PARIS — With Tadej Pogacar on the brink of a record-equalling fifth Tour de France aged only 27 many people are saying his domination has made cycling boring.

Former three-time world champion Peter Sagan said as much earlier this year, coming from a man who won a record seven green jerseys at the Tour.

The same such accusations were laid against Spaniard Miguel Indurain when he won the Grande Boucle five times in a row from 1991-95, or Briton Chris Froome when he won four out of five between 2013 and 2017.

They were 27 and 28 respectively when they won their first Tours.

In cycling terms, Pogacar should only now be starting to reach his peak years, meaning he could go on to win several more Tours.

“Winning is nice. I will never deny it’s a nice feeling to cross the line first,” he said on Wednesday. One of his chief rivals, Remco Evenepoel, said being beaten by Pogacar is anything but boring.

“I see it as being super impressive, the performances that he’s putting out,” said the 26-year-old Belgian, who sat second in the Tour’s overall standings after Thursday’s 18th stage.

“I’m looking up to that, I try to learn from that and I try to reach that level as well.

“He’s a superstar, he’s the best rider ever, so I don’t think people should consider it as boring.

“I understand if you watch television and he goes whenever he wants, it’s boring.

“But for us, it’s a challenge and it’s a big honour to race against a champion like that.”

Evenepoel has provided some excitement in this year’s Tour, beating Pogacar into second in back-to-back stages—one a mountain top finish and the other a time-trial.

But he has also been left in Pogacar’s wake when the reigning champion won three stages with uphill finishes.

“It’s exciting to see it from very close by,” said Evenepoel.

“You should not forget, we are witnessing history.”