Peter Sagan has said that "the WorldTour is too small" for Tadej Pogačar, with the Slovenian's dominance at almost every race he takes part in " making cycling boring in a certain way."
Retired racer Sagan, who won the Tour of Flanders 10 years ago and enjoyed a spell at the top of the sport as the best rider in the world, ran the rule over the current holder of that title in an interview with Het Nieuwsblad.
The Slovakian named Pogačar as the top favourite to win his second Monument of the season in Flanders on Sunday, which would be his third win at De Ronde and his 12th Monument in total – a tally that would leave him clear of Roger De Vlaeminck and only behind Eddy Merckx.
"Unless they saw off his legs before Sunday, who is going to be able to beat him?" Sagan asked.
He called Pogačar "amazing", while acknowledging that his dominance could put people off.
"Above all, he should race the way he wants. And hey, for the sport, Pogačar is amazing," Sagan said.
"They just should let him race in a separate category. The WorldTour is too small for him. Because of that, he makes cycling boring in a certain way. You can't put it any other way."
Pogačar ticked off Milan-San Remo at the fifth time of asking last month, adding a fourth Monument to his list of triumphs.
The World Champion came back from a crash to beat Tom Pidcock in a two-man sprint for the line, with Sagan saying that the fall was the only reason there was any drama in the race.
"There is only one reason why Milan-San Remo was interesting this year: because he crashed and we suddenly got a beautiful battle," he said.
"Even I never thought he would still attack on the Cipressa after his crash. But Pogačar is crazy enough to do even that.
"They sometimes say that racing isn't a PlayStation. Well, for him, it is. Even easier than a PlayStation. Only – as beautiful as that was to watch at Milan-San Remo, it is just as boring on other days."
Sagan, who called time on his career two years ago, can look back on a successful spell in the peloton with 121 wins to his name.
Alongside his pair of cobbled Monuments and three rainbow jerseys, his career highlights include a record seven Tour de France green jerseys, 18 Grand Tour stages, nine other major Classics, and 18 stages of the Tour de Suisse.
To date, Pogačar has 110 career victories, and he's the favourite to make it 111 against Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert, and Remco Evenepoel on Sunday. Of course, he wins differently to Sagan.
"Tadej Pogačar rides away 120km from the finish," Sagan joked, when asked about his own solo ride off the Paterberg to win Flanders a decade ago.
"Times have changed. I was much smarter. I did like winning races, but I didn't like suffering. If I could choose between an attack from afar or staying in the peloton for another 50km and then attacking, I chose the latter. That was easier. Less pain."
Sagan also had some advice to pass on to Pogačar. Not in the racing sense, but off the bike – from one 'best rider in the world' to another.
He called his final three years of racing "a nightmare", watching his son growing up from afar and "spending more time with other people than with him. That got into my head."
Sagan said that Pogačar should "live your life and your career the way you want" amid pressure and outside demands.
"I've already talked to him about that once. Of course, he has won much more than I have, but the life he is leading now is the life I was leading ten years ago," Sagan said.
"And honestly: I’d rather him than me. I was a pro for 14 years, I’ve had my share of fame – and I still have a bit of it. I don’t need it anymore. That is why I had always said I would stop at 30.
"In the end, I kept it up until I was 33. I can only give Tadej one piece of advice: live your life and your career the way you want. Which isn’t easy when you’re in the middle of it. The pressure weighing on you, the many people wanting to use or, even abuse, you: it is difficult to deal with that and to keep realising what is important to you."
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