Tadej Pogacar's unconventional approach to cycling once again paid off on Sunday as he clinched the world road race championship in Zurich. The Slovenian's bold, almost reckless attack 100km from the finish line secured his victory, finishing solo with a 33-second lead over Australian Ben O'Connor. This triumph added a new dimension to Pogacar's already stellar season, making him only the third rider in history, after Eddy Merckx and Stephen Roche, to achieve the 'triple crown' of Giro d'Italia, Tour de France, and the world road title in the same year.
Pogacar's season has been nothing short of dominant, with 23 victories that echo the legendary feats of Merckx. He won six stages in both the Giro and the Tour, a feat not seen since Marco Pantani in 1998, along with victories in Classics like Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Strade Bianche, and GP Montreal and the Tour of Catalonia. 'I had a lot of pressure on myself today,' Pogacar admitted. 'While the Tour de France was always my main focus, the world championship became a clear goal this year. We had a plan to control the race, but... there was a dangerous breakaway, and maybe I made a risky move, but thankfully Jan [Tratnik] was there with me. I just went with the flow, and luckily, it worked out.'
The 27km circuit around Zurich, with its constant climbs and descents, limited the effectiveness of team tactics. Initially, Pogacar planned to wait until the final 30km, but sensing the title slipping away with half the 273.9km race remaining, he decided to act. A strong lead group, including Britain's Stephen Williams, had gained a 3-minute advantage. The Slovenian team responded, launching a powerful attack from Pogacar on the 17% slopes of the Bergstrasse climb. Defending champion Mathieu van der Poel and double Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel were caught off guard, and within 10 uphill kilometers, Pogacar was in sight of the leaders, aided by fellow Slovenian Jan Tratnik.
A second surge on the Bergstrasse left only Frenchman Pavel Sivakov as a threat. Evenepoel's Belgian team chased hard, but the tough circuit took its toll, and Evenepoel grew frustrated with the dwindling main group. On the penultimate lap, Sivakov fell back, leaving Pogacar with 51km to go, leading by just a minute. The initial pursuit came from Latvian Tom Skuijns and Ireland's Ben Healy, but it wasn't until the final lap that Van der Poel and Evenepoel managed to close the gap. With 10km to go, Pogacar found new strength, and by the final stretch, the chasers focused on securing the silver medal.
