Cycling-Pogacar turns from Baby Cannibal to Colossus

By Julien Pretot

PARIS (Reuters) - Battered and bruised in the two previous editions, Tadej Pogacar made his return to the top of the Tour de France podium with a loud, big bang on Sunday to cement his place among the cycling greats.

The Slovenian became the first to win both the Giro d'Italia and the Tour in the same season since the late Marco Pantani in 1998, in brutal, ruthless fashion as he crushed defending champion Jonas Vingegaard, whom he beat by six minutes and 17 seconds.

Last year, Pogacar paid the price for a preparation that was disrupted by a crash in April, and this time, it was Denmark's Vingegaard who entered the race diminished after sustained broken ribs and a collapsed lung three months before the start in Florence.

Vingegaard made good impression in the opening week, but Pogacar hit him hard every time he could and it quickly became evident that the rider who drew comparisons with the great Eddy Merckx would come closer to the 'Cannibal'.

It would now be unfair to call Pogacar just the 'Baby Cannibal'. In three weeks from Florence, Italy, to Monaco, Pogacar has taken on a new dimension.

His swashbuckling style, take-no-prisoner approach, have given him titles in all three grands tours and in three of the five Monument classics, and won him the hearts of the fans.

While Merckx won five Tours and the Giro five times as well and claimed all five Monuments, it came at a time when cycling was not yet globalised.

"We could have made a whole peloton with the new Merckxes," Merckx himself said.

"This one's different. If you want me to predict a career similar to mine, I'd say yes. He started winning at a very young age, and I sense a huge desire in him to win everything.

TRUE HEIR

"There's a rage whenever he's on a bike. I like that. Yes, I'm really saying it, and not to please those who ask me: Pogacar is my true heir.

"If there's any room for improvement, it's in the time trial, where he can still take time. And later on, he'll have to put on a bit of weight if he wants to win Paris-Roubaix."

Pogacar has been ticking all the boxes since he started, notably winning the 2018 Tour de l'Avenir, a year before he turned professional.

He then won Liege-Bastogne-Liege, the Giro di Lombardia and the Tour of Flanders, coming third in Milan Sanremo this year. While Paris-Roubaix, the Queen of the Classics, seems out of reach due to his light weight, Pogacar is by far the most successful road rider of his era.

And there could be more to come.

No rider has won all three grands tours in a single season. Given Pogacar's domination, why should the Slovenian not give it a try?

"I'm not sending him (to the Vuelta a Espana). It would be too much stress to do a third grand tour with the goal of winning," UAE Emirates team manager said.

"Sure, if he won he would do something unique, but I have to pay for it in the coming years too. I don't want to risk melting him. And if I burn him? Then you know, if he were to win they would criticize us saying we are greedy."

Pogacar's hunger, however, could be satisfied at the Olympics, were he will be among the top favourites in the road race on Aug. 3.

(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Christian Radnedge)