Rewriting the rules
Ned is stunned by the flair of a clutch of top young riders
This racing year just gone delighted and confused me in equal measure. The delight has come from the spirit of risk-readiness and respect with which the best riders in the world have set about their task. The confusion has arisen from the rule-breaking brilliance of a clutch of riders who seem intent on shaking the preconceptions of the sport to the very core.
A good case in point is the frequency with which we have been forced, as observers of the sport, to re-assess what we thought we knew, to recalibrate our understanding. For example, just when we thought we’d finally identified “The New Eddy Merckx” in Tadej Pogačar, another one came along. And now none of us understand what on earth is going on any more, and which is most exciting talent of them all.
The Pogačar dynasty was, prior to this year’s Tour de France, set fair to hold sway over the cycling world for years to come, if not a full decade. By the end of the 2020s, it was not fanciful to suggest that Pog would have comfortably joined and then left the “5 Tours” club of Anquetil, Merckx, Hinault and Indurain. It was also not crazy to consider that he might have picked up a string of monuments along the way, from Milan-San Remo to Flanders, via Lombardia and, just maybe, Paris-Roubaix. The sequences of his successes suggested, prior to this summer, that he was actually ahead of Merckx, year on year, compared to the great Belgian’s omnivorous trajectory. This astonishing future may all still come to pass for Pogačar, but if it does so, it will be all the more exceptional because of the nature of the opponents he now faces. He will have to face down the brilliance of Wout van Aert, as well as Tom Pidcock and Julian Alaphilippe in the one-day races. But, when it comes to the Tour de France in particular, he will face Remco Evenepoel for many years to come.
I mean no disprespect to Jonas Vingegaard, whose preparation and approach to winning the Tour was exemplary this summer. He did exactly what he needed to do, and was brilliantly assisted by his team. But he is a known known, and Pogačar probably already has a plan for how to beat him next July. The real known unknown is Remco; the new world champion is just different. He does things that no other rider can do. And it scares the life out of the peloton. Yes, he may have his acknowledged weaknesses; his descending and his mastery of gravel and cobbles are genuine Achilles heels that will need to be improved. But his strengths are frightening. No other rider in the world right now can simply boot it from 50km out and never be seen again. Remco can, and does. And when he’s at his best, it is impossible to hold his wheel. Even, perhaps for Pog and for Jonas.
What marks him out as uniquely dangerous is his willingness to attack at any given moment. Despite Pogačar’s wildly aggressive style, he is cautious enough to wait until the conventionally propitious moment to launch his attacks. Normally, this means a long climb. Remco doesn’t need this, as he proved by winning the rainbow bands this year. All he needs is a little ramp. Or a narrowing, or a bend, or corner. He can work with nothing. He can hit a different level from a standing start, and hold it to the line. He can snap the elastic without a back-swing.
The effect that this has is to put the bunch on high alert throughout the race. Seemingly benign stages can suddenly become GC days. His opponents will never be able to relax in the knowledge that not much can happen, because Remco can make it happen. He can spark a fire out of damp kindling wood, or tease water from the desert. His freakish physiology, and willingness to break with convention make him a unique proposition. And now, with his Vuelta victory followed by his win at the Worlds, there is no room for doubt. The hype is reality.
Perhaps it will not come to pass next year. Perhaps Remco has to head back to the Giro to right the wrongs of his 2021 debut at the race, before heading for the Tour de France. But he won’t be able to stay away for long, and when they all line up together, the stars of the 2020s will be writing history that will endure long, long after they have finished. In the meantime, sit back and prepare to be entertained. And amazed.