Eddy Merckx bows to Pogačar, while Contador goes even further: “He’s the greatest of all time”

Eddy Merckx publicly acknowledges once again that Tadej Pogacar has surpassed him. The Belgian made a similar statement in 2024, although he retracted it just two days later. Now, with the Slovenian having become a five-time winner of the Tour de France, Merckx seems to be much clearer about it and expresses this in the new Eurosport documentary dedicated to Pogacar.

Eddy Merckx acknowledges Pogacar's superiority

In 2024, after Tadej Pogacar's spectacular victory at the World Championship in Zurich, Eddy Merckx surprised everyone by stating that the Slovenian was already above him. However, just two days later he retracted and clarified that he was only referring to that specific performance, not to his entire career.

Two years later, the one considered for decades as the greatest cyclist of all time speaks again about the comparison. And this time his words seem to leave less room for doubt.

"He is recovering a form of cycling that we had forgotten. Now he is above me," says Merckx in Anatomy of a G.O.A.T., the new Eurosport and TNT Sports documentary about Tadej Pogacar.

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The statements are part of the testimonies collected in the documentary, which is set to premiere on Saturday, November 7.

The Belgian's opinion now takes on a different dimension. When he retracted his statements in 2024, he argued that Pogacar still had a long way to go and reminded that he had only won three Tours de France.

Since then, the Slovenian has continued to expand his palmarès to reach five Tours, two World Championships, and 13 Monuments. A record that, at just 28 years old, has brought him closer to the great historical records of cycling.

Alberto Contador also considers him the best cyclist in history

Merckx is not the only legend who surrenders to the level reached by Pogacar. Alberto Contador, winner of seven Grand Tours, also participates in the documentary and is equally emphatic.

"I believe that Tadej Pogacar is the best cyclist of all time. Tadej wants to win everything", says the Spaniard.

Contador compares the Slovenian's dominance to that of Usain Bolt, although he believes that his ability to prevail in practically any race on the calendar is even harder to find in other sports.

"If you think about it, it's very difficult to find an athlete from any other discipline, throughout history, who is so superior to his rivals. Tadej Pogacar is like that in all the races he competes in, from February to October".

Geraint Thomas, winner of the 2018 Tour de France, also appears in the production and recalls a situation experienced during Liège-Bastogne-Liège that illustrates the Slovenian's physical superiority.

"Once I was racing with Pog in Liège, easily pushing over 400 watts. He came up and started chatting with me. I thought: 'Dude, right now I can't talk'." It's clear he has one or two more gears than I do," concludes the Brit.

A documentary that seeks to explain why Pogacar is so superior

The statements from Merckx, Contador, and Thomas are part of Anatomy of a G.O.A.T., a 45-minute production that aims to explain the keys to Pogacar's performance from a sports and scientific perspective.

As we previously announced when announcing the documentary, unpublished data on the Slovenian's performance will be shown, with information provided by WHOOP and the participation of specialists such as Iñigo San Millán and Jean-Benoît Morin.

Pogacar himself also participates, explaining what motivates him to continue competing after having achieved practically all the major goals in cycling.

"As long as you enjoy practicing this sport, the results will come. When you stop having fun, you have to find something else that makes you happy", he states.

The documentary will premiere on Saturday, November 7, on Eurosport 2 and will be available that same day on demand on HBO Max.