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Tadej Pogačar is not a rider who shows up just to fill the start list. When he lines up for his first Paris-Roubaix this Sunday, it won’t be for the experience—it will be for victory. The reigning Tour de France champion is the first winner of the yellow jersey to race “The Hell of the North” since Bradley Wiggins in 2014, and the first defending champion to do so since Greg LeMond over three decades ago. That alone speaks to his ambition.
Pogačar has already shattered the mold of a traditional Grand Tour specialist. He dominates on alpine climbs, but he also conquers the cobbles of Flanders, wins Strade Bianche solo, and outkicks the best in one-day finishes. He doesn’t respect the old boundaries of cycling—he obliterates them. So why wouldn’t he believe he can win the toughest Classic of them all?
Paris-Roubaix, however, is unlike anything he has faced before. The sheer brutality of the race—the jagged pavé, the high-speed chaos, the punctures, crashes, and luck—makes it unpredictable even for the strongest rider. And yet, Pogačar’s presence alone shifts the odds. The reigning world champion never enters a race just to participate, and when he commits to something, he finds a way to make it work.
The challenge is immense. He’ll be up against Roubaix specialists who have spent years mastering the nuances of the race: the positioning before every sector, the ability to float over the cobbles, and the tactical survival instincts needed to reach the velodrome first. But Pogačar has already outclassed these same riders in other Monument classics. The last time he debuted in a race as demanding as this—Tour of Flanders in 2022—he nearly won. A year later, he did win.
With UAE Team Emirates fine-tuning his preparation, and the lessons he has learned from past cobbled races, the biggest question isn’t whether Pogačar can handle Roubaix—it’s whether the race can handle Pogačar. Because when he sets his sights on history, he usually makes it happen.