What I liked best about Tadej Pogačar’s World Champs win in September was the confusion it generated. Everyone expected it but was still surprised when it happened. The way the race unfolded was just weird. Even afterwards, we couldn’t agree on very much about it, other than that it had been astonishing.
The question was not one of his physical ability, but of his tactics. In one corner, there have been several commentators who have paid homage to the brilliance and unpredictability, the seizing of a decisive moment, and the way the Slovenian toyed with the chasers in the closing stages by letting the gap come down to a dangerous margin, then extending again. Others have written about the ‘state of flow’ of a great athlete, and how instinct allows them to understand the tactics of a race in a way no one else can.
