Embed from Getty ImagesTadej Pogaar attacks with over 100km. The winning moment? Yes, but this time with hindsight as for some time the result was uncertain. It made for a gripping race especially with the chase behind and the battle for the lower steps of the podium.The mens road race is the final event of what is now a week-long event, something that was testing the patience of locals before it had even started. Zurichs bid to become a Velostadt, a cycling city was certainly not a unanimous goal. It then rained for most of the week.The death of Muriel Furrer during the womens junior road race was a tragedy, then compounded. She was 18 years old, and on home roads as she lived just minutes from the course. Watching Swiss TV it seemed particularly sore as Furrer was also a mountain biker so it touched the wider Swiss cycling community; the death of Gino Mder last year seems raw too and at times it overwhelmed the SRF commentators. Furrers family made it known they wished for the competitions to continue.Sunday morning started with a tribute ride to Furrer. The sun came out. For the mens race Tadej Pogaar started as the favourite, but with competition. Remco Evenepoel was going to have to ride away and having just won the time trial he threatened to demolish the field just like he did in Paris. Mathieu van der Poel could take Pogaar in a sprint but his challenge was gravity, how to cope with such a hilly course? Come in a kilo or more lighter was the approach; plus Lotte Kopeckys win on Saturday showed a result was possible to. A dense field with plenty of other challengers, including semi-local Marc Hirschi added to the challenge.Embed from Getty ImagesThe race started faster than expected with a battle to get the breakaway. The early part of course from Winterthur was no parade and included a proportionate share of the days climbing. Strong riders went up the road, legwarmers were rolled down. An early crash had Julian Alaphilippe out with a dislocated shoulder and Pello Bilbao out, two contenders gone. Meanwhile Slovenian team were very visible, their lime green jerseys so visible on the front.Vuelta revelation Pablo Castrillo made a move in the streets of Zrich and if he got countered, the move seemed like a defibrillator on the peloton and a group of riders charged clear of the peloton, among them was Slovenias Jan Tratnik and Pavel Sivakov of France, plus outsiders for the win like Jay Vine (Australia) and Stevie Williams (GB)Up the Zrichberg climb again and a couple of moves by Kasper Asgreen and Quinn Simmons were neutralised. Then a burst of green and none other than Tadej Pogaar attacked. There was still over 100km to go.Embed from Getty ImagesA big what-if of the day is if another rider could have gone with Pogaar here? Only Andrea Bagioli and Quinn Simmons tried but didnt last long. But what if, say, Evenepoel could have shut down the move? Only Pogaar was away and riding in his familiar busy style, perched forward on the saddle, hands on the brake hoods, elbows in, bobbing on the bike as he rode away.Embed from Getty ImagesTratniks presence up the road suddenly seemed crucial but apparently this was not planned. He got a roadside tip to sit up and await his leader.The Belgian team was chasing hard but this looked panicky. Rather than let Pogaar stew slowly like a stoofvlees up ahead they were burning up their own riders all too quickly. Clearly they sensed the danger but their collective effort seemed to deter other teams from joining in. In a regular pro race with team managers and race radios team managers might have phoned around for help. Because nobody else helped the Belgian team were left to themselves but soon out of riders.Embed from Getty ImagesRemco Evenepoel surged with Mathieu van der Poel in pursuit. This could have been the most intense moment of the day but the pair were quickly closed down and that was it. It then felt like Evenepoel went because he had no support left and Van der Poel was marking him.Embed from Getty ImagesUp ahead and Pogaar quickly shattered the lead group. With Tratnik done, only Pavel Sivakov was able to follow. A colleague at UAE for the rest of the year meant the clear incentive to work for his boss. But sans Alaphilippe he could salvage a silver medal for France so sharing the work made sense. Only on the lower slopes of the Zrichberg with 50km to go any intrigue vanished as Sivakov was just dropped. With 50km to go Pogaar was now solo.With most teams down to one rider and little more than 15 riders in contention for a medal Toms Skuji and Ben Healy formed a tandem, the Irishman instantly recognisable for the way he rides as if his handlebars need straightening. To chase Pogaar, or to just stay clear of the rest? Probably the latter but Pogaar could hardly let the mind wander into thoughts of pair his rainbow jersey with white or black shorts. When he rode away in the Strade Bianche or the Giro this year you could get up and go and do something else, maybe leave the TV on in the background but there was little need to pay close attention. Here he barely had a minutes lead and there was a sustained chase behind. At one point the gap began to fall and he seemed to be stressing about a missed bidon at the pit stops. He was even grimacing at one point, a rare if not a novel sight. Embed from Getty ImagesIn the final several riders traded attacks, their best bet for a medal being not to sprint against Van der Poel. Ben Healy seemed acutely aware of this and it livened up the end of the race. It was another Ben in OConnor who got the right blend of timing and force as he rode away for silver and Van der Poel won the sprint for bronze.Embed from Getty ImagesThe VerdictTadej Pogaars masterpiece and a great race, a little sunshine after a tough week.Hes mixed blessings for the publishing business as books on bicycle race tactics look redundant; while a thesaurus is required to garland his exploits with new superlatives. In a city better known for themes like precision, timing and risk-management, Pogaar took a massive gamble with 100km to go. If this hadnt paid off then hed be lamenting a Giro-Tour double without the rainbow ending. Hes winning close to 40% of his race days, a ratio nobody else enjoys, and rated accordingly and to miss today would have been a loss. Evenepoel and the Belgian team did not lose the race today but their decision to chase so hard alone does invite questions of what could have been other nations had joined.In his own words going with over 100km to go was maybe a stupid move, it seems he knows he has limits. This was the Pogaar show and soon it wont be remembered for the sport on the day, even if there was was a good contest. Pogaar didnt enjoy victory laps of Zrich and the others chased and raced hard. OConnor finishes a season that he started out with a win and then a series of expectation-topping results. Mathieu van der Poel probably wont care much for bronze but his presence as the tormentor of Pogaar in Glasgow last year adds more sparkle to this years podium. Earlier this spring he went public with the goal of winning all three and now he goes into autumn having delivered, and each time by a crushing margin. Comparisons with Merckx wont stop even if its difficult to compare eras but when Merckx won his triple crown at the 1974 Worlds in Montral he was only two seconds ahead of Raymond Poulidor.Indeed rather than look back and recite statistics or anecdotes, what comes next? Lombardia if you look at Pogaars race calendar, presumably the Vlo dOr prize very soon too. But beyond, what goals for 2025 and beyond? And what can his rivals do about it?The post World Championships Review first appeared on The Inner Ring.