As Tadej Pogacar arrived in Barcelona seeking a record-equalling fifth Tour de France title, the man he currently shares four such titles with quietly faded out of the sport.
Chris Froome rarely got the plaudits Pogacar has received, but won seven Grand Tours, including four yellow jerseys, in a stunning period of dominance that in many ways paved the way for the Slovenian.
It was followed by a rather grimmer second act. Froome was never really the same following his horror crash in 2019, his body irreparably altered by smashing into a wall at 54kmph; then came another sickening crash last year, which had near-fatal consequences. As he conceded in a low-key interview with Belgian broadcaster Sporza, “That was not the way I wanted it to end. But even then, I knew it was over.”
It was a muted, sad finish to a starry career. Froome’s successor as the dominant Grand Tour rider of his generation – increasingly, of all time – has burned far brighter, but the cautionary tale the Brit offers is that this sort of success can vanish all too quickly. And in cycling, as in any sport, upsets can still happen – few would have predicted that Jannik Sinner, the most overwhelming favourite at the French Open since Rafael Nadal in 2009, would utterly implode.
Cycling has moved on since Froome’s era. Visma-Lease a Bike, and latterly UAE Team Emirates-XRG, have taken the “Sky train” model of churning through domestiques, and have run with it, creating an unstoppable monster that controls stages from start to finish – and hoovers up every promising young talent from smaller teams, like the Manchester City of cycling.
But crucially, the UAE train has at its core a genuine freak of nature in Pogacar, a once-in-a-lifetime talent whom even the likes of Froome – always underrated despite his glittering résumé – would struggle to keep up with. At the moment, it is Pogacar’s world, and we and the rest of the peloton simply live in it.
The 27-year-old rocked up at the team presentation in Barcelona sporting a bleach-blond buzzcut, shades and a beaming smile, the picture of confidence after winning six of the seven races he has started this year. His 2026 haul includes three of the four Monuments raced so far, Strade Bianche, the Tour de Suisse, and the Tour de Romandie; 11 wins from 16 days on the bike is a staggering return.
He will resume his duel with Jonas Vingegaard, who has won two of the last three Grand Tours, albeit not the one he really wants. The Dane went on a Pogacar-style rampage at the Giro d’Italia, winning five stages and comprehensively schooling his rivals – though interestingly, he struggled in the individual time trial, which sets up a fascinating battle on the slightly hillier parcours of the ITT in this race.
He has beaten his rival by joining the exclusive club of eight men to win all three Grand Tours ahead of him. But there was no Pogacar in Spain or Italy, and this is a match-up that has not felt competitive in some time.
The supporting cast also features fellow bridesmaid Remco Evenepoel, who, half a season into life at Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, must share leadership with last year’s best young rider and his successor as third-place finisher, Florian Lipowitz. How Red Bull handle the competing interests of the spiky Belgian and his teammate will make for a fascinating subplot, but they will need team unity to stand any chance against a rider of Pogacar’s calibre.
Completing the lineup of expected challengers is 19-year-old Paul Seixas, riding his debut Grand Tour and carrying the weight of an entire nation on his slender shoulders. The young Frenchman won the Itzulia Basque Country stage race and La Fleche Wallonne, and came second to Pogacar in Liege-Bastogne-Liege and Strade Bianche, but expectations have been tempered by a crash and abandonment at what used to be called the Criterium du Dauphiné.
The short, sharp ramps he has proven he excels on are a world away from climbing Alpe d’Huez twice in the same weekend, and the efforts of a gruelling three weeks. The teenager is in for a baptism of fire, and has not been helped by sentimental race organisers giving him the number 51 race bib, infamously worn by Eddy Merckx when he won on his Tour debut and then later by first-time winners Luis Ocana, Bernard Thevenet and Bernard Hinault, as if the French hype machine were not already in hyperdrive.
But regardless of where the Lyonnais ends up, he adds an element of the unknown to the start list; we could be watching Pogacar’s successor, the next great thing. Pogacar’s teammate and super-domestique, Isaac del Toro, currently occupies that spot. The Mexican is well placed to follow in the footsteps of Adam Yates, and finish on the podium in Paris, by virtue of being the last domestique standing on the toughest stages.
Where does all that leave Netcompany-Ineos, once Froome’s dedicated mercenaries? They have not won a Grand Tour since Egan Bernal’s Giro d’Italia victory in 2021. They now have an injection of cash to compete with the likes of UAE; the racecraft and recruitment nous to match them remains a work in progress.
Victory surely beckons in the opening team time trial in Barcelona, thanks to the enormous engines of 22-year-old Josh Tarling and former world champion Filippo Ganna. Other than that, Thymen Arensman and Kevin Vauquelin are Top 10 contenders, though the team looks a world away from the all-conquering outfit of the Froome days.
But Pogacar’s brilliance has that effect on everyone. As he heads into his next bid to make history, another box to tick on the road to being the all-time great, it feels like the question is not how anyone can stop him, but simply how far he can go.
