Triple Crown of Cycling Winner Tadej Pogacar

 

Tadej Pogacar is a legendary name in aggressive cycling. He is the only cyclist to have won the Triple Crown and two monuments in the same year. In 2024, Pogacar became the 3rd meal cyclist to win the Triple Crown of cycling after Eddy Merckx in 1974 and Stephen Roche in 1987. This has earned him comparisons to legends such as Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault.   

 Successful junior rider Tadej Pogacar was born on the 21st of September 1998 in Klanek, Slovenia. At the age of nine, Pogacar joined the Rog Ljubljana Club with his older brother, Tiljan, before being spotted by road World Championship medallist Andrej Hauptmann in 2011. Pogacar signed as a professional cyclist with the UAE Team Emirates in 2019 after winning the Vuelta ao Algarve and the Tour of California in 2018. After winning the queen stage on Mount Baldi, Pogacar won the Slovenian national time trial championship in June, beating Matej Mohoric by just 29 seconds.   

Pogacar made his Tour de France debut in 2020 with one of the most impressive performances in Tour de France history. He finished 5th in the UAE Tour and second in the GC (general classification) behind Adam Yates. Cycling events was suspended in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When cycling resumed, Pogacar finished 4th overall in the Criterium Du Dauphine and second behind Primoz Roglic in the Slovenian National Championship, the road race.  

 At the Tour de France Pogacar quickly demonstrated that he was in better form than Pogacar’s initial team leader Aru. Pogacar became the second youngest winner of the Tour De France at his first attempt since 1983, at the age of 21. After the Tour, he supported Roglic in the men's road race at the World Championships, where he finished 6th.    

Pogacar started the 2021 Tour De France with a repeat of his previous performance alongside Primoz Roglic,  Geraint Thomas and Richard Carpaz. Pogacar finished 5th in the first-time trial of the race, 18 seconds ahead of Stefan Kung. The 11th stage included the climb of Mont Ventoux. Pogacar’s rivals were Rigoberto Uran, Jonas Vingegaard and  Carapaz. But they were all more than 5 minutes behind Pogacar. Finally, Vingegaard took the lead on the 11th stage, briefly ahead of Pogacar.   

 Pogacar became the youngest cyclist to win the Tour De France after winning three stages in two consecutive years. After the Tour de France, he won the bronze medal in the men's cycling road race at the Olympic Games. Then, at the end of July, the United Arab Emirates announced that Pogacar had extended his contract with Team Emirates for a year.  

Pogacar started the 2022 UAE tour retaining his pre-season qualification. He won both mountain stages in the Tour. Pogacar won the general classification and the young rider classification, beating Jonas Vingegaard by two minutes in Tirreno-Adriatico. After the Tour, Pogacar returned to racing in the Clasico de San Sebastian and decided to skip the Vuelta a Espana in 2022. Pogacar raced in the Bretagne Clasico and the GP Quebec, after a month-long break, but he failed to win there. Later he travelled to Australia to compete in the World Championships.   

Pogacar went to Italy to finish the 2022 season to compete in the autumn classics. Pogacar rode the Tre Valli Varese and won the race, overtaking the top team. Pogacar ended his season in the Monumento il Lombardia. Pogacar led the men's peloton in the 2022 season with 16 wins.  

 Pogacar started the 2023 season by winning 3 stages the overall, the points classification and the Jaen Paraiso interior in the Vuelta a Andalucia. Pogacar also won the overall in 3 stages in the subsequent Paris nice.   

Pogacar suffered a fractured wrist during a collision with Michel Honore in the 2023 Liege Bastogne Liege, the accident ended his race. He then continued to compete for the Tour De France and trained on indoor bikes.   

Later in the season, Pogacar  won the bronze medal in the UCI World Championships Road race, beating Mathieu Van der poel and Wout Van Aert and he took his 3rd consecutive victory in the Lombardia.  

 Pogacar announced that he would race the World-Championship Road race, Olympic time trial road race, Giro d'Italia and Tour De France double in 2024. This decision earned him the Triple Crown of cycling. The Triple Crown of cycling is the achievement of winning the Giro D'Italia, Tour De France and UCI Road World Championships in the same year. Many consider the Triple Crown of cycling to be the greatest single achievement in cycling.   

Pogacar achieved his ambition in 2024 by competing in the Tour De France and Giro Tour double winning six stages. In 2014, Pogacar set an all-time record of 39 leaders jerseys in a Grand Tour (20 in the giro and 19 in the Tour). After this victory he took a 2 month break to compete in the Grands Prix Cyclists De Quebec, where he finished 7th. Pogacar finished the 2024 season with 24 World Tour level victories out of 25.   

Pogacar began his 2025 season at the UAE Tour, where he won a stage win and the overall leaders jersey. This year he competed in Paris Roubaix for the first time, finishing second, a minute ahead of Van der Poel.  

FAQ Section

 1) How much is Pogacar paid?  

 Pogacar  has shown his talent wherever he competes in cycling. After winning the Triple Crown of Cycling in 2024. Pogacar signed a solid contract with the world's best cyclist, the United Arab Emirates Team Emirates until 2030. Where his salary is $8 million (€8 million)  

2) How many times has Tadej Pogacar won the Tour De France?  

 Pogacar has won the Tour De France 3 times, (in 2020-2021 and 2024), the Tour of Flanders twice. Liege-Bastone-Liege 3 times and the Giro di Lombardia 4 times. This is why he is compared to all round cyclists.   

3) Who is the oldest Tour De France winner?  

 Firmin Lambot in 1922 is the oldest winner of the Tour De France. He was 36 years and 4 months old when he won the Tour De France.  

 4) Who was the youngest Tour De France rider ever?   

The youngest cyclist is Henry Cornet, who won the Tour De France in 1904 at the age of 19. Henry Cornet was a French cyclist in the youngest winner of the Tour De France. However, after finishing 24th in the 1912 Tour De France. His career was cut short by health problems in the outbreak of World War.  

 5) Who is king of cycling?   

Edouard Louis Joseph Merckx is considered the greatest and most successful rider in the history of cycling. Who started his career as an amateur cyclist, winning 80 races. Letter On April 29th, 1965, Merckx signed a contract with Solo Superia and became a professional cyclist.