“Pogacar doesn’t even come up to Merckx’s ankles. Van der Poel and Evenepoel…” De Vlaeminck takes aim at modern cycling

The comparison between Tadej Pogacar and Eddy Merckx continues across the entire cycling world: former riders, fans, pundits, and current riders/sports directors are all part of the debate. However, there is one cycling legend who does not agree, and he made that very clear in a recent interview: Roger De Vlaeminck.

Speaking to Het Laatste Nieuws, the Belgian went hard on Pogacar, Evenepoel, and Mathieu van der Poel, holding nothing back. Below are the harsh words of the four-time Paris-Roubaix winner, considered one of the best, if not the best, classics rider of all time:

On Pogacar:
“Pogacar doesn’t even come up to Merckx’s ankles. The journalists who dare make this comparison know nothing about cycling, write that down. If I were 22 today and racing in the peloton with Pogacar, he wouldn’t drop me. Where did he supposedly distance Evenepoel recently? At Il Lombardia. And not even on a hard climb. As good as Merckx… come on!”

On himself:
“People always claimed I could have won the Tour de France but that I didn’t believe in myself. That last part is true, but I was simply realistic. I could not win the Tour de France against Eddy Merckx. I accepted that. I was 1.84m tall, the ideal height for a cyclist. And I weighed 66kg. You should have seen me, with those thin legs. Nature gave me many gifts: I was strong in sprints, I was good in time trials, and I climbed pretty well… don’t forget that I won tough mountain stages.”

On van der Poel:
“He’s a great rider. But he can’t time trial, he can’t climb, he can’t sprint… there’s not much left, is there? I won mountain stages, time trials, I could sprint, for heaven’s sake.”

On Evenepoel:
“Sometimes I find him a bit arrogant. Finishing and lifting the bike in the air… is that necessary? Just cross the line and win, right? In my day, I would simply raise one hand.”

Article ““Pogacar doesn’t even come up to Merckx’s ankles. Van der Poel and Evenepoel…” De Vlaeminck takes aim at modern cycling” written by @strongmoderncycling.

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