After winning the World Championships in Zurich, Taddei Pogachar signed several rainbow jerseys, and after a phenomenal 2024 season that included 23 victories and a double win at the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France, Pogachar is the 1974 Belgian He became the fourth cyclist to win the Triple Crown in cycling, following Eddy Merckx, Stephen Roche in 1987, and Annemiek van Fruten in 2022.

Pogachar is a generational talent, but after his long-distance attack and solo victory in Zurich, even he was tied up and emotional. He repeatedly splashed water over his head at the finish line and hugged and kissed his partner, Urschka Zigert. It was like a roller coaster,” he said. It was a crazy, crazy race. When I saw my teammate and Urska at the finish line in the last kilometer. I almost cried after the race.”

Pogachal's wardrobe contains symbols of his success, including three yellow jerseys from the Tour de France and a maglia rosa from the Giro d'Italia. But the rainbow jersey was not the only one. He now intends to wear it at least once during the final week of the 2024 season. When I was a kid, I never dreamed of wearing this jersey,” he said. I dreamed of competing in the Tour de France and the world championships, but I never dreamed of winning,” Pogachar said. For the last few years, the Tour de France has been just another race, and I never prepared for it. I prepared well and I gave it my all today. It's more than a dream come true. I can't wait to race in the rainbow jersey. I can't wait to race in the rainbow jersey.

Pogachar's joy and emotion were tempered by his thoughts for the young Swiss rider Muriel Farrar and her family, who died tragically from injuries sustained in a crash at the Zurich circuit on Friday. The men observed a minute of silence before Sunday's race, with many riders wearing black armbands. 'This has been a really hard week for her family and those close to her. It was devastating news and a sad loss for cycling and for Swiss cycling,” Pogachar said. 'Everyone was thinking of her at the start line and in the women's race yesterday. Pogachar called for more respect from the riders. Cycling is a dangerous sport,” he said. There are too many accidents. We need to be more careful, look out for each other in the peloton, and think about the riders and teams next to us. Respect is important. We are just riding our bikes and we don't want anything bad to happen to anyone. We need to look out for each other.”

Pogachar admitted to sleeping through his first wake-up call Sunday morning, but he was awake and alert early in the race and made his first attack with 100km to go.

“It was a stupid move, not what I planned.

“I don't decide on stupid moves, I don't think, I just attack, therefore I'm stupid. But this time it worked out naturally. 'When I cleared, I thought I had a bullet in one knee and one in the other. But when I saw Jan Tratnik in front of me, he gave me hope and motivation.”

“He is a machine and can pull super strong. After he was done, I raced with my head and legs. I counted down the kilometers and tried not to go over my limit. I did it.” The last lap was tough, but I hung in there. I had to do it to win the rainbow jersey.” [Unlimited access to all coverage of the 2024 UCI Road World Championships, including breaking news and analysis from local journalists, including junior, under-23 and elite time trials and road races. Details.