“Tadej Pogačar has attacked, and it’s all over,” were the words that rang out from the commentary booth as the 2025 edition of Il Lombardia reached the final, decisive Passo di Ganda climb. It’s not the first time we have heard them this season – in fact, it is the same line we have listened to over and over again, because Pogačar does this race after race. In one, obliterating attack he crushes any last semblance of morale his rivals have to cling on to. World-class bike riders have no other choice but to watch the world champion’s back wheel disappear into the distance, his rainbows steadily fading into the horizon along with any hope of a close-fought battle for victory.

This year, it was 36 kilometres that the UAE Team Emirates-XRG man rode alone on the rolling Italian hills on the way to his fifth consecutive Lombardia win in Bergamo. He made his way through screaming crowds of tifosi, he finessed the descent with casual skill and won with a sense of calm finality under the warm afternoon shadows of Italy’s browning autumn leaves. The season ends how it started, with Pogačar on top of the world, as he was in the desert of the UAE, on the white roads of Strade Bianche, the cold cobbles of Flanders. Unequivocally, unquestionably, the best there’s ever been.

We all knew it was going to happen ahead of Sunday’s race. Some riders, to their credit, tried to get ahead of the inevitable attack from the Slovenian champion. Take Quinn Simmons who made a valiant attempt for Lidl-Trek to go on the offensive, getting in the early breakaway of the day before being eventually caught by Pogačar as he went on his solo tirade in the final 40 kilometres of racing. Other teams' tactics were more questionable: Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe helped UAE Team Emirates control the gap to the break after missing the move – a head-scratching choice when we all know Pogačar certainly needs no extra help to take the victory. 

But for all the analysis we can do of plans, tactics and decisions, none of it really matters. Despite what a peloton of 167 men try to throw at Pogačar, he always gets the better of them, not for superior strategies or race craft, but through his simple, raw, pure strength. That is all there is to it: this is a superhuman cyclist, a generational talent, more versatile than anyone who has come before him. Every single Monument of this season has seen Pogačar on the podium, he has now equaled the record of five wins by Fausto Coppi at Il Lombardia, he has won solo 50 times in his six-year professional career – the list of achievements goes on and on.At the end of it all, as he hangs his wheels up for a desperately well-deserved off-season, Pogačar seems as humble as ever: “Everybody can feel unique,” he said with a shrug in his post-Lombardia interview.

“To win five times in a row, each time I start this it feels like this race is really suited to me but also I have such a good team around me we can pull it off. Big thanks to all my teammates. For seven years in a row I’ve said this is my best season yet, I can say it again.”

So what comes next? Will Pogačar keep on improving, year after year? When does the supremacy end? When do the solo victories stop? For many, when that time eventually comes will be when we get bike racing back again. While there is a certain amazement in Pogačar’s performances, they have become predictable and expected – through no fault of his own. 

It’s possible to agree with this sentiment, while appreciating his greatness and talent at the same time. There’s no denying that we’re privileged to live through an era ruled by a cyclist who will go down in the history books as the best ever, but we can also look forward to a season where this is no longer the norm. When will that be? Only time will tell.