Axel Merckx has spoken again about the comparisons increasingly being made between his father, Eddy Merckx, and Tadej Pogacar. The Belgian, after a career as a cyclist, has become a sports director and over the years has seen many champions grow.

Axel Merckx is firmly convinced that what his father achieved is truly unique and that, at least for now, no one can match his number of victories. The Cannibal was able to win on all terrains, crossing the finish line first in both grand tours and Monument Classics. Today Tadej Pogacar, thanks to his numerous successes, is the cyclist being compared to Eddy Merckx, but for his son Axel, comparing the two is impossible, as he is convinced that to create a cyclist like the great Eddy Merckx, you would need to combine the qualities of Pogacar, Cavendish, Evenepoel, and Van der Poel.

"For a long time in the cycling world, people have been looking for someone to compare to Eddy. Until now, it has been a contradiction, but Pogacar is as strong as my father in his best period" – Axel Merckx said in an interview with HL. "But I wonder: can this young man repeat his performance year after year, as my father did? And will he ever break the hour record, as my father did?" Among Eddy Merckx's achievements are 5 Tour de France wins, 5 Giro d'Italia, one Vuelta a España, 7 Milan-San Remo, 3 World Championships, 5 Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and 3 Paris-Roubaix, as well as Tour of Flanders and Lombardy.

"Probably Tadej will win the Tour de France more than five times, but will he also win Milan-San Remo seven times and Liège-Bastogne-Liège five times, as my father did? I doubt it. Mathieu van der Poel is the best specialist in spring classics, Tadej Pogacar is the best all-round cyclist, Mark Cavendish was absolutely the best sprinter, and Remco Evenepoel is unrivaled as a time trialist. They are four great champions and are all superior in their own way, but you would need to combine them, so to speak, to surpass my father."

Eddy Merckx himself has returned to these comparisons multiple times: the Cannibal has clearly stated that his record will one day be surpassed, as it is logical that it will happen, but that moment has not yet arrived.