"Paris-Roubaix is ​​not too difficult" - Tom Boonen backs Tadej Pogacar to tame 'Hell of the North'

Tadej Pogacar seems like a man on a mission intent to end his career as the greatest of all time. One of the things missing from his palmares currently, is a complete set of monument titles. Although the Tour of Flanders, Il Lombardia and Liege-Bastogne-Liege are in the bag, both Milano-Sanremo and Paris-Roubaix remain elusive.

In terms of Paris-Roubaix, Pogacar is yet to even attempt the 'Hell of the North'. According to Belgian Classics icon and four-time Paris-Roubaix winner Tom Boonen though, the famous French cobbles shouldn't prove too much of a difficulty for the UAE Team Emirates leader.

"I am 100 percent convinced he can win it," insisted the 44-year-old Belgian during the 2024 Velo d'Or ceremony, where Pogacar picked up both the Velo d'Or award itself and the Eddy Merckx Trophy for best Classics rider of the year on Friday night. "He is one of those riders who can handle a bike well, he can do everything with a bike. And Paris-Roubaix is ​​not too difficult. It is just about riding fast on the cobblestones and taking the wind into account. But if he can't win it, who can?"

After hearing Boonen's comments, Pogacar himself gave a quick word about the possibility of winning Paris-Roubaix in the future. "Try to avoid the big rocks as much as possible. Use the side of the road and everything will be fine!" the history making Slovenian laughed. "It's easy for him, haha."