Tadej Pogacar on Van der Poel and Flanders; Van Aert's mistake; Roubaix recon and danger - "Is Roubaix the big goal?"
Cycling
Tadej Pogacar will be taking on the Tour of Flanders this Sunday looking for his second win in the Belgian monument but the truth is that surrounding him is a constant buzz over Paris-Roubaix. In a press conference hosted by UAE Team Emirates - XRG, the World Champion has talked about many of this week's hot topics.
But for Flanders there is no shadow of a doubt: "I'm here to win. The Tour is a different race than Milano-Sanremo, much harder. Cobblestones are Mathieu's favorite terrain and he is difficult to beat on them. But there are also other riders to take into account," Pogacar said as reported by Het Nieuwsblad.
And in order to do this, he should use the same tactic as in 2023, where he attacked on several occasions in the cobbled climbs before dropping the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider. "Mathieu is one of the best sprinters, so I'm going to try to avoid a sprint with him. It has to be a hard race, then the difference between us might be smaller." After losing to his rivals in a sprint in Sanremo, it would be wise to not want to take him to the line again.
However the presence of van der Poel, as both have said, benefits both as they can very much nullify the tactics of rival teams when they attack early and work together with each other. “I like his racing style and how strong he is. But if I can choose between staying home with Urska or racing against Mathieu, I would rather stay home," he joked.
He had the opportunity to watch Dwars door Vlaanderen as well this Wednesday, where he saw Team Visma | Lease a Bike come to life, decimate the competition in the hilly section of the race, but then lose the race due to a major tactical mistake as they looked to give Wout van Aert a much needed win.
However the Slovenian will not underestimate the Dutch team or van Aert himself based on that sprint alone. "Wout and Visma | Lease a Bike made a mistake yesterday. But Wout prefers bigger races and the Tour is one of his main goals, so I expect him to be good," he warns.
Pogacar travelled to France once again and this week already did another recon of Paris-Roubaix, even taking a few KOM's on key sectors of the race, a warning to his competition. “I had a nice reconnaissance and I’m looking forward to it. Is Roubaix the big goal? Uhm, I can’t say. I have to try it first and see how the race works out for me," he replies. "But I am optimistic that I can ride a good race.”
Regarding the danger of racing Roubaix as well, often a point brought up throughout the past two months, it is not too much in the head of Pogacar who has recently crashed at Strade Bianche, but argues there are more dangerous locations even when comparing to the 'Hell of the North'.
“I think the first sprint stage in a Grand Tour or Milano - Sanremo leading up to the Cipressa are more dangerous," he answers. "The decision to do it came from me. It’s one of the most important races and I wanted to do it before it was too late.”
Read also
Tadej is taking to Paris-Roubaix cobbles just fine 😜
— Velon CC (@VelonCC) April 3, 2025
The world champion set or matched fastest Strava times on three Paris-Roubaix cobbles sectors during a recon ride on Wednesday, including the five-star Mons-en-Pévèle.
📸 Tadej Pogačar pic.twitter.com/e5RmjRhnAf
It will be interesting to see how he goes on the cobbles, so far he's looking very strong.
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