This is the week dedicated to Eddy Merckx and his eightieth birthday and the Cannibal, between one celebration and an interview, wanted to challenge Remco Evenepoel and Tadej Pogacar: the Flemish would like the two champions to challenge each other to write a new hour record.

Currently, the male hour record holder is our Filippo Ganna, who on October 8, 2022, wrote a new page of sporting history, covering a distance of 56.792 kilometers in one hour.

Eddy Merckx was the record holder for 11 years, between 1972 and 1984, until he was dethroned by Francesco Moser, and now the Cannibal would like the Slovenian and the Belgian to challenge this record.

"Pogacar is the best rider, the most complete" - Merckx commented in a television interview on his birthday - "And Remco has an incredible aerodynamics. It would be fantastic if they could take up this challenge".

The Cannibal does not want a challenge between the two riders for his personal pleasure, but simply thinks that a record like this is fundamental in the career of a great rider. "The hour record was an important goal for me. My career would not have been complete without this record. I would have had something less for sure".

But the Cannibal also commented on Tadej Pogacar's performances: "What I like about him is that he really tries to win, never gives up. He has the goal of always being first and this is very beautiful. In some ways, he reminds me of what I tried to achieve in my career. He is clearly the man to beat. What I saw in the spring was impressive for the Slovenian. As for Remco, he hasn't raced much due to the accident last December, but I think he could have some energy and freshness in reserve. Keeping up with the world champion in the high mountains won't be easy, but I think that one day Evenepoel could compete for the hour record".