“We were executing our plan very well... until Tadej punctured” - Nils Politt rues UAE disruption as Pogacar falls short at Paris-Roubaix

For Tadej Pogacar and UAE Team Emirates - XRG, Paris-Roubaix 2026 was another case of how quickly control can slip away on the cobbles.

Having already taken victories at Milano-Sanremo and the Tour of Flanders this spring, Pogacar arrived in Compiègne chasing the one Monument still missing from his palmarès. By the finish in Roubaix, he was left once again with second place, beaten by Wout van Aert after a brutal day shaped by punctures, positioning and fine margins.

According to Nils Politt, UAE Team Emirates - XRG had the race exactly where they wanted it before everything changed. Speaking to CyclingMagazine, the German pointed to the moment that shifted the entire dynamic, explaining: “Actually, we were executing our plan very well, until Tadej punctured. That was obviously not good for us. We dropped back to bring him back to the front, which cost an enormous amount of energy.”

That single incident forced a complete rethink mid-race, turning a controlled situation into a reactive one and immediately placing the team on the back foot.

Paris-Roubaix rarely allows mistakes to be recovered without consequence, and Politt made clear just how costly that chase proved to be. “If Tadej hadn’t punctured, the race could have unfolded very differently,” he said.

It was not just a disruption to the plan, but a moment that reshaped the race itself and drained valuable energy at a critical point. “It also cost him a lot of energy to get back to the front,” Politt added. “But that’s cycling, that’s Paris-Roubaix.”

While UAE were forced onto the back foot, others were able to take advantage of the same unpredictable conditions. Politt himself admitted that fortune played a role in his own race. “I was a bit lucky that Mathieu van der Poel punctured,” he said, explaining how he was able to use the situation to his advantage. “That allowed me to latch onto him and ride back towards the front.”

That contrast captures the essence of Roubaix, where one rider’s misfortune can quickly become another’s opportunity.

Despite the disruption, Pogacar still forced his way back into contention, eventually emerging as Van Aert’s closest challenger in the closing stages.

For Politt, that only reinforced the frustration of what might have been. “My legs were also very good, and I was still able to make the top ten, which I’m very satisfied with,” he said, after attacking late alongside Mike Teunissen to secure his result.

“I already felt that earlier in the race, and it’s a shame you have to use that so early, but in the end, I could still get into the top ten, and I’m happy with that. And Tadej’s second place in a Monument is of course also very good,” he added, acknowledging the result, even if it fell short of the team’s ambitions.

For Pogacar, the result adds another chapter to an increasingly familiar story at Paris-Roubaix.

After finishing second in 2025, he once again proved he has the ability to challenge for victory on terrain once thought unsuited to his profile. But once again, circumstances denied him the chance to fully dictate the race on his own terms.

At Paris-Roubaix, plans can unravel in an instant. For UAE Team Emirates - XRG, 2026 was a reminder that even when everything is going right, it can still go wrong.