"When I see the form he's in..." - Tadej Pogacar's two right-hand men on how to set up Roubaix

UAE Team Emirates - XRG have a very strong team into Paris-Roubaix and in Tadej Pogacar have one of the absolute contenders for victory. In the French monument he is joined by Florian Vermeersch and Nils Politt, two men who have previously been close to victory, who are not tasked with supporting the World Champion's ambitions for victory.

"All the reconnaissance was done during the winter and even before that. It was already an enormous goal before he won Milan-Sanremo," Florian Vermeersch told IDLProCycling. The Belgian has had an incredible spring and in Flanders he finished within the best. In Roubaix, where he was second in 2021, the flat sectors suit him much better and after last year's fifth place, he can finish within the podium realistically.

"But of course there is a bit of extra pressure now. Fortunately, that pressure isn't on me," he joked, as Tadej Pogacar is the one whose eyes are on. "When I see the form he's in. But of course, if there's one race on the calendar where so much can happen and so much bad luck is involved, it's Roubaix. Creating a situation where he can fight for the win — that's the most important thing".

But they face an historical challenger in three-time winner Mathieu van der Poel, a premier bike handler, besides classics extraordinaire. "On flat cobbles, it's harder to ride someone off your wheel. Someone like Mathieu, with so many qualities — that's perhaps the most difficult challenge, yes. There are no uphill sections here. It's all about absolute power," Vermeersch points out. "That's why I think it's crucial to make it a hard race. We need to arrive in the finale with as much fatigue in everyone's legs as possible."

The plan is clear, and similar to that of the Tour of Flanders, where the team managed to successfully create enough damage before Tadej Pogacar launched the decisive attacks in the final hour of the race. Here chaos is constant, however the Belgian doesn't underestimate the importance of the Trouée d'Arenberg.

"That is a key moment in the race every year, where positioning is crucial. Last year the race was blown apart there too, and the riders who were on the wrong side of the split never got back into the race. I think that could well be the case again this year".

Vermeersch hasn't been silent on his ambitions during the spring and also proved to have the legs to chase them in Roubaix, but he knows that in Pogacar's team there is a hierarchy. "If I need to help Tadej and sacrifice my own chances of a podium in the process, I won't say no," he confirms. "The Tour of Flanders showed that once I've done my job and find my legs again, I can still ride to a result. I'm hoping for a bit of that tomorrow too."

Whilst Politt hasn't had a leading status throughout this spring, in a race like Roubaix it's impossible to overlook the importance of the German heavyweight, a rouleur by excellence, who thrives in the high-speed races. He has plenty experience in Roubaix, not only participating, bu in racing for victory, something Pogacar needs from his teammates.

"I've been here plenty of times and I've also been on the podium and finished in the top ten. Roubaix always has something special about it. You never know what can happen. There could be a crash, you could puncture at the worst possible moment," he warns.

And in Pogacar, he is quite confident, after the spring that the Emirati team's leader has been having. "He looks good, as we saw. He started three races and won all three, so he's definitely in excellent shape."