'An Absolute Monarchy - one of the Greatest Classics Campaigns in History' was how L'Équipe titled its front page report on Tadej Pogačar's one-day track record this Spring following his latest victory at Liège-Bastogne-Liège last weekend, and a series of raw data on his performances, also published by the newspaper on Monday, showed that the dramatic headline was anything but unjustified.
It's relatively well-known that securing nine Monuments – one more than archrival Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) – now puts Pogačar on an equal footing with such all-time greats as Fausto Coppi, Sean Kelly, Costante Girardengo and equal third in the all-time ranking behind Eddy Merckx and Roger De Vlaeminck, too.
