Mathieu van der Poel not worried by Tadej Pogacar Paris-Roubaix rumours: "I don't lose any sleep over it"
Cycling
Mathieu van der Poel has been the king of the cobbles at Paris-Roubaix over recent years, taking the Monument win in 2023 and 2024. With Tadej Pogacar posting videos of himself in the Arenberg Forest and reconning the cobbles though, could Van der Poel's crown be under serious threat from the current world champion in 2025?
The cycling rumour mill has been in overdrive ever since the videos of Pogacar training on the iconic Paris-Roubaix cobbles emerged. The UAE Team Emirates - XRG has made no secret of his desire to win every race available and although he's yet to try and win the 'Hell of the North', it does only seem a matter of time before we see Pogacar at the startline of Paris-Roubaix. There is yet to be any official confirmation that 2025 will be the year for Pogacar, but regardless, at a press conference announcing his road racing plans for the coming year, Van der Poel was asked about the potential threat from the three-time Tour de France winner.
"I don't know what his plans are for Roubaix," admits the leader of the Alpecin-Deceuninck team and back to back Paris-Roubaix winner, Van der Poel. "If he joins us like in the Tour of Flanders, he will be a tough opponent. But I don't lose any sleep over it."
As seen in the past though, including at the 2022 Tour of Flanders, Van der Poel has already shown he is capable of beating Pogacar in a head-to-head battle. "The Tour of Flanders has already shown that you have to be 110 percent to beat him," the Dutchman analyses. "I had good legs, but he still dropped me on the Oude Kwaremont. But the more good riders at the start, the better, because then the race will fall into place."
Read also
Legendary moments of the 2024 cycling season: the world champion, Mathieu van der Poel attacks on the cobbled sector of Orchies at 60 km/h with 60 km to go. 🔥 He wins Paris-Roubaix by 3 minutes on the 2nd place. Brutal.pic.twitter.com/OG9knZJAJO
— Mihai Simion (@faustocoppi60) December 16, 2024
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.
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- i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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