Tadej Pogačar Plays It Cool, But Paris-Roubaix Is the One He Wants

Tadej Pogačar roars into Paris-Roubaix on the brink of history, but he’s the first to point out the obvious — he hasn’t won it yet.

The world champion has ripped through the 2026 season unbeaten, yet on the eve of cycling’s most brutal one-day race, he looks as chilled as ever.

It’s just that everyone else is getting worked up.

A victory Sunday would make the Slovenian only the fourth pro cyclist to win all five of the brutal one-day monuments, a kind of grand slam of the peloton that would put him in the pantheon of cycling gods.

That’s cycling’s ultimate club, but Pogi’s not buying it.

“Everybody talks about some sort of club, but it’s a monument, and we go for the win, as we do in any race we start,” Pogačar said Saturday. “We didn’t succeed yet, so for us it would be amazing if we can win it, but we don’t sit on the bus or eat dinner and talk about some club.”

He might not, but everyone else is.

Paris-Roubaix is so brutal that no Tour de France winner has won it since Bernard Hinault in the 1980s. Most skinny yellow jersey chasers have wanted no part of it.

Yet he almost did win last year if it wasn’t for that “corner,” which he overcooked late in the race just when he had Mathieu van der Poel on the ropes.

‘Hunger for victory is strong’

Pogačar insists little has changed since his improbable debut here last year, which blew cycling’s collective mind.

In Compiègne, his thoughts were on the Roubaix finish line, but not on what it all might mean.

“We changed a bit the equipment, but the rest is the same,” Pogacar said. “There is a bit more experience from me, and the motivation is the same, and the hunger for victory is strong.

“It’s one of the toughest races to finish, so to fight for the victory is difficult. It’s a hell of a course.”

Less than 24 hours before the start in Compiègne, Pogačar enters the most difficult race for him to win with Buddha-like calm.

Nothing appears to rattle him. Not even Roubaix.

“It’s one of the hardest races I’ve ever done, and tomorrow is the same. The biggest challenge is the cobbles and surviving the sectors,” Pogačar said. “I think it’s possible to win tomorrow but dropping Mathieu is going to be hard.”

That “Mathieu” is Mathieu van der Poel, the reigning master of the cobbles who’s won three straight Roubaix’s.

The Dutchman has made clear he intends to take the fight head-on, setting up the next round in a heavyweight clash that has defined the modern era.

Still, the consensus across the paddock is that Pogačar is the man to beat.

“We are seeing something special with Tadej racing because he is one of the best ever, so yes, he can win tomorrow and I think he can if he’s not unlucky,” said John Degenkolb, a former Roubaix winner. “Those two are stronger than everyone else right now. The rest can only hope to try to find an opening.”

Inside the UAE Emirates-XRG bus, the belief is absolute. The squad is fully committed to delivering Pogačar to the Roubaix velodrome in a position to win.

“Tadej is feeling good, and he was very fast on the cobbles the other day in recon,” said teammate Nils Politt, also a Roubaix podium finisher. “We all start with the idea of helping Tadej win. I think he can do it, and tomorrow is a good chance for him to make history.”

‘Not an obsession’

Wins at Strade Bianche, Milan-San Remo and Tour of Flanders have made even the final holdouts admit that Pogačar is one of the greats.

Watching Pogačar race on Sunday is like living cycling’s version of the days of Michael Jordan’s dominance or Rafael Nadal ruling the courts.

The Pogačar Show arrived Saturday to Compiègne, the leafy ex-burb that is the unlikely start of cycling’s unlikeliest race. He is sporting some fresh platinum blonde touches, and he made the rounds with his trademark carefree vibe.

Crowds pressed in for a glimpse of cycling’s latest alpha. Security pushed fans out of the way as he slipped into the team car.

Just like he is on the bike, he was calm and composed amid the frenzy that he provokes around him.

For all the hype, Pogačar is more bemused than annoyed about all the fuss. He stops for selfies, signs autographs, and lives in the moment.

It’s only the thrill of the hunt that motivates Pogačar now.

“I hope I learned something from last year and I can fight for the win again,” he said when asked what Roubaix means. “No, not obsession, no.”

Maybe it’s not an obsession, but it’s starting to feel like inevitability.

In less than 24 hours, Pogačar will hit the cobbles again, chasing the final victory that would cement his place among cycling’s immortals.