"I think it's a far tougher ask" - Fabian Cancellara unsure Tadej Pogacar could succeed at Paris-Roubaix
Cycling
Tadej Pogacar's Tour of Flanders win was arguably the most impressive individual ride seen this year. Fabian Cancellara was certainly impressed, however the Swiss feels Paris-Roubaix could prove "a far tougher ask" if/when Pogacar aims to complete his set of cycling's monuments.
"Look at what he did last year on the cobbled stage of the Tour de France - he looked amazing. So the potential is definitely there," Cancellara writes in his Classics column for Cycling News. "However, Paris-Roubaix is a very different race to any other - even to Flanders. The Ronde has climbs, and he used every inch of them to his advantage, but I think it's a far tougher ask on the flat sectors of Roubaix, against the likes of Ganna and Wout. I don't see where he can make his differences on the bigger guys."
Click here to create your own team for
the Fantasy Paris-Roubaix. At least $6,500/€6,000/£5,720 in prizes!
With Pogacar now having tasted success at the Tour of Flanders, Liège–Bastogne–Liège and twice at Giro di Lombardia, the idea has been flirted, not without good reason, that the 24-year-old Slovenian could complete the set and achieve victory at all five of the sports monuments. Finishes of 5th and 4th the last two years indicate Pogacar is not too far off victory at Milano-Sanremo so all that remains would be Paris-Roubaix.
"He will have to be heavier in order to maximise his raw power. With that sort of weight you cannot win the Tour de France, which is what he's paid to do at UAE Team Emirates," Cancellara explains. "I don't think his team will let him seriously think about Roubaix or the five Monuments for now because the Tour is by far the most important thing for the team. And with the amount they are paying him, you need to win the Tour. Longer-term, though, I do not rule anything out. He has everything on the table to win all five monuments."
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- What a race! I didn't expect Vanthourenhout to collapse like that, and Wyseure did take the fight to Nys, but there was no doubt at the end. I also wonder what Aubin Sparfel would be capable of were he to race in the elites now. In the U23 ranks he is making good work of Giel Lejeune, who himself is among the better riders in the elites, and a top 10 contender in the big races (3rd at Kleebergcross, 8th at Berencross and 5th at Heerderstrand). In the French Cup, Sparfel is significantly better than Romain Debord (8th at Koppenbergcross and 10th at the Euros) and Rémi Lelandais (12th at Koppenbergcross and 19th at the Euros).
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling forRafionain-Glas08-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment