The man who discovered Tadej Pogacar on his chances at Roubaix: "I think he can do it, but it's not ideal terrain"
Cycling
As team manager at UAE, Allan Peiper saw Tadej Pogacar rise to the top of cycling about five years ago when he won the Tour de France for the first time. For personal reasons, he stepped down from that position, but as a racing enthusiast he enjoys what the Slovenian shows time and again.
The Australian was in the wider range of favorites at the Tour of Flanders himself, having finished in the top-10 twice in late 80s. Seeing his "For me it's a highlight of course. The Tour of Flanders was the race I couldn't win, I wasn't good enough. And I see him playing here on my terrain. I don't live far from here," he told Sporza.
Peiper saw Pogacar seize his chance to leave Mathieu van der Poel behind. On the penultimate climb it happened. "He had few chances to break it. He had to drop him on the Kwaremont. Otherwise it would have been impossible to win, but he did it."
Allan Peiper himself followed the race from front row. "I saw him at the starting line and I shook his hand. After the Koppenberg I called out to him on a small track. He looked sideways at me, my day was a success."
Peiper accompanied the Slovenian. "He has a heart of gold, he is constantly thinking of other people. Certainly for me, that is a boost in my life. He is never angry, never jealous and takes everything as it comes. He is free to race, you see that on the racing bike."
The Australian ex-rider also looked into his crystal ball. What can Pogacar do in his first participation in Paris-Roubaix? "I think he can do it, but it's not ideal terrain. With his weight and his strength it should be more for Mathieu (van der Poel). Wout (van Aert) will also play a role." Whatever happens next Sunday, Allan Peiper went home happy. "I see my protégé winning, how can it be better?" he laughs.
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- And we, what are we doing?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- And yet, it attracts people, even you. What’s more, it attracts the rival fanboys to fill cyberspace with endless pointless my hero is better than your hero blabla that’s all been heard before and only helps sell the site as an advertising platform. You know what the solution is but most can’t resist. No different than women who follow and discuss celebs through gossip magazines.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- he is doing 460 watts for 35 min to achieve 7 w/kg with VO2 at 96 , just unreal numbers.abstractengineer08-11-2026
- Just do it, and put up with the consequencesJumpyjohn08-11-2026
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