Tadej Pogachar's 50km solo victory on Strade Bianche was incredible even by his own high standards, and was followed by his rivals, the coach of UAE Team Emirates, and the Tour de France winner who followed Strade Bianche from his Eurosport/GCN bike Bradley Wiggins also expressed his surprise and admiration.

Pogachar has won many historic victories in his short career, but his victory on the Tuscan gravel road, the time trial to La Planche des Belle Filles for the 2020 Tour de France win, last year when he trailed all his rivals mountain stage to La Grand Bornand, and victories in Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Ile Lombardia in 2021, which rivaled the best victories.

Pogachar stunned his rivals with an attack on the gravel descent of Monte Sante Marie.

"He came on strong and once he made the gap, he was gone," admitted American Sepp Kuss (Jumbo Visma).

"I was about 10th in the pack, but it was impossible to keep up with Pogachar.

Wiggins also had a front row view of Pogachar's attack, thanks to his Eurosport/GCN commentary bike. He witnessed the Slovenian surge and watched as he rode solo to the finish at 50 km/h.

When Cycling News asked about Pogachar's performance, Wiggins was his usual blunt, but

he said affectionately.

"He got away with a quarter of the race left. He finished with a quarter of the race left. His commitment was amazing. He was running at 50 kilometers per hour the whole time.

"He crashed early on, but he was up there the whole race, and when he got down to 10 seconds, he looked like he was on another level. He's really impressive.

Pogachar has already been compared to Eddy Merckx, and even Canibal admits that thanks to his aggressive style and thirst for victory, the young Slovenian appears to be on a similar career path.

"He reminds me of Merckx in the late 60s. 'I've never seen a rider like him. I've never seen a rider like him. To be on a motorcycle and see a performance like that up close. I feel very honored."

Mauro Gianetti, manager of UAE Team Emirates, signed Pogachar when he was still a promising teenager, securing his services in a multi-million dollar, multi-year deal and building a team around him.

Pogachar repays Janetti with big wins and an unexpected and fun character who seems to enjoy racing aggressively.

"He's a phenomenon. There's not much to say," Janetti told Cycling News when Pogachar made the podium at Strade Bianche.

"When he races, he always makes it look easy. He is a wonderful, wonderful young man who deserves success," Janetty said in deserved praise.

Pogachar admitted that his attack was inspired, not planned or part of a team strategy. This worried but also excited Janetti, who was watching from the Piazza del Campo.

"When I saw his attack, I thought it was risky and too fast. I don't know why he did that.

"But that's Taddei's race. If he had been caught, he probably would have lost to them, but after racing so aggressively, it would have been fine."[36

Gianetti is not interested in comparing Pogachar to Merckx or Bernard Hinual, who also raced aggressively.

"It is not always fair to compare great riders of different generations. They are all very different people, but I think they have the same racing character," Gianetti said.

"Like Merckx and Ino, Pogachar just likes to race and likes to win Grand Tours and classics."