‘He is the standard’: Pidcock says Pogacar forcing him to be better rider

21.04.2023 - 09:59 theguardian.com

Tom Pidcock believes Tadej Pogacar is forcing him to become a better rider as the Slovenian continues his remarkable dominance of the cycling season.

Pogacar on Wednesday added La Flèche Wallonne to a palmarès that includes an incredible 12 wins in 18 days of racing this season.

Having already won the Amstel Gold Race last weekend, Pogacar will start Sunday’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège aiming to become only the third man to complete a hat-trick of the Ardennes Classics.

The 24-year-old double Tour de France winner is inevitably earning comparisons with the great Eddy Merckx, and while challenging him is a daunting prospect for the rest of the peloton, Pidcock credits the UAE Team Emirates rider with raising the bar. “He’s the best rider in the world right now, let’s not beat around the bush,” Pidcock said. “Each time we line up we try to figure out how we can beat him.

cycling mountaineering Tour De-France Eddy Merckx Tadej Pogacar Tom Pidcock Team Emirates France Uae Slovenia

Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan) was lauded for his incredible bike handling on The Breakaway despite crashing in a dramatic sprint on Stage 5 at the Giro d’Italia. A hellish day saw pre-race favourite Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) crash twice – once after a dog ran into the peloton – and Cavendish slide on his torso across the finish line behind winner Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck).

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