"We’ll definitely see him back... He has unfinished business here" - Tadej Pogacar's UAE teammate sends warning to the peloton after Paris-Roubaix 2025

For the first time in his illustrious career, Tadej Pogacar tackled the iconic cobbles of Paris-Roubaix on Sunday afternoon. For the majority of the race, the Slovenian looked every bit the match of Mathieu van der Poel too, before one small mistake proved key. Given this bitter ending though, Pogacar's UAE Team Emirates - XRG teammate Florian Vermeersch believes it won't be too long before we see the world champ on the cobbles once again!

“It's a bit of a shame that we lost the race here. Especially because of how it happened," began Vermeersch in his post-race interview afterwards, having secured a top-5 placing of his own at the line. "First Pogacar crashed, and then the wheel on his new bike broke. We came here to win. That didn’t happen, so of course it’s disappointing."

"But on the other hand, we also have to be satisfied. Finishing second and fifth is a great result in a race like this," the Belgian is quick to add however, not fully towing a line of doom and gloom. "We’ve shown that we’re a strong team for the Classics as well. But right now, the disappointment is what stands out.”

As mentioned though, the key point here is that because it was ultimately a mechanical that denied Pogacar the chance to fight for the win, there is a real sense that the Slovenian is already thinking of a return. “I don’t know if it’ll be next year, but we’ll definitely see him back," insists Vermeersch excitingly. "With today’s second place, it feels like he still has unfinished business here.”

And as for his own performance, this 5th is another indicator of Vermeersch's growing importance to UAE's Spring Classics block. “I’ve had great legs throughout the entire Classics season. So to now finish in the top five really means a lot to me. I was sprinting for the podium — and in a race like this, that’s definitely something to be proud of,” he concludes.