Merckx: “ At the latter it was with him ( makes sound from escaping air )… pfffff. ”
The Vlaeminck: “ Normally I was fast, now only very tired. Eddy just turned on to sprint and I had to sit down already. That was Eddy. He could destroy you. The cleanest thing I remember is the Tour of Flanders. Was that ’ 75? Eddy attacks more than a hundred kilometers from the line and only Frans Verbeeck could follow. He also regretted that. We were behind that with eight very good drivers. Me, Godefroot, Demeyer, Dierickx, me. All good. And we didn't get it. Niét, hey. Oh, dude, they all talk about Pogacar today. But when I look at the course now, there is not one like Eddy, not even half, not even Pogacar. I may exaggerate a little, but not much. ( looks at the table, ed. ) Is there another cake from the Bruxelles for me? ”

His ‘ regimen ’ is far away. The chocolate cake also disappears to the plate of De Vlaeminck. Meanwhile, a fragment of the past Giro plays on TV. Van Aert drives through the image. “ I don't know with Van Aert ”, says Merckx. “ He was not good in the classics, I thought. That fall in the Tour of Spain last year gave him a knock. He is more careful, more shocked. I hope the Tour of Italy did him good. Maybe we will see the best Van Aert in the Tour de France. ”

Just as you stood out more than fifty years ago, now Pogacar dominates. Could some more competition be allowed?
Merckx: “ I think so. Who did we see in the spring? Van der Poel. And Evenepoel when he is healthy. In my time you had Godefroot, Roger, Freddy Maertens, Demeyer ... And in the big rounds Gimondi, Motta, Ocana, Fuente. Now it is all less in the rounds. Outside of Vingegaard. And even he. Vingegaard is so little racing. And in Paris-Nice at the beginning of the year he did not leave me a good impression. ”

The Vlaeminck: “ That's for sure that Vingegaard is a good thinner, but he doesn't drive. What do they pay it for a whole year? And I will not clap Pogacar, but what opposition does he have? Like they let him drive 90 kilometers in the Strade Bianche. And the only one who has tried anything is Pidcockske. Come on, young. They wouldn't have unloaded me there so quickly. On the sand, in the stones. I would have liked to drive that course. Or Pedersen. They make it a very good one now because he wins a few rides in the Tour of Italy. But he cannot win a time trial and he cannot win a mountain ride. Then you are not a super driver for me. What has Pedersen already won? ”

Merckx: ” Be careful. Gent-Wevelgem, three times. And if he doesn't drive flat at a bad time this year, I want to see it in Paris-Roubaix. And in the Giro he was still strong. ”
The Vlaeminck: “ Strong? I won 22 rides in the Tour of Italy and I finished fourth in the final classification. And I'm not going to talk about Eddy. How many times won the Giro? Five times? Pogacar is going to hurry. Eddy is braver than me. More careful. A different character than me. He can't help it either. Listen, I won't say Pedersen is a bad driver, but it's not a good one either. And he is certainly not great. That's my honest thought, and that's the truth. ”