António Morgado on Tadej Pogacar: "it is impossible to be surprised by him anymore, I think he can win everything"

António Morgado comes from a country that has very little history in the northern classics but has very quickly left an impression in the peloton by finishing Top5 of the Tour of Flanders in his neo-pro season. In 2025 his role transformed into a supporting one for Tadej Pogacar in the monuments, but he has no doubt that his teammate can also win Paris-Roubaix after Flanders.

“For me, it is better to pass one time through the Arenberg, so I am glad that we did the longer recon and had a proper look,” Morgado said in a post shared by the team. “I prefer cobbles when they are on climbs, not on flat roads. But I do like them more now than at the start of my pro career". The 21-year old has come around in the classics, races where he seems to thrive unlike what he believed earlier in his career. 

And this is a project in the works for himself and UAE Team Emirates - XRG: “I have two years of this, whilst some guys at my age already have six or seven years of testing themselves on the cobbles. I think I am getting better with each opportunity, but it takes time.”

Morgado played a very important role last weekend as he was one of the riders who chased on after UAE was put on the back foot in Flanders, as Tim Wellens and Jhonatan Narváez fell victim to crashes. “I was super proud to be a part of Tadej’s victory. I really like this race, I think it is one of my favourite races in the calendar". 

“It is a hard race. Last year I was fully empty after 200km, because I battled against mechanicals and always fought to make it to the finish. But I hope for better luck this year and for me, the Classics that are the toughest are the best," he says. "When the racing is really hard, I can show my strength and I hope to perform at my top level for the team this weekend.”

In Roubaix the team has Nils Politt and Florian Vermeersch who can also have their own ambitions, but in Tadej Pogacar there is certainly a big card to win the race and the Portuguese has no reservations anymore regarding his teammate.

“I think it is impossible to be surprised by him anymore, I think he can win everything,” he praises. “He is the best ever. I think he can win every race on the calendar over his career. For me, every guy who is 21 years old would love to ride with Tadej, so I feel super lucky and proud to be in this position. I am just ready to give my all for the team on Sunday.”