"I want to focus on the UAE Tour” - Tadej Pogacar dodges questions about Paris-Roubaix involvement

Tadej Pogacar sent the cycling world into a frenzy earlier this month when video of the UAE Team Emirates - XRG leader training on the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix emerged online. One of the few big races the Slovenian is yet to try and win, the rumour mill was sent into overdrive speculation on Pogacar's potential involvement in 2025.

As of yet, there has been no official confirmation of Pogacar's intention to start Paris-Roubaix this year. In fact, UAE have been keen to put forward the view that Pogacar was simply training on the cobbles for fun and with perhaps one eye on years in the future. Ahead of his season-opening race at the 2025 UAE Tour, Pogacar was understandably asked to comment on his recent trip to the cobbles.

“It was fun," Pogacar says with a wry smile, reflecting on the reconnaissance, but the world champion refuses to give any more insight into his ride, or the motives behind it. "At the moment I want to focus on the UAE Tour.”

As mentioned, this intention within UAE Team Emirates - XRG to quieten talk of Pogacar's potential Paris-Roubaix involvement is not only a tactic of the Slovenian himself. Recently, team boss Mauro Gianetti towed a similar line. "Tadej was in the area because he wanted to recon the Flemish classics with Tim Wellens," said Gianetti. "When Tim mentioned that he would recon Roubaix the next day, Tadej decided to come along for once. They are good friends, that's why. And that's how Tadej is: he felt good and so they filmed it. It was a joke."

Despite these comments, it's unlikely speculation will die out until the day of the race itself. Only then will fans get final confirmation whether or not Pogacar will be riding the 'Hell of the North' in 2025 or not!