A four-time champion of the Tour de France—including the last two editions of the world’s premier cycling event—Tadej Pogacar, 27, can win anywhere on two wheels: Grand Tours, one-week stage races, one-day classics, world-championship road races, and individual time trials. He can win across cobble or gravel and is a master uphill climber. “Pogi” was initially into soccer as a child in Slovenia, but after his older brother started training as a cyclist at a local club, he did the same. Pogacar seems to take pride in his sport’s pain. “Suffering and cycling go hand in hand,” he told the website of cycling’s governing body, Union Cycliste Internationale, in 2024. “Anyone who rides a bike, even for fun, knows what it's like to suffer on a hill or battle through cold and rain. It's what unites the cycling fraternity and makes it a special sport.”