TADEJ, YESTERDAY

Andy McGrath peels back the layers of cycling's modern phenomenon Tadej Pogačar in his new biography of the Slovenian

- Words John Whitney

If you're writing a biography of a rider like Tadej Pogačar, one of your biggest issues has got to be when to stop typing.

Since he appeared on the pro scene in 2019, the Slovenian has developed an appetite for winning that's as voracious as anybody's since the great Eddy Merckx in the '60s and '70s. At the time of writing, his total wins are up to 108, and the only reason that number will still be correct when this magazine reaches your hands is that it's almost November and there are no races left on the 2025 calendar to win.

Even as Andy McGrath was approaching the deadline for his latest book, Tadej Pogačar: Unstoppable, his 27-year-old subject continued to win massive races, including the UCI Road World Championships in Rwanda and the final Monument of the season, Il Lombardia. For many other riders, such victories might be career-defining. For Pogačar, he was merely increasing his win tally at both races - a record fifth straight Lombardia and second consecutive world title.

It wasn't just a question for McGrath of when to draw the line either, but one of making definitive judgements on a rider who's still very much active. The author's previous two books were about deceased cycling champions - Tom Simpson (the Brit who tragically died on Mount Ventoux during the 1967 Tour de France) and troubled Belgian Frank Vandenbroucke, who battled drug addiction and died while on holiday in 2009.

That said, Unstoppable is a book that arrives at an opportune moment. Not just because we’re in the calm of the off season, when Pogačar is forced by dint of the calendar to take a break from winning, but because he’s almost certainly closer to the end of his career than the beginning.