In 2024, Tadej Pogačar seemed to win one-day races at will. At Strade Bianche, he said he'd attack 82km from the finish, and he did, and he won. At the World Championships, he was away alone for 100km. At Il Lombardia, it was a comparatively modest 48km, but a dominant solo win all the same. Nothing seemed to stand in his way.
This year, however, that ability to just ride away hasn't seemed to come quite so easily to the Slovenian. At Strade Bianche, he of course won, but he did it bruised and bloodied, after crashing uncharacteristically. Milan-San Remo saw him try, try and fail to shake Mathieu van der Poel, and ultimately cede victory to the Dutchman.
