If there’s one thing I’d like to put into a cycling Room 101, it would be the following term: ‘the next Eddy Merckx’. This title has been shared by several young talents marked out as future record-breakers in the sport. Although the phrase has been flying around since the 1970s, no one has quite managed to follow in the footsteps of Merckx and therefore banish this term into obscurity.
That is until now perhaps. Following Tadej Pogačar‘s herculean string of seasons, it seems as though Merckx’s place as the greatest cyclist of all time might be up for debate. The frenzied search to find the next Merckx is finally changing form.
To some, the role of cycling’s exemplary rider has now been bestowed upon the Slovenian. The heroics of Merckx have been equalled – and perhaps surpassed if we look at Pogačar’s 2024 season – we’re now on the hunt for Pogačar’s successor. In other words, the speculative burden of being the ‘next Eddy Merckx’ has evolved into a longing to find the ‘next Tadej Pogačar’.
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The next Merckx tagline
In the twilight of Merckx’s cycling career, the press had already found themselves in delirium to search out The Cannibal’s successor. With this, the term ‘the next Merckx’ was coined during the latter half of the 1970s. This brazened title would be used to identify a future talent as the next possible rider to champion Classics and Grand Tours alike.
If ten years of Merckxian domination wasn’t enough, the Belgian press hastily began searching for candidates. Belgian riders Fons De Wolf, Daniel Willems and Claude Criquielion became the first riders to be handed this speculative title. After them, a broad range of riders were given the same treatment. However, it soon became fairly evident that following in the footsteps of the sport’s most venerated rider is unsurprisingly tricky.
The prime suspects were young Belgians. Understandably, the nation was looking for its next star and any rising Belgian talent was conflated with the much-idolised Merckx. This title was bestowed upon figures far and wide, from the aforementioned trio to Eric Vanderaerden, Frank Vandenbroucke and even Norwegian Edvald Boasson-Hagen. Most recently, Remco Evenepoel and of course Pogačar were given this pressure. Out of the candidates put forward, they certainly appear as the two most likely to replicate Merckx’s feats.
On several occasions, Evenepoel hit back against the press’s aspirations. However, the overbearing title has fizzled away in recent times. This is mainly down to the recent successes of Pogačar. In winning the Triple Crown, several Grand Tours and Monuments across both pavé and hills, Pogačar has etched his own pathway to rivalling Merckx, and perhaps surpassing his 50-year-old feats. Since Pogačar’s rise to the top of global cycling, talk of finding ‘the next Merckx’ has certainly slowed down.
Have we found 'the next Merckx'?
The imperial domination of Pogačar in recent seasons has a strong part to play in the weakening foothold of 'the next Merckx' call. By replicating the Belgian's feats and pushing new boundaries in the sport, Pogačar has surpassed comparisons to Merckx and is instead carving out his own name among the cycling greats. Have we found the new Merckx? Are we now looking for the new Pogačar? It looks like it.
Evidence of this is widespread. Cambio, a pro cycling scouting software programme, has claimed to have an algorithm that can help find 'the next Pogačar'. Academics at Ghent University renamed an academic paper from 'Discovering the next Merckx' to 'Predicting the next Pogačar'. The term 'next Pogačar' has been found on almost every cycling news website in the past seasons, including this one (I hold my hands up). Everyone is desperate to search out 'the next Pogačar', perhaps hoping that one rising talent day might be able to replicate his palmarès.
With all this, the dreaded 'next Merckx' line has declined in usage. Since around 2022, fewer and fewer young talents are being touted as the 'next Merckx'. Even Evenepoel – the most obvious victim of these expectations in recent years – has faced fewer comparisons to the Belgian titan. Nowadays, the hunt for 'the next Pogačar' has become the go-to.
'The next Pogačar': cycling's new buzzword
The promise of finding the 'next Pogačar' has already begun. Do a quick Google search of 'the next Pogačar', and you're sure to find plenty of articles using this shibboleth to brand teenage riders. If anything, this shift in dialogue is putting the long-running burden of 'the next Eddy Merckx' to bed – even for Belgians.
Juan Ayuso was quickly branded with Pogačar-esque speculation when he came onto the radar in 2021. Given how strong he had been in one-day races, his riding styles and career trajectory – at least in 2021 – the similarities with Pogačar were logical. By finishing on the podium of his debut Vuelta at a similar age to the Slovenian, Ayuso couldn't dodge the comparisons.
More recently, Isaac del Toro has become the latest UAE Team Emirates rider to be given the burden of being 'the next Pogačar'. In the wake of his exciting WorldTour debut at this year's Tour Down Under, the sport was quick to compare the Mexican talent to his dominant team leader. In fact, Del Toro might also be the rider most weighed down by these comparisons having become synonymous with 'the next Pogačar' title in recent months.
When faced with a prime candidate for 'the next Merckx' title, the term was barely mentioned. This is the case with this year's Giro Next Gen champion Jarno Widar. Unlike when Remco Evenepoel was swamped by theories claiming him to be the follow-up to Merckx, Widar has avoided such strong ties to Flanders' most decorated cyclist. Instead, the young Flemish rider has warranted plenty of questions surrounding his similarity to Pogačar. Maybe this is down to timing, but Widar's rise highlights how the title of the 'next Merckx' might be fading away, even in favourable circumstances.
Why do we keep pinning these titles to young riders?
A lot of this 'next Merckx' and 'next Pogačar' speculation feels like a cycling lottery. Only one or two might actually grow up to become totems of the sport. However, like much of this tradition-rich sport, we have become accustomed to these well-trodden points of comparison. Being the 'next Alexey Lutsenko' doesn't quite have the same ring to it.
This loop isn't going to change. We've almost fallen into a habit of calling any young superstar 'the next Merckx' and 'the next Pogačar' to the point where these debates ring hollow. If anything, the discussions only help to pile more pressure on young riders.
We've yet to see if being branded as 'the next Pogačar' is as cursed as being labelled as the second coming of the great Belgian in previous decades. However, just prepare yourself to see plenty more young riders drumming up comparisons to the Slovenian in the years to come. The future is bright for the likes of Del Toro and Widar, or so we hope. Let's just hope the mantle of being 'the next Pogačar' isn't as detrimental to their careers as those who came before.
