Pogacar's domestique Mikkel Bjerg criticizes Visma and Alpecin's pacing after Pogacar mechanical - "It could also be that I'm just a bad loser"

Paris-Roubaix is not a race for the weak, and with the stakes as high as can be, teams will often race for result other than respect. Mikkel Bjerg of UAE Team Emirates - XRG was quite unpleased after Team Visma | Lease a Bike and Alpecin-Premier Tech pushed the pace following Tadej Pogacar's unlucky mechanical.

UAE had a strong plan at play, and Bjerg was amongst those working early in the race to soften up the Slovenian's rivals. But with 120 kilometers to go the plan had to be changed completely. Pogacar had to change bikes, and required a neutral service bike for several minutes before changing back to his own.

Whilst António Morgado was quick to join him in the chase, it took a long time before other teammates joined. Mikkel Bjerg, who was in the peloton, revealed that there was no team radio, and Pogacar's teammates did not know where their leader was.

"I spoke to Nils [Politt] and couldn't get a hold of anyone on the radio. It was a bit chaotic. It was Nils' decision to stop," Bjerg said in words to TV2. "And it was the right thing to do. Sometimes you can be lucky enough to be allowed to sit behind a car, but when you're riding in the World Championships jersey there's no help to be had. But that's how it is".

Florian Vermeersch stayed in the peloton due to his importance in the lineup (although he crashed out of the race shortly after) and the uncertainty over the situation at that point, whilst Bjerg and Politt then briefly helped with the chase. However, they couldn't close the gap, and neither could Pogacar in a short amount of time. That is because the peloton's speed did not slow down one bit.

"I'm a bit bitter about the situation. When Visma and Alpecin sit up and lead immediately when Tadej has a puncture, you also think that they are wearing small shoes," Bjerg stated. "Well, I was the one leading when it happened, it didn't take a second before they passed me. It wasn't like 'oh my, what's going on?". But it could also be that I'm just a bad loser".

It is certainly a passive-aggressive statement from the Dane, but not without its reasons. Pogacar was perhaps the strongest rider at the start and in the chaos of the race, the teams of Mathieu van der Poel and Wout Van Aert had the opportunity to massively increase its chances of winning the monument.

But it's something Bjerg, who wouldn't return to the front of the race again, held on to. "No, they have to keep it going too. It's a good situation for them, the group is divided. It's just a shame, I hate losing," he admits.

"I wanted to finish well, and I'm just happy that he (Pogacar, ed.) came in second. It's always nice to take something home, but that's not what we're here for".