Just a ride for fun? Pogacar's Paris-Roubaix recon was 165 kilometers long and included all cobbled sectors team DS tells
Cycling
UAE Team Emirates - XRG will not publicly say that Tadej Pogacar will ride Paris-Roubaix this year but almost all signs point towards it. He recently did a recon ride throughout the north of France and the team DS that rode with him and Tim Wellens reveals that the ride was a full recon of the 2025 route.
"This weekend in the North was already planned since December, at the team's training camp in Spain. Tim Wellens was also there, while Antonio Morgado and Nill Politt could not accompany us due to physical problems," Fabio Baldato shared with Gazzetta dello Sport.
Nevertheless the trip was made. On Saturday Pogacar and Tim Wellens explored the route of the Tour of Flanders and in Sunday they rode the route of Paris-Roubaix. This wasn't anticipated, and perhaps only made public as they were spotted on Sunday afternoon on French soil. The fact that only two riders rode this recon is a very big point towards the World Champion's potential ambitions to race it later this spring.
Pogacar will race the UAE Tour and then his spring will consist of nothing but one-day races. Amongst these are Milano-Sanremo and Tour of Flanders, but also the Ardennes classics. There would be worries about the risk of a big crash of injury in Roubaix, but simultaneously Pogacar has proven to be a great bike handler and a rider who is capable of winning on every single terrain.
Joxean Matxin told journalist Daniel Benson that the race continues to be off his schedule, but we can quickly remember Wout van Aert's case with the cyclocross World Championships - where the Belgian was not publicly announced to ride it until a week before, and he was given the freedom to make the decision whenever he wanted. This allowed him to not have the pressure and media attention that would otherwise put higher pressure and expectations on his shoulders.
"Sunday in Roubaix was another intense training session, about 165 km. We entered the course two kilometers before the first cobblestone section and covered all the cobblestones, including the 'five stars' such as Mons-en-Pévèle or Carrefour de l'Arbre, and also the small modifications before Arenberg," Baldato explained.
"We got as far as the velodrome in Roubaix, but it was closed and we couldn't get in. Tadej was lively, as always. He had a lot of fun. He is a total cyclist, but someone with his characteristics had never seen him ride so hard on the stones."
Read also
More videos from Pogačar Roubaix recon, as he rode not only Arenberg, but all the Paris Roubaix sectors. 😍 pic.twitter.com/up2shzPYn7
— Lukáš Ronald Lukács (@lucasaganronald) February 11, 2025
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
claps 3visitors 3
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- Pidcock finished 9th place, 29 minutes down. he is a helluva rider, so gutsy. and he is amazing at all disciplines. but this headline is . . .mij09-11-2026
- I know, watch the video. and listen to her competitors. it was a tricky tacky call at best. WTF is this guy talking about??? my original comment was from the picture it didn't look like anything.mij09-11-2026
- I dunno what you're talking about. you make no sense. MS's competitor and the competitors coach said it was BS. she didn't deviate in a way that relegation should be required. revel LOL. you're so cool, in your own mind.mij09-11-2026
- deviation lol, watch the videomij09-11-2026
- the 'No different than women who follow and discuss celebs through gossip magazines' comment was unfortunately a bit off. didn't you just boast about your principles in the comments section of another article?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- Are you MrMauMau 2.0? Nothing you are saying is really relevant. Vaguely connected, but irrelevant. The conversation is whether Schreiber impeded Brand or not.
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - 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
Loading
1 Comments