‘The best bike rider that ever lived’ – Chris Boardman CBE
 

Tadej Pogacar is not like any other professional cyclist. The Slovenian is a sporting phenomenon. He won almost everything there is to win in bike racing, has done so with breathtaking audacity and style – and all by the age of 26.

This comprehensive biography follows his meteoric rise to the top, recounts his greatest race wins and rivalries, and reveals the character, motivation and skills that have led to his domination of elite cycling.

Experienced cycling journalist Andy McGrath has documented the versatile superstar’s development from his victory in the Tour de l’Avenir in 2018 to his Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Il Lombardia and Tour of Flanders successes and his historic 2024 season, when he won cycling’s prestigious triple crown of the Giro d’Italia, the Tour de France and the World Championship road race. His victories include four Tours de France (2020, 2021, 2024 and 2025).

McGrath explores how this diminutive child from a small, mountainous nation of Slovenia first took up the sport, his emerging talent as a teenager and the role played by his UAE Team Emirates-XRG coaches and management. He also gets the inside story from those close to him, trusted teammates and fierce adversaries.

It is not only what Pogacar has won, but the manner in which he wins that also makes him so unique and popular. McGrath gets to the very heart of the cycling phenomenon that is ‘Pogi’ – and the fascinating young man behind the runaway success story.