How does the peloton solve a problem like Pogacar?

Already a man with a serious claim to the title of greatest of all time, can anyone catch the Slovenian

- Flo Clifford

Last year, Tadej Pogacar became the first man in 38 years to complete cycling’s fabled triple crown.

That came alongside winning two of the five monuments (making him the only man to achieve that feat alongside the triple in the same year) for a total haul of 25 victories. It was a generational season, the kind that will go down in sporting folklore, by a generational talent.

Then came this year. No triple crown. But instead, a fourth Tour de France title, taking him equal with Chris Froome. A defence of the rainbow jersey - making him the first man to win the Tour-worlds double in two successive years - followed a week later by a maiden European crown. A record-equalling fifth victory at Il Lombardia, and a record-setting fifth consecutive win.

That was unprecedented in any number of ways. Before Pogacar, no one had ever won a monument five times on the bounce, or won Il Lombardia as the reigning world champion twice, or stood on the podium of all five monuments in the same season. (It's rare enough to even race all five.)

Pogacar hasn't smiled as much as he has in previous seasons; he recently called the Tour de France “a necessary evil” and was clearly world-weary after an especially gruelling edition of the race – one that he still managed to make a procession by less than halfway through.