Sjoerd Bax rode hard to uphold UAE Team Emirates standards at Paris-Roubaix: "I was completely broken"

In the absence of Tadej Pogacar, UAE Team Emirates were looking for someone to step up and take charge at Paris-Roubaix. Whilst he may not have been there at the end to battle for the race win, Sjoerd Bax's 13th-placed finish saw him empty the tank trying to maintain the high standards.

Finishing 13th, just over four minutes down on race winner Mathieu van der Poel, Bax crossed the line in a group alongside the likes of Gianni Vermeersch, Florian Vermeersch and Jumbo-Visma duo Christophe Laporte and Nathan van Hooydonck. "In a group with Laporte to sprint for tenth place, but I couldn't get out of my saddle and couldn't stand anymore," Bax explains. "My whole legs were filling up."

Part of the breakaway that managed to build a gap in the first half of the race, Bax was suddenly thrown into a group containing race favourites van der Poel and Wout van Aert. "Have I seen stars? Yes, regularly. I've thought a few times that I should let them go because I was completely broken," the 27 -year-old continues.

"It's the first time I'm riding here, so I didn't really like riding on the wheel," Bax explains in regards to his race tactics. "In the beginning I just wanted to be part of it. I also know that there is a lot more chance of crashes when you have to fight for your spot in those cobblestone sections. Then you better sit down for it. With four men is not very much, but yes, you can now also see what it can provide: a thirteenth place in Roubaix, you could do for less."