Paris [France], April 11: Three days out from the third monument of the season, UAE Team Emirates-XRG presented its lineup for Paris-Roubaix, with Tadej Pogačar hoping to take a historic victory for the Emirati squad.
Already a winner of both Milano-Sanremo and the Ronde van Vlaanderen this season, Pogačar heads into Sunday's race as the current title holder of four of the five great cycling Monuments.
Were he to win on Sunday, he would become the first rider since Roger De Vlaeminck in 1979 to have won all five, totalling Milano-Sanremo, Ronde van Vlaanderen, Paris-Roubaix, Liege-Bastogne-Liege and Il Lombardia.
For Pogačar, Paris-Roubaix is the last Monument standing, and perhaps his ultimate test. It is a race once thought beyond the realms of reach for a rider that makes winning Grand Tours their bread and butter. In fact, last season, the Slovenian became the first reigning Tour de France champion to start Paris-Roubaix since Greg LeMond in 1991.
Such a fierce reputation did not faze Pogačar, who made his Roubaix debut for UAE Team Emirates-XRG in 2025, to much fanfare and intrigue. Eventually riding to second place behind the day's winner, Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Pogačar more than demonstrated his capabilities across cycling's most imposing terrain.
It might have been even more for the UAE Team Emirates-XRG man, had he not misjudged a corner with 38.1km to go and hit the deck. From that point on, victory was all but assured for Van der Poel, who rode to his third victory in succession.
Pogačar will be back at the start line in Compiegne alongside his teammates Florian Vermeersch, Nils Politt, Mikkel Berg, Sebastian Molano, Antonio Morgado, and Rui Oliveira.
Speaking ahead of the race, Pogačar is eager to take his confidence from the Ronde van Vlaanderen into a second start at Paris-Roubaix this weekend. "It's no secret that Paris-Roubaix is one of the big goals for this part of the season. The few races I've done so far have gone perfectly, so the motivation is high but the pressure is low.
Source: Emirates News Agency
