66km in Rwanda. 75km at the Euros. 33km in Lombardia, and then 81km at Strade Bianche. Before Saturday, Tadej Pogačar had won on his last five days, largely with long-range, solo moves that took the jeopardy out of each race a considerable distance before the finish.
It was really no surprise that conversations around boredom and the toll of domination were starting to crop up.
It’s boring to watch Pogačar win, many viewers said. And they were right, watching him just ride alone for several hours with a gap that never comes down is not particularly thrilling. There’s not a lot of excitement, not a lot of ‘will he, won’t he’, not a lot of actual racing, all told.
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But was it the winning that was boring, or the way he did it? The consensus seemed to be to roll those two into one, to amalgamate a Pogačar win with a dull, long-range attack. But Milan-San Remo came as a timely reminder that those two things are not interchangeable. In fact, I don’t think the winning is the problem at all.
I’ll preface this by saying I am certainly not a long-range Pogačar attack apologist. Two weeks ago, I sat glued to the women’s Strade Bianche, stood up from my seat in the finale, was genuinely thrilled. When I read that Pogačar had attacked solo in the men’s race before I’d even turned the TV on, I then just didn’t bother. I went about my Saturday instead, uninterested in watching even a minute of that solo ride we’ve seen time and time again. I’m as bored of that as anyone is, and have never thought to defend it.
Matilda Price
I’ve watched Pogačar win A LOT of times, and I certainly have sighed in frustration at yet another mammoth solo ride (the impressive factor wears off). But Saturday was the complete opposite – I couldn’t have been more entertained, even watching on replay when I knew the result.
Pogačar finally claimed his first victory, ticking off a fourth different…
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