Tadej Pogacar ready for Roubaix title challenge: "I want to do this and I can dream of the 5 monuments"
Cycling
Tadej Pogacar is present at Paris-Roubaix this year and he is the big star at the start line, despite it featuring all of the top classics riders. The rainbow jersey was at the team presentation this afternoon and talked a bit about his thoughts 24 hours before the start.
In Flanders, the UAE Team Emirates - XRG leader rode a super aggressive race, and through this tactic he eventually managed to crack Mathieu van der Poel and obtain a gap big enough over the remaining rivals to then survive in the run-up to Oudenaarde.
Now, he is at the start of Paris-Roubaix for the first time in his career. "Why not?" This is a great race, one of the most important of the year,"
Pogacar said in words to Sporza.
He hopes to be able to achieve the same thing that he did in Flanders, where he has a 100% success rate. "That was a difficult race. We'll see if it's more of the same tomorrow or if it's something nicer".
Pogacar has won Flanders, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Il Lombardia, and is one of the very few active riders who is in pursuit of a potential five-monument palmarès. Milano-Sanremo is close but not yet there, and in Roubaix he also carries a lot of potential for victory.
"I want to do this and I can dream of the 5 monuments, but whether that will work out is another matter. I can't rush anything," he acknowledges. "It's going to be a tough day, but I want to feel what cycling has to offer. It's a great opportunity to experience it from the other side."
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😳🤯 The cobbles of #ParisRoubaix are a different beast in person! Rough, serrated and everything but regular 👀
— @UAE-TeamEmirates (@TeamEmiratesUAE) April 12, 2025
After checking them out during the recon, we are ready to throw ourselves into a Sunday in Hell 🔥 #WeAreUAE pic.twitter.com/tmiOB5U84q
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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