Tadej Pogacar will have to 'risk everything' to win all five Monuments - Philippe Gilbert exclusive

Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) will have to “risk everything” if he wants to win a full set of Monuments during his career, according to Eurosport expert Philippe Gilbert, who fears a Paris-Roubaix challenge may be too perilous for the Slovenian sensation. Cycling’s five Monuments – Milan-San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, Liege-Bastogne-Liege and Il Lombardia – are widely considered the most prestigious one-day races outside of the Olympic Games and World Championships. Ad Pogacar already boasts two on his palmarès – Liege (2021) and Il Lombardia (2021 and 2022) – and boasts top-five finishes at Milan-San Remo and Tour of Flanders.

Only a tactical meltdown saw him finish off the podium in Flanders last year, with Pogacar somehow finishing fourth in a two-horse race after the most bizarre sprint showdown with Mathieu van der Poel. Omloop Het NieuwsbladLimitless Pogacar can challenge for all five Monuments — Blythe22/02/2023 AT 10:11 Gilbert won four of the five Monuments during a stellar career, with only Milan-San Remo eluding him, and said the different race profiles made a sweep particularly challenging. “Winning five different Monuments is not an easy target.

It takes a lot of energy, a lot of strength because they are very different races,” said Gilbert. “San-Remo is almost made for sprinters or puncheurs, you have Flanders and Roubaix for strong and heavy guys, and the other two – Liege and Lombardia – for light riders. It is not easy to compete on the highest level at those five races.” Only Rik Van Looy, Eddy Merckx and Roger De Vlaeminck have won all five.