THE POG KEEPS ADDING NEW TRICKS

Pogačar has already put together the kind of start to a season that most riders would frame and hang on the wall, but last night he somehow managed to add a little extra mayo to an already deluxe sandwich. Winning a reduced group sprint at the Tour de Romandie has everyone in the sport asking the same question again, the one we keep thinking we will stop asking. Is there anything he cannot do. He shut down every attack on the final climb entirely on his own, never once looking rattled, and then still had the speed to roll past riders who specialise in that kind of finish.

What stood out most on that final climb of stage 2 was how calm he looked. He was closing gaps with the kind of authority that makes everyone else think twice about trying again. Luke Plapp was locked onto his wheel at one point when Pog was shutting down yet another move, and for a moment it looked like Plapp might try something, but there was simply no opening. With three harder days still ahead and a brutal summit finish waiting at the end of the week, nobody in this field looks capable of matching him.

Stage 3: The Pattern That Keeps Repeating

Across every report from the race, the same story emerges. He closed every attack personally on the final climb when he was isolated. He controlled the pace on the steep sections so completely that nobody could even think about slipping away. After neutralising all the moves, he won the sprint from a reduced bunch, beating Dorian Godon and Finn Fisher Black. And he did all of this one day after winning the mountainous opener, which means he has now taken back to back victories in two completely different styles.

At the finish line the reactions were almost as entertaining as the race itself. Riders shaking their heads, staff laughing in disbelief, and one journalist muttering that he had come to cover a bike race, not a one man variety show. Another voice in the mix summed it up perfectly. How do you beat a guy who climbs like that and then sprints like that.

It is no surprise the headlines all landed on the same line. Is there anything Tadej Pogačar cannot do.

Why This Sprint Win Matters More Than It Should

Dorian Godon is the French national champion and a genuinely quick finisher, the kind of rider who normally thrives in a headwind drag race. For Pogačar to come around him with that kind of speed is not just impressive, it is borderline absurd. Most GC riders win by climbing or time trialling, but Pog seems determined to collect every skill set available. He climbs like a pure climber, time trials like a specialist, descends with the confidence of someone who has made peace with gravity, attacks from distance like a classics rider, and now sprints well enough to beat punchers and rouleurs.

Stage 2 was the perfect example of how complete he has become. He spent the final climb burning matches to shut down attacks, then still had the top end to win a headwind, slightly downhill sprint, the exact scenario that usually favours the big one day engines.

So What Can't He Do?

Based on what we have seen at Romandie, the list is getting shorter by the day. Climb, yes. Time trial, yes, and he was sixth in the prologue on his first attempt at the race. Control a race solo, yes. Sprint, apparently yes. Win in any terrain, increasingly yes.

If there is a weakness, it is hiding better than the breakaways have been. He has now won six of the eight race days he has ridden this season, and the scary part is that he looks like he is still warming up.

And because all of this was simply too good not to celebrate properly, I even wrote a song about it. Click the button below to check it out.

Click to hear my track