"When you’ve won two Grand Tours and a World Championship, you’ve earned the right to say: I don’t want to wait 5 more years" - Why Tadej Pogacar's at Paris-Roubaix in 2025

For the first time since the early 1990s, the defending Tour de France champion is set to compete at Paris-Roubaix in 2025 as Tadej Pogacar continues to rewrite the cycling rulebook. Despite the potential dangers of the iconic French cobbles though, the Slovenian has done more than enough to earn the right to do as he wishes according to sports director Aart Vierhouten.

According to Vierhouten, who worked with UAE Team Emirates - XRG in the past before his current role at Bahrain - Victorious, Pogacar's distant love affair with Paris-Roubaix is something that has been lingering for a long time. “It was the first year he was set to ride the Tour of Flanders. We did a lot of recon and testing over the cobbles that spring. And right after Flanders, we went straight on to scout the Tour de France route, which that year featured sections over the cobblestones of northern France,” he recalls back to 2022. “By the end of that week on the cobbles, we left with big smiles on our faces. And I still remember Tadej saying, ‘One day, I want to ride through that Trouée d'Arenberg.’”

That was three years ago though, so what has seen the all-conquering Slovenian play the waiting game when it comes to Roubaix? Quite simply, a focus on regaining the Tour de France. “That kind of thought does go through his head. He’s too much of a purist, too passionate, to not want it eventually. And when you watch him ride on the cobbles, it just looks so natural,” explains Vierhouten. “Back then you had a potential Tour winner talking about dreaming of Paris-Roubaix. Now he’s a three-time Tour winner. So the question is: do you keep pushing that dream further into the future?”

“I believe you should never limit a rider’s ambition to race something,” continues the 55-year-old Dutch sports director. “I see it as part of the trade-off — when you’ve won two Grand Tours and a World Championship, then you’ve earned the right to say, ‘I don’t want to wait five more years to race Roubaix — I want to do it now.’”

And when it comes to the race itself, Vierhouten is certain. Pogacar can most definitely win. “He doesn’t exactly have the body type you'd expect for Roubaix. But we’ve seen strange things happen in this sport," he smiles. "In the Tour, he had 25 kilometres of cobbles and handled it brilliantly. But 55 kilometres of cobbles in a 260-kilometre race? That’s a whole different beast. I’m really curious. We’ll see it all unfold.”