CyclistEvery Tadej Pogaar Monument performance rankedTadej Pogaar has moved the goalposts for what it means to be a Tour de France champion. Whether it be cobbles, gravel, murs or bergs, Pogaar doesnt shy away from taking on any challenge across the cycling calendar.With fingers in many pies, the kid from Komenda has taken to the start line of 14 Monuments since his Classics debut in 2019. In that time, the baby-faced Pogaar has slotted onto the podium on eight occasions, including taking six wins, proving he is more than just a Grand Tour big cheese.More remarkable is his consistency. Since his watershed Tour de France win in 2020, Tadej Pogaar has finished inside the top 5 at each Monument he has tackled, apart from the cursed Lige-Bastogne-Lige in 2023, which saw him crash out.This ranking of his performances is not based on the arbitrary finishing position. It will factor in panache, pizzazz and pathos into its ranking position. Prepare for Pogis ego to be inflated as we dissect each of his 14 Monument performances. Related Posts Opinion: Its OK to be bored of the Classics Every Mathieu van der Poel Monument performance ranked Opinion: Tadej Pogaar is the Greatest Of All Time Giro dItalia 2024: Stage-by-stage preview and how to watch The lower rankingsUCI14. LigeBastogneLige 2023 (DNF)13. LigeBastogneLige 2019 (finished 18th)12. Milan-San Remo 2020 (12th)11. LigeBastogneLige 2020 (3rd)10. Milan-San Remo 2022Tim de Waele/Getty ImagesPogs finishing position: 5thAll eyes were on Pogaar at his much-anticipated return to La Classicissima. An effortless win at Strade Bianche followed by a walk-over in Tirenno-Adriatico made the Slovenian the favourite for glory. That said, this wasnt without its question marks. As a Grand Tour star, the ways of winning San Remo are few and far between.Regardless, Pogaar decided that the best form of defence was to attack. This eventually backfired. However, it did make for much tension up the Cipressa and the Poggio as he rolled the dice with little to lose.Still finishing in fifth place, he put in a good days work, good enough to beat some mean sprinters in the group. Overall, its not bad, but not out of this world either. A rare B-Grade race.Ill never forgive 2022 for birthing the annual will Pogaar attack on the Cipressa discussion.9. Il Lombardia 2021RCSPogs finishing position: 1stThe lowest placing of his Monument wins, the 2021 Giro di Lombardia finds its way onto the list early on. After a fatiguing season for Pogaar that saw him claim a Grand Tour title, Monument wins and an Olympic medal, a Lombardia debut was the epilogue for his Merckxian year.An early attack on the day yielded an early lead for the reigning Tour de France champion. A concerted effort by Fausto Masnada, the eel of Bergamo, made Pogaars challenge for the title a little trickier. In a two-up sprint to the line against QuickSteps Masnada, Pogaar took the title with few frills expended.This was the McDonalds Quarter Pounder of Monument wins. Its necessary sustenance, but there are better things on the menu. Do better next time Tadej.8. Milan-San Remo 2023Tim de Waele/Getty ImagesPogs finishing position: 4thSan Remo: the sequel. Pogaar entered the 2023 MSR in similar fashion to the year prior. With lessons learnt from the year before, we all expected a step up from Pogaar if there were even any more steps to be made.More attacks on the Poggio came, but this time he had more company. Distilled down into an all-star group including Wout van Aert, Mathieu van der Poel and Olympic track champion Pippo Ganna, Pogi had a shout at taking the race win.As Van der Poel went up the road, Pogaars chances became fleeting. Holding on for fourth place on the day, this was a commendable step in the right direction for Pogaar.7. Lige-Bastogne-Lige 2021A.S.O Pogs finishing position: 1stOne of his less memorable Monument rides, the 2021 Lige-Bastogne-Lige nonetheless started his Monument winning journey. Just six months after the previous edition, Lige 2021 was fuelled with talks about Alaphilippe redemption and a renewed Pog vs Rog battle.Proceedings were a little punctured in reality. Michael Woods rolled the dice, and the favourites duly stepped up. With Alaphilippe fixed onto his back wheel, Pogi made it into the front group with ease. Able to bet on his fast kick at the end, he outfoxed some big names of old and new, even pipping the World Champion Alaphilippe to the line who at least this time knew he finished second.A wins a win, but in terms of Pogaar performances, this is on the modest end of the spectrum.6. Milan-San Remo 2024Luca Bettini - Pool/Getty ImagesPogs finishing position: 3rdWith plenty of can Pogaar win San Remo? debates coming off the Gulf Stream, the 2024 Milan-San Remo had plenty of possible scenarios and favourites on hand. A mightily strong UAE Team Emirates line-up on paper and a more mature Pogaar made for a convincing challenge for the Classicissima crown.In reality, the 2024 edition proved testing. With depleted team support on the road, and only an inexperienced Isaac del Torro to assist, the odds were stacked against him.In his best San Remo attack to date, Pogaar finally got some distance on the