Tadej Pogacar

Tadej Pogacar redefines modern cycling as the youngest double Tour champion, claiming 3 Tour de France titles by age 25 with back-to-back wins in 2020 and 2021. His 2020 Tour victory at 21 years old broke Eddy Merckx's record as the youngest winner in 115 years, and he achieved a 1:21 lead over second-place Roglic in the final time trial. Pogacar's explosive attacks rival Alberto Contador's climbing style but exceed #9's early-career versatility, as Pogacar also won the 2021 Liège-Bastogne-Liège monument at 22. In the 2023 Tour, he clocked an 18.6-second gain on the 13.5km Puy de Dôme climb, 0.7 seconds faster than the average elite rider's segment time. His 55 career wins by age 25 surpass any rider born after 1990, cementing his status as a generational force.