Slovenian cyclist Tadej Pogacar won the world road race title on Sunday, adding another impressive feat to his already extensive resume. In an epic performance, Pogacar starred in what he called “a stupid attack” with 100 kilometers to go. For the first time in days, the sun shone in Zurich, Switzerland, providing the backdrop for one of the most memorable performances in the history of the Cycling World Championships.
Pogacar attacked the group of favorites with 100km to go and rode alone for more than 50km, crossing the finish line after covering 273.9km between Winterthur and Zurich in 6h27m30s. He left Australian Ben O’Connor in second place, 34 seconds behind, and Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel, defending champion since 2023, in third, 58 seconds behind.
At 26, Pogacar has already won the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France, equaling a historic feat by becoming only the third cyclist to win both the Grand Tours and the World Cup in the same year, along with Eddy Merckx (1974) and Stephen Roche (1987). In addition, he did something neither Merckx nor Roche managed to do: win the Liège-Bastogne-Liège and take 23 victories in the season, including the Strade Bianche classic.
His aggressive style is known to all, but few expected an attack so early, especially in the face of heavyweight rivals like Van der Poel and Belgian Remco Evenepoel, world time trial champion and gold medalist at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. After the attack, Pogacar received support from compatriot Jan Tratnik, but with 51 kilometers to go he was alone again.
“The race was very fast and there was a dangerous breakaway at the front. Maybe it was a stupid attack, but Jan was with me and I didn’t give up until the end. It was an incredible day, I still can’t believe what happened,” Pogacar said. He confirmed that the attack was not planned, but that after a perfect season, winning the World Championship was a big goal.
Despite losing ground on the last lap in Zurich, Pogacar managed to maintain his lead in a race that was bumpy from the start. Toms Skujins and Ben Healy tried to catch up with him, but they stayed away. Skujins finished fourth, followed by Remco Evenepoel (fifth) and Marc Hirschi (sixth), the best Swiss rider.