Will Tadej Pogačar ever stop winning?
Victory at the Jaén Paraíso Interior on Monday was followed by a win at the Ruta del Sol on Wednesday. Four in a row. Easy
Cycling is not a sport conducive to streaks; there are too many factors at play, too many things that could go wrong or go right, too many riders competing for a single win.
In other sports, it can be different. In English football, Liverpool and Manchester City both won 17 consecutive games in the Premier League, in international rugby union, New Zealand has won 18 games in a row before, while tennis player Novak Djokovic once won 43 matches in a row.
Winning streaks are not unheard of in cycling, but they are unusual, reserved for true greats: Marianne Vos won eight races in a row in 2011, while Eddy Merckx managed five victories consecutively in 1972. It doesn't happen often, there are too many competing interests, let alone injury or illness.
On Wednesday's opening stage of the Vuelta a Andalucía, 119 riders from 17 different teams set out to try and do something. They didn't all expect to win, of course, but many would have hoped to be in the final move, or leave their mark on the race.
However, one of them is different to the others. He's able to do things that the ordinary cyclists next to him are unable to do; he can beat fate to ensure he wins multiple races in a row.
You have to wonder what his rivals thought when Tadej Pogačar attacked on the final climb of stage one - the Despiernacaballos. It was probably, simply: "Here we go again."
Just like on Monday at the Jaén Paraíso Interior, you get the sense that the UAE Team Emirates rider was just waiting for the perfect moment to rip the race to shreds, and once he had disappeared up the road, there was no getting him back.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Santiago Buitrago of Bahrain-Victorious briefly managed to hang on, but was soon dispatched, the 12km lone attack was set up and would be followed through.
The second solo win in three days for Pogačar means that the Slovenian has now won four races in a row: the last two he competed in in 2022, Tre Valli Varesine and Il Lombardia, and now the first two of his 2023 season, at Jaén and then the Ruta del Sol this week.
It was so nearly more, too, with second at the Giro dell'Emilia preceding this, but four is stunning in itself, what the term 'statement of intent' was designed for.
"I'm surprised a little bit," he said. "I knew that I'm good, but it's just a bit of a surprise that I've already won two races."
Is it surprising anymore, though? The way he is able to bend races to his will is so well known that it is more of a surprise when he fails to win a bike race that he has targeted, like at the 2022 Tour de France.
There is not a single day of this five-stage Ruta del Sol that you would heavily bet against Pogačar winning; Not a pan-flat sprinter's finish, not one fully destined for a breakaway, not even a punchy finish that one would guarantee he would be outgunned by a faster rider.
It is unlikely that he will win them all, not with so many competing interests and the cruelty of fortune's wheel, but it could happen. Even when he punctures, like at Jaén on Monday, it does not break his chances, just narrows his margin of victory.
In truth, the Slovenian has probably already won the Vuelta a Andalucía through his exploits on the opening day. He has 38 seconds on Mikel Landa, and in this form, looks pretty unbeatable.
Even if he does not keep winning every time, he will win a lot this year. At 24, he is just two victories away from 50 career wins, a remarkable achievement. To show the length of his dominance, Pogačar has won at least one stage of every stage race he has entered since the 2020 Critérium du Dauphiné. That's 29 months.
He probably won't win on Thursday, there is a lot going against him, but he might. Then where will it end? Strade Bianche? Paris-Nice? The Tour? This might be his best year yet.
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Adam is Cycling Weekly’s news editor – his greatest love is road racing but as long as he is cycling, he's happy. Before joining CW in 2021 he spent two years writing for Procycling. He's usually out and about on the roads of Bristol and its surrounds.
Before cycling took over his professional life, he covered ecclesiastical matters at the world’s largest Anglican newspaper and politics at Business Insider. Don't ask how that is related to riding bikes.
-
I can’t even remember the price of my latest bike — the trauma is too deep
Dream bikes are best left locked up in fantasy land, argues CW's columnist
By Michael Hutchinson Published
-
Buying a saddle online without a fit is a risky move — here's how to find the best perch for you
Getting your saddle right makes all the difference, we spoke to an expert to help guide you in the process
By Rob Kemp Published
-
Tadej Pogačar says blistering Sormano attack was 'planned' after cruising to fourth Il Lombardia title
World Champion ends his season on a high in Italy with 25th victory of the year secured at Italian Monument
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Tadej Pogačar storms to fourth consecutive Il Lombardia victory after 48km solo breakaway
World Champion beats Remco Evenepoel by more than three minutes after devastating attack on the Colma di Sormano
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
How Tadej Pogačar created history and claimed cycling's Triple Crown of the Giro-Tour-Worlds
A journey that was supposedly fraught with risk and uncertainty was anything but for Giro d'Italia, Tour de France and World Championships victor Tadej Pogačar
By Chris Marshall-Bell Published
-
'It was a stupid move, but it worked' - Tadej Pogačar on his history-making World Championships ride
Welcome to the Pogačar era, where the Slovenian can attack from 100km to the line and still win. It's just starting.
By Adam Becket Published
-
'Crazy', 'not normal', 'another level' - Peloton reacts to another Tadej Pogačar solo masterclass at World Championships
The win was not unexpected, but the way it happened might have been, as the Slovenian soloed to historic victory
By Adam Becket Published
-
Tadej Pogačar on riding at '320 to 340 watts' in Zone 2, his distrust of power meters, and never saying 'I cannot eat chocolate'
Slovenian reveals details of his own training methods ahead of the World Championships
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Pogačar mania takes hold in Canada with 2026 Montréal World Championships on the horizon
Organiser of GP Québec and Montréal gearing up for Worlds returning to North America in 2026
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
'The chance is t