"I think he had to sprint with a flat tire" - UAE teammate believes Tadej Pogacar couldn't do regular sprint in Roubaix

Paris-Roubaix is a race where many just survive. That was the case with António Morgado, who punctured five times during the race. However he was able to provide Tadej Pogacar with key support, and also believes the World Champion arrived at the finish with a flat tire on his bike.

"Fortunately, I didn't crash. In the end, I did get a puncture five times. Four times before the Trouée d'Arenberg and then another one in the finale, so it was difficult to finish the race at all," Morgado said in a post-race interview with In de Leiderstrui.

The Portuguese rider worked intensely over the first cobbled sectors of the race as UAE looked to push the pace from early on and create fatigue in the peloton, as well as reducing it. It was a plan that was well on its way, until Tadej Pogacar punctured and had several minutes of riding then on a neutral bike.

Morgado waited for his leader and then helped in the chase, but whilst doing so punctured himself and just like that his aid to the eventual second place had ended. "Fortunately, I was able to change wheels quickly twice and also change with my own team twice".

"That last time I had a puncture, Jayco gave me a wheel, that was nice of them. But yeah, this race is... just making sure you make it to the velodrome. I don't even know if I made it within the time limit (he arrived within 15 minutes, well inside the limit, ed.), but what ultimately matters is that everyone is safe. We will try again next year".

What mattered for UAE was Tadej Pogacar however, and the plan didn't come to fruition, with a repeat of last year's seecond place. "We had a good plan. When we came down from sectors 27 and 26, we had four men at the front. I got a puncture there, but the guys really did a good job".

"It wasn't really a lucky day for us. I also heard that Florian [Vermeersch] had crashed. So luck wasn't on our side, but we should be proud as a team. We did everything to get Tadej into the best position. Second again, that's not a bad result".

After the finish Morgado looked at Tadej Pogacar's bike and has an interest observation, which is yet to be confirmed by the man himself or the team staff: "I think he had to sprint with a flat tire. We checked his bike and it looked like he had a flat rear tire".

"We are really very proud of him, because he also had to change bikes. When I got back to him, I got another flat. Today was very tough, but I am very, very proud to be part of this team. As I said, we will definitely come back," he concluded.