Merckx “slams” Evenepoel and is clear: “Pogacar has only one real rival” – and it’s not Vingegaard

After the last Tour de France, De Telegraaf asked Eddy Merckx to share his thoughts on what happened in the French race—and, as always, the Belgian champion didn’t hold back. Among the many things he said, there was no shortage of praise for Pogacar (though he added, “if he had raced against the guys from my era, it would have been much harder for him to win so much”).

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But Merckx didn’t only hand out compliments to the Slovenian. He also had harsh words for his fellow Belgian Evenepoel—once considered his heir—and for Vingegaard, whom he doesn’t see quite on Pogacar’s level. The only one, besides Pogacar, to receive real praise was Mathieu Van der Poel, whom Merckx sees as the world champion’s only true rival.

Here are Eddy Merckx’s statements:

“Evenepoel can’t be a contender in a Grand Tour: he’s a time trial specialist, but he’s not at Pogacar’s level when it comes to climbing. As for Vingegaard, I don’t think he’ll close the gap that quickly either. In Tadej, I see a bit of myself in terms of a winning mentality: he races and excels in every competition. His only real rival is Van der Poel.

“Mathieu rode an incredible Tour: he always pulls off extraordinary and unexpected moves, like the two-man breakaway with Rickaert in stage 9. It’s a shame he had to abandon—he would’ve kept putting on a show. Between him and Pogacar, we’re witnessing a beautiful rivalry in the Classics. It’s a pity Mathieu isn’t a Grand Tour rider, because he’s the only one who could truly challenge him.”

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