking the necessary punch to break the race at the Poggio and win the Milan-San Remo, one of the pending accounts that the Slovenian still has.

He would win without opposition La Volta a Catalunya also winning 4 of the 7 stages to then face Liege-Bastogne-Liege where he also imposed his law to add his second triumph in the Doyenne. All this as a prelude to the great goal of the season, the Giro and Tour double which is also already in his record. With these precedents and seeing his current form, it seems that only a fall or an uncontrollable race situation could prevent the victory of the Slovenian in Zurich.

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Take the curves like a professional

If there is a cyclist who can face the power of Pogacar and who is perfectly suited to the tough route of Zurich 2024, that is Remco Evenepoel, besides, he will have the support of the powerful Belgian team which will surely help him arrive with intact strength at the decisive moments of the race even though the fall of Wout van Aert in La Vuelta has deprived him of one of his main lieutenants.

And speaking of a strong team, we cannot fail to mention the other part of the Slovenian team. A Primoz Roglic grown after his victory in La Vuelta and who, in a long and tough route, is sure to be there in the fight. In fact, it can be a double-edged sword for Tadej Pogacar and it will be interesting to see how the Slovenian team manages this duality.

Another rider who has appeared in many predictions in recent days is the Swiss Marc Hirschi who has had impeccable August and September, with 5 victories in the last five races he has competed in, including the spectacular finish of the San Sebastian Classic where, against all odds, he beat Julian Alaphilippe in a mano a mano sprint.

Beyond the best climbers in the peloton, who have been labeled as favorites in this 2024 Zurich World Championship, we must never forget the classics specialists, with a tremendous race vision and capable of sneaking into the right break at the right moment and that, in a World Championship, we should never rule out the surprise.

Especially if among these classics specialists there are exceptional talents like Mathieu van der Poel who, despite his complaints about his form, a few days ago at the European Championship showed himself to be tremendously active trying to shake up a race where toughness was lacking. We have no doubt that Van der Poel will try to avoid surveillance by seeking a break, alone or in company, that allows him to surprise by retaining the rainbow jersey he still wears.

In any case, everything is subject to Tadej Pogacar not having a super day or, among all, being able to generate a race situation that the Slovenian team cannot solve. However, if Pogacar arrives ready to compete for victory in the final third of the race, everything points to it being impossible to beat him given the state of grace he is in.