Saturday, October 12, 2024, 10:09
| Updated 5:47 p.m.
Tadej Pogacar really likes Euskadi. This is told by his director in the UAE, Joxean Fernández ‘Matxin’, who explained that the Slovenian always asks him to race in Euskadi. “When we make the season calendar, Pogacar tells me ‘can’t I do the Basque Country?'” he says in the documentary ‘Marea laranja’, which deals with the subject of Basque fans for the Eusktaltel team.
The cyclists who take part in the documentary praise the Basque fans. Many love that atmosphere. Like Pogacar, which this campaign has not run in Euskadi. In 2023 he did it in the Tour de France, with three stages in Basque territory and a year before there was the San Sebastián Classic. In fact, the Slovenian has not participated in Itzulia since 2021, where he was third after Roglic and Vingegaard.
The truth is that there is a desire to see Tadej Pogacar again in Euskadi. The Slovenian champion has amazed the world with a 2024 only at the level of the great Eddy Merckx. Tour, Giro, World Cup and the Liege and Lombardy monuments are the most notable triumphs of the 25 achieved this year. The last one, this Saturday, in the monument of dead leaves that is disputed in Italian lands and where he has imposed more than three minutes on Evenepoel at the finish line. With today’s, he now has four Lombardies – all consecutive – and is one behind Fausto Coppi.
Pogacar attacked almost 50 kilometers from the finish line, in the hardest part of Colma Di Somano, and released everyone again. Nobody could follow him and this time, unlike what happened at the Zurich World Cup, Evenepoel tried to respond. The Belgian was caught by Enric Mas, who held on to his wheel for the rest of the climb to the penultimate climb.
But the last monument of the year was finished. The Slovenian widened differences. One minute, one and a half, two… what happened this afternoon seemed like something out of a movie. Evenepoel helplessly attended another exhibition of what is undoubtedly the best cyclist in the world and of the 21st century. Tadej crowned the climb to San Fermo della Battaglia and the difference with Evenepoel – Olympic road and time trial champion – skyrocketed to over three minutes. The Slovenian crossed the finish line, celebrating his fourth Lombardia and got off his bike to raise it to the sky. Just like Evenepoel did in Paris.
There are few challenges left for Pogacar to meet, although one of the ones he most wants, as Matxin reveals in the documentary ‘Marea Laranja’, is to run the great Basque race and, why not, win it. The Itzulia could be an interesting challenge for 2025 for a cyclist who has had no rival this year. Neither Vingegaard in the Tour, nor Van der Poel or Evenepoel in the great classics of the season have coughed on him.
Whether it runs in Euskadi or not, Pogacar continues to make history. Their participation in each race ensures the spectacle. Like in the last World Cup, where he escaped with 100 kilometers to go from the finish line. There is no one who can handle him. This season he has won the Giro d’Italia, the Tour de France and many other events.
After the Grande Boucle, cycling fans were eager to see Pogacar in the Vuelta. A major challenge for any athlete. A hat trick? ‘Matxin’ explained the reason for his non-presence in the Spanish round. «It is a corridor that we have to preserve for the future. “It wouldn’t be smart to run three grand tours in such a short time,” he noted.
