Pogačar collects membership cards

They may be tired – the peloton seems to be – but Tadej Pogačar is not. Just six days after a triumphant World Championships, the 26-year-old single-handedly won the Giro dell'Emilia, joining another one of those 'elite clubs' we absolutely need to talk about.

Full disclosure: We may be nearing the base of the barrel now; It's pretty difficult to write a dramatic, compelling and entertaining post-race story about Pogačar's dominant, multicolored performance if he just keeps doing the same thing. Attack early and reach the finish single-handed like the versatile, history-making Giro Tour World Champion that he is.

Things become even more difficult when the race that set the stage for his latest demonstration was almost literally no longer visible. In fact, the women's race wasn't broadcast at all earlier in the day due to the weather, while the men's race somehow got away with it, despite the coverage being incredibly patchy.

I'll summarize it for you: Pogačar attacked on the first of five climbs of the San Luca climb in Bologna (2.1km at 9.4%), and that was it. Just over 37km later, the 26-year-old's sodden rainbow jersey pierced the misty rain at the finish line, almost two minutes ahead of Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers), Davide Piganzoli (Polti-Kometa) and Michael Woods (Israel-Premier Tech), the competed to be the second or first person.

The conditions gave Pogačar's swollen face at least the appearance of discomfort, but victory was never in doubt. There were even reports that other favorites dropped out on the first pass at the finish line, less than a kilometer after Pogačar's winning maneuver.

He had done it. Again. Solo. And in the rainbow jersey – just days after Pogačar unpacked his new jersey, any talk of the rainbow curse was thoroughly dismissed.

All my usual reluctance to use adjectives like “epic”, “heroic”, “extraordinary” is put aside for only a small group of riders, and although there could well be an argument that the new world champion has crossed the line ” Formulaic,” “clinical,” “boring,” Pogačar deserves every bit of hyperbole in 2024.

It's really pretty crazy. Look at this season's results: He now has 24 wins (87 in his career) in 56 racing days – 42 of which were Grand Tour stages – and since he started his season single-handedly by winning Strade Bianche after 82km He has only finished one time on the podium at the last Grand Prix Québec.

What's more, less than a week after he added Triple Crown membership to his “elite club” portfolio, his storied career continues as he joins the remarkably small number of (male) cyclists competing in their first race after winning the world championship title.

It's much more common in women's cycling. Lotte Kopecky was the last to do so, having won her 2023 title (she still technically has to ride on the road after defending her title, although she competed in the Gravel Worlds this weekend and finished second to Marianne Vos), and joined the other youngest members Anna van der Breggen, Annemiek van Vleuten, Lizzie Deignan, Marianne Vos etc.

At the risk of upsetting Belgium (see below), Spaniard Abraham Olano was the last man to do so in a similar fashion. His decades-long career included stage victories at the Tour and the Vuelta – all time trials – and twelve overall victories, including the 1998 Vuelta a España and the 1995 World Championships road race in Duitama, Colombia, where he competed alongside compatriot Miguel Indurain and Italy's Marco Pantani podium stood.

Then, six days later – the same time as for young champion Pogi – Olano was back home in Spain and won the now-defunct Subida al Naranco, marking a team victory for Mapei-GB.

Tom Boonen is also part of the same club and a newer signee, but the World Championships in Madrid was his last road race of 2005. He finally paid off his (late) start after a four-month delay and started his 2006 season with four consecutive wins at the one-day Doha International GP, then at the Tour of Qatar, which he also won overall and finished five stages without mistakes with third place on the fourth stage.

Julian Alaphilippe is the only other current driver who came close – agonizingly close. He thought he had made it in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, just a week after winning his first world title of 2020, but he was memorably demoted from second to fifth because he moved dangerously erratically in the five-man sprint and there was salt in the wound. After an early celebration, Primož allowed Roglič to steal the monument. Alaphilippe won Brabantse Pijl a week later, but the damage was done.

The records get a little more mixed the further back you go, but others already in the clubhouse include 1977 world champion Francesco Moser, and of course Eddy Merckx, who achieved the feat on his third (and final) attempt, winning the world title won French one-day Critérium des As in 1974.

Does any of this matter? Not really. As we increasingly realize, comparison is inevitable the thief of joy It's not particularly helpful if it's not framed appropriately, but the fact that it's so rare for male professional cyclists to win on their debut in the rainbow jersey is notable.

And so it is another enchanting, almost prescient step in a poetic year for Pogačar.

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