{"id":616273,"date":"2025-12-06T16:30:33","date_gmt":"2025-12-06T16:30:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/616273\/"},"modified":"2025-12-06T16:30:33","modified_gmt":"2025-12-06T16:30:33","slug":"im-actually-not-an-absolute-fan-of-tadej-pogacar-marc-madiot-claims-world-champions-rival-is-the-real-ultimate-rider-of-the-modern-pelot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/616273\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cI\u2019m actually not an absolute fan of Tadej Pogacar\u201d \u2013 Marc Madiot claims world champion\u2019s rival is the real \u201cultimate rider\u201d of the modern peloton"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nBut when pressed to name the rider who captures his admiration most, he did not hesitate. \u201cMy favourite is Wout van Aert<\/a>. For me, he is the ultimate rider.\u201dMadiot praises Pogacar\u2019s mentality \u2013 but insists Van Aert is unmatched<\/p>\n

Despite the headline-grabbing declaration, Madiot refused to downplay Pogacar\u2019s quality or competitive edge. The Frenchman highlighted the 27-year-old\u2019s attitude as one of his defining strengths. \u201cI\u2019m impressed by his mental capacities. When he appears at the start, it\u2019s never to just sit in the wheels.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also pointed to Pogacar\u2019s appreciation for cycling\u2019s heritage and the importance of the sport\u2019s biggest races. \u201cHe has respect for the value of the great events in cycling. Chapeau. We must support him and encourage him.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Madiot believes the debate around Pogacar and Paris-Roubaix has been shaped too much by caution rather than ambition. \u201cSometimes the media write: \u2018Why would he start in Roubaix? He must not take risks towards the Tour\u2026\u2019 No, I don\u2019t agree. In his career, Roubaix would be as important to win as the Tour.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pogacar made his debut in the cobbled monument this spring, finishing second<\/a> behind Mathieu van der Poel \u2014 an impressive performance that only fuelled further discussion about what he can still achieve beyond the Grand Tours and Monuments he already owns.Why Van Aert is Madiot\u2019s \u201cultimate rider\u201d<\/p>\n

Madiot\u2019s praise for Van Aert centred less on results and more on the Belgian\u2019s all-surface versatility, grit, and ability to shape races across multiple disciplines. Though he did not expand further, his words landed with a mix of admiration and conviction. \u201cMy favourite is Wout van Aert. For me, he is the ultimate rider.”<\/p>\n

Van Aert, who announced his upcoming cyclocross return for 20 December in Antwerp and the Belgian Championships in Beringen on 11 January, is preparing for another season where the Spring Classics will again be a central focus.<\/p>\n

Whether Pogacar and Van Aert cross paths on the cobbles of northern France once again in 2026 remains to be seen \u2014 but Madiot has made his loyalties clear.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" But when pressed to name the rider who captures his admiration most, he did not hesitate. \u201cMy…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":616274,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4104],"tags":[4230,94767,191982,10103,79,16152,16,15,34351],"class_list":{"0":"post-616273","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-cycling","9":"tag-groupama-fdj","10":"tag-marc-madiot","11":"tag-paris-roubaix","12":"tag-sports","13":"tag-tadej-pogacar","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom","16":"tag-wout-van-aert"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115673577776021284","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/616273","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=616273"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/616273\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/616274"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=616273"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=616273"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=616273"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}