The GOAT Debate: Pogačar vs. Merckx and Hinault, and Why Cross-Generation Comparisons Are Destined to Have No Answer

Whenever a rider reaches a certain level of dominance, the cycling world automatically kicks off the same debate: Can he be ranked among the Greatest of All Time (GOAT)?

Tadej Pogačar now stands at that exact point. He is repeatedly compared to all-rounders like Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault — and this isn’t just online fans hyping each other up; it’s a question the professional cycling world is seriously debating.

The problem is, this debate has a structural flaw from the very start: Road racing in different eras is not the same sport.

Let’s Put the Numbers on the Table

To be fair, Pogačar’s résumé fully supports the discussion:

Grand Tours

• 5 Tour de France overall titles: 2020, 2021, 2024, 2025, 2026
• In 2026, he became the 5th rider in history to reach five titles, tying Anquetil, Merckx, Hinault, and Indurain for the most all-time
• 26 Tour de France stage wins
• In 2020 and 2021, he simultaneously claimed the overall title, King of the Mountains, and Best Young Rider — the only rider in history to win all three in the same year
• 6 Grand Tour overall titles in total (Tour de France ×5 + 2024 Giro d’Italia)

Monuments

• 13 total, second-most all-time
• Lombardia ×5 (2021–2025)
• Liège-Bastogne-Liège ×4 (2021, 2024, 2025, 2026)
• Tour of Flanders ×3 (2023, 2025, 2026)
• Milan-San Remo ×1 (first win in 2026)
• Merckx’s career total of 19 Monuments still leads

Other

• Road World Championships ×2 (2024, 2025); in 2025 he became the first rider in history to defend both the Tour de France and the World Championship in the same year
• 2024 Triple Crown: Giro + Tour de France + World Championship road race, only the 3rd rider in history
• 2025: won 3 Monuments in a single season, only the 2nd rider ever to do so
• First European Championship title in 2025
• Approximately 127 career wins (ProCyclingStats, mid-2026)

What’s Still Missing

An honest assessment must include the blank spaces:

Why Cross-Era Comparison Is So Difficult

1. The Race Format Itself Has Changed

The routes, number of stages, proportion of time trials, and how mountain stages are arranged all differ from era to era. Even when both are called “Tour de France champion,” the structure of challenges to overcome is completely different across generations. Simply subtracting “number of titles” assumes every title carries equal difficulty — and that assumption is almost certainly wrong.

2. Equipment Is a Different World

Carbon frames, electronic shifting, aero wheels, tubeless systems, power meters, wind tunnel testing, real-time radio communication — these things don’t just change speed; they change the range of tactical possibilities. Whether to launch an attack today is a decision backed by data; in earlier eras, it was closer to a gamble.

Conversely, this also means modern riders find it harder to create gaps: when everyone uses equipment of the same caliber, the same power data, and the same nutrition science, being able to ride solo for 78 kilometers and drop the entire field (as Pogačar did at the 2026 Strade Bianche) doesn’t lose value because of equipment advances — it becomes even harder.

3. Race Density and Racing Philosophy Differ

Top riders in earlier eras raced an enormous number of days per year, so their absolute win totals naturally piled up higher. Modern professionals generally adopt highly targeted season planning, concentrating their form on a small number of key events. Comparing total win counts across eras is like comparing two completely different career strategies.

4. The Structure of the Opposition Is Different

Half of a rider’s greatness is defined by his rivals. Pogačar’s career happens to coincide with an era of exceptionally strong opposition:

• Jonas Vingegaard: Beat him for the overall title at the Tour de France in both 2022 and 2023, regarded as one of the greatest rivalries of the modern era
• Mathieu van der Poel: His biggest rival in one-day racing; Monuments stand at 13 : 8, with both far ahead of every other active rider. In the 2025 spring classics, the two swept all 4 Monuments. Former Tour de France champion Óscar Pereiro called their rivalry the best since the 1990s
• Remco Evenepoel: 2nd overall at the 2026 Tour de France (6’26" behind), also taking stages 15 and 16
• Wout van Aert: Beat him at the 2026 Paris-Roubaix in the velodrome
• Tom Pidcock: Lost the 2026 Milan-San Remo by just half a wheel
• Paul Seixas: The new generation; the only rider able to stay with Pogačar at the 2026 Liège, and 4th overall at the Tour that same year

Being surrounded by a group like this and still taking 13 Monuments and five Tour titles is itself part of the argument.

So How Should We View This Debate?

My suggestion: Don’t treat it as a math problem that needs a single answer. Treat it as a way of appreciating the sport.

By this table, Pogačar’s strongest argument isn’t “he won more,” but rather “he wins in every category”: Grand Tour overall titles, mountain stages, one-day gravel races, cobbled classics, hilly classics, World Championships — this versatility across the entire spectrum is precisely the core trait that made Merckx and Hinault great in their day.

As for who the GOAT is? As long as the blank spaces at Paris-Roubaix and the Vuelta a España remain, and as long as Merckx’s 19 Monuments still stand ahead, this debate will continue.

And for fans, that’s actually the best possible state — if the debate is still ongoing, it means the story isn’t finished yet.

Summary

• Pogačar currently: five Tour titles (tied for the most all-time), 13 Monuments (second-most all-time), 6 Grand Tours, back-to-back World Championships
• Still missing: Paris-Roubaix, Vuelta a España, Olympic gold, and Merckx’s 19 Monuments
• The obstacles to cross-era comparison come from four variables: race format, equipment, race density, and the structure of opposition
• A more reasonable angle of appreciation is “degree of dominance over contemporaries” and “breadth of versatility,” rather than directly subtracting numbers from different eras

Related Reading

• 13 Monuments: How Much Time Does Pogačar Need to Close the Gap on Merckx’s 19?
• Vuelta a España: Why Has Pogačar Left the Missing Piece of His Grand Tour Sweep Unfilled for So Long?
• A Spring of 13 vs. 8: Pogačar and van der Poel, the Generational Battle for King of One-Day Racing
• The Fifth Member of the Five-Title Club: Pogačar’s 2026 Coronation, Tying Four Legends at the Summit of the Tour