Former French cycling great Bernard Hinault has heaped praise on Tadej Pogačar for his Classics rivalry with Mathieu van der Poel and the Slovenian's racing strategies in general, saying they have brought a timely breath of fresh air to the sport.
Speaking during the presentation of the 'Super-size' 2027 World Championships in Sallanches, the five-time Tour de France champion told L'Équipe he believed that racing had become far more interesting as a result of Pogačar's presence, both in Paris-Roubaix and other events.
Hinault also said that interest would be high in 2027 to see how the riders of today bear up to those of his era, given the 2027 Worlds' course is expected to feature 20 laps of the 13.3 kilometre circuit over the same ultra-tough Côte de Domancy in the French Alps, where Hinault demolished the field in the 1980 race.
"Last year in Zurich, Pogačar attacked, he didn't have any doubts," Hinault said in his interview with L'Équipe. "He can adopt the same strategy again. Because when you are really very, very strong and when the course suits you and you dominate the race, you can choose to do it again."
Hinault said that Pogačar's strategies and long-distance attacks effectively ended the era of races being much duller, the only appeal being confined to the finale. These days, on the other hand, leaders are forced to take on their rivals directly from much further out.
"It's true there was a time when you watched races [on TV] and you'd say to yourself - I'll just watch the last 20 kilometres but I know what's going to happen. There wasn't any interest. Now, there is," said the Frenchman.
"It reminds us of the good times, of what we had with Eddy [Merckx], times when riders didn't ask themselves questions. It's a dream for anybody who loves cycling to see riders who just watch their rivals for a bit and then go for it.
"He's able to race hard at the beginning of the season, the middle of the season and the end of the season, he's always there," Hinault said about Pogačar. "He's the rider who bears the closest resemblance to the old warriors like Merckx and me.
"He could have won Paris-Roubaix, unfortunately he crashed, but that's part of racing. Otherwise there would have been an amazing battle between the two [Van der Poel and Pogačar] and one would have had to drop the other."
The presentation of the 2027 World Championships on Tuesday has not just provided an opportunity to reflect on Pogačar and his chances of repeating his 2024 triumph on a course which will feature over 5,000 metres of vertical climbing.
According to a report in Relevo.es, the rescheduling of the World Championships and its 'super-size' format with events in different specialities running for a fortnight from August 24 to September 5, may also have the knock-on effect of delaying the usual Vuelta a España August start date by almost three weeks.
An autumn Vuelta is not without precedents. Back when it was originally switched from its previous April slot in the late 1990s, it always used to start in the first week of September, and it was also held in October in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As for the 1980 World Championships, which took place on August 31, Hinault told L'Équipe that he could barely remember the specifics of the course and the Sallanches climb, because there had been so many fans cheering him and the other riders on each side of the road.
As Hinault said, "I've never managed to identify the spot where I dropped [Gianbattista] Baronchelli," – the silver medallist and last rider to stay with the Frenchman as he headed for rainbow glory. "All I remember about the race itself is that I only had one derailleur, and that it was hard."