peloton. This didnt last long, though, as World Champion Van der Poel closed the gap coming onto the descent into town.After firing all those bullets up the climb, Pogaar had enough left in the tank to reach the final podium in a sprint (ahead of Mads Pedersen no less). In every scenario, Pogaar was visible. The win in San Remo cant be far off now, can it?5. Il Lombardia 2022Tim de Waele/Getty ImagesPogs finishing position: 1stIn the shadow of a Tour de France defeat and a World Championship whoopsie, Pogaar needed to rise to the occasion on title defence duties at Lombardia. This wasnt a worry for Pogaar, he and his team were bullish throughout the day, controlling affairs with a water-tight seal.Much like his 2021 win, 2022 saw Pogi have company in the final kilometres. In a renaissance ride, Enric Mas revitalised his post-Vuelta legs to guide him into a lucrative position in the wheel of reigning champion Pogaar. No stinging attack could drop the Catalan, and Pogaar kept his powder dry for the final dash to the line in Como.In the end, the result was inevitable. Spare a thought for poor Mas though. Maybe one day hell take that big race win.4. Tour of Flanders 2022Chris AuldPogs finishing position: 4th2022 was a season of cobble discovery for Pogaar. After playing his hand more at the one-day races, he wasnt shy to take on the bergs of Flanders, just a few days after his first cobble exploit at Dwaars door Vlaanderen.The Tour de France champions cameo at Flanders was no novelty. Pogaar was far more than a bit-part player, acting as protagonist in an on-screen pairing with Van der Poel up front.Unlucky not to drop his rival on the Paterberg, Pogaar had tested the Dutchman up the cobbled climbs more than anyone else over the previous seasons.The excitement fizzed over, Pogaar lost his cool and slipped out of contention for the win once the duo of Valentin Madouas and Dylan van Baarle crashed the party. In a heated exchange afterwards, we saw a side to Pogaar we rarely see.3. Il Lombardia 2023Bernard Papon/Getty ImagesPogs finishing position: 1stBy 2023, it looked futile for anyone to even try and challenge Pogaar for the title of the Il Lombardia. They say good things come in threes.Away on a descent with 30km to go, Pogi soon found daylight between himself and the pack. Banishing debates about poor descending, he hung on through the downhill to stay solo up in front with a lead of almost a minute.A brief glimpse of cramp brought forward some doubt, but it was all in vain as he sailed away to a third Lombardy win in a row, and the first one in the Slovenian champions jersey in his most emphatic win at Lombardy to date.In McDonalds terms, this is the 20 Chicken Nuggets Sharebox of Monument wins. Lots of sustenance, but were getting very familiar with the taste.2. Lige-Bastogne-Lige 2024Dario Belingheri/Getty ImagesPogs finishing position: 1stPogaars most recent success was always going to be high on the list. Up against a firing Van der Poel and a field of hungry pretenders, Pogaar made it known what his plan was going to be. Simply, he said he was going to attack on Cte de La Redoute and he did just that. Without flinching, he was away on the hardest test in the race. Stretching the peloton to breaking point, they flailed behind. In dominant manner, like most 2024 Monument victories, he had gained a one-minute advantage within a handful of kilometres, dampening the hopes of any other rider searching out the Ardennais trophy.Inevitable from the start, Pogis most recent LBL win came with few frills and even fewer thrills. A well-deserved Monument victory at the very race that tore his season apart 12 months prior.1. Tour of Flanders 2023GruberimagesPogs finishing position: 1stThis might not necessarily be his most emphatic win, but it was certainly the most impressive.On a startlist alongside both Van der Poel and Van Aert, Pogaar was the romantics choice for Flanders glory.His right-hand man Tim Wellens came down in the now infamous Maciejuk puddle incident. Down on personnel, Pogi would have a job on his hands to overthrow the Jumbo-Visma mammoth and Van der Poels mitre.That said, Pogaar was clearly the most confident on the day willing to test the legs and leave it all on the table. Up the Kwaremont one final time, Pogaar opened up the engine. By dropping Van der Poel, he had made the difference that he failed to do back in 2022.A solo ride into Oudenaarde couldnt testify Tadejs strength more. In a blockbuster race, the lead role was always going to be the Slovenian. Pogaar beat the cobbled stars at their own game. Beating Wout, Mads, Mathieu and everyone in between, Pogaar showed them all up in their own backyard.A Tour de France winner as the winner of Flanders? You dont see that every day.Tadej Pogaar is not the only rider to receive our ranking treatment, check out our ranking of Van der Poels Monument performances Related Posts Opinion: Its OK to be bored of the Classics Every Mathieu van der Poel Monument performance ranked Opinion: Tadej Pogaar is the Greatest Of All Time Giro dItalia 2024: Stage-by-stage preview and how to watch The post Every Tadej Pogaar Monument performance ranked appeared first on Cyclist.