Behind the laughter, though, was an acknowledgment of what every pro knows: Pogacar’s level is redefining what’s possible.
“Witnessing greatness” — Rowe and Thomas on Pogacar, Van der Poel and the shape of modern racingRowe framed it best when he cited a listener message that had landed after Il Lombardia: “Love the chat, guys. I disagree slightly on Pog making it boring. I was a casual viewer before, but now I tune in to every race because I love witnessing greatness.”
Thomas agreed. “What he’s doing is absolutely insane — phenomenal,” he said. “We are witnessing greatness. The greatest ever, potentially even now, but for sure by the time he’s finished.”
The pair have occasionally questioned whether Pogacar’s dominance risks sapping the unpredictability from the sport, but this time the tone was pure admiration. Rowe reeled off the numbers: “It’s now sixteen of the last eighteen Monuments won by the same two riders — Mathieu van der Poel and Pogacar.” And Pogacar’s UAE Team Emirates – XRG, he added, “won eleven of the fourteen Italian one-day races this autumn.”
“Fair play,” Thomas replied. “How many wins has he got this year — must be close to twenty?”
Rowe had the number to hand: “Nineteen. And they’re not Mickey Mouse races either — Tours, Tour stages, Monuments. Almost all WorldTour.”
Thomas shook his head. “That’s incredible,” he said. “I think if you put him as an individual in the WorldTour rankings, he’d be top ten. That must be a record.”
Even the rare flashes of weakness are remembered because they’re so rare. Rowe pointed out that “he’s only been dropped once this year, and it was Stage 21 of the Tour — Wout van Aert was the only person to do it.”
It’s a statistic that’s become folklore already. Thomas may joke about “dropping Pogi”, but as he put it, “you’ve got to respect it — what he’s doing is absolutely insane.”
Paris–Tours: when “all in to win” backfires — and still feels right
The conversation moved from greatness to grit, as Rowe dissected Paris–Tours, a race where his Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team had animated the day’s decisive move. “Once you’re on the front foot in these races, good things happen,” Rowe said. “Getting there is the hard thing.”
His account was pure insider insight: Paul Lapeira went clear with one other rider, Stefan Bissegger led a five-man chase, with Trentin and Laporte behind, it was a high-stakes situation — and then came the decision that split opinion. “With 1.3k to go, Paul just stopped riding,” Rowe explained. “He said, ‘I’m not going to drag him if he’s faster.’ He went all in for the win. If he rides to the line, maybe he’s second, but he thought: I’d rather risk everything trying to win.”
The gamble failed — the front duo were caught, Trentin won — but Rowe admired the intent. “I 100% back it,” he said. “If you think you’re going to lose the sprint anyway, gamble. If you get caught, you get caught. But at least you’ve tried to win.”
Thomas agreed: “Fair play. Sometimes that’s the right call — better to go all-in than settle.”
“On the back foot, bad things happen”
Thomas contrasted that attacking mindset with a far tougher weekend for his own INEOS Grenadiers team. “When you’re on the back foot, bad things happen,” he said bluntly.
A crash on the first stretch of road furniture, a string of punctures and mechanicals — even Ben Turner left standing on the roadside as the team car blasted past after a late call on race radio. “I put my hand up to apologise,” Thomas admitted. “It’s brutal, but when the DS calls you for another rider up the road, you’ve got to go.”
It was the perfect illustration of how quickly fortunes can flip: one squad attacking in formation, another stuck firefighting from kilometre one.
Geraint Thomas’ own pro career ended at the recent Tour of Britain
British resilience and the gravel crossover
As ever, both men saved special praise for the British contingent. Tom Pidcock’s back-to-back efforts — sixth at Lombardia and sixth again at Gravel Worlds the following day — didn’t go unnoticed. “That’s one way to finish your season,” Rowe laughed.
Elsewhere, Paul Magnier’s three straight stage wins at the Tour of Guangxi drew Rowe’s praise. “He’s been incredible,” he said. “Him, Brandon McNulty, Seixas — all these young guys are flying.”
“Take it in… we are witnessing greatness”
For all the anecdotes, one sentiment kept resurfacing — that cycling fans shouldn’t resist Pogacar’s era, but relish it. “We’ve always said maybe it’s a bit predictable,” Thomas reflected, “but what he’s doing is absolutely insane. You’ve got to respect it.”
Rowe nodded: “When you’re watching him, just take it in. This is our Messi, Tiger, Jordan moment.”
And when a rider who’s seen it all — a Tour winner, an Olympic champion — can only joke that his proudest claim to fame is “once dropping Pogi”, that tells its own story about the level the sport’s reached.