<\/div>\n
Tadej Poga\u010dar got \u201cspaghetti legs\u201d and was outsprinted by Wout van Aert at Paris-Roubaix after he pedaled a \u201cwheelbarrow\u201d across the heinous pav\u00e9<\/em>.<\/p>\n \n At least, that\u2019s how the UAE Emirates superstar described his wild ride through the Hell of the North on Sunday in quotes that have recently emerged from Slovenian media.<\/p>\n Poga\u010dar\u2019s quest to complete the monument sweep began to unravel when he was forced to take a Shimano neutral service bike he believes was better suited to gardening.<\/p>\n \u201cI had a front puncture for a while, but when I also had a puncture on the rear tire, I couldn\u2019t go any further, so I had to change my bike,\u201d Poga\u010dar told Slovenian outlet RTV Slo<\/em> on Sunday.<\/p>\n \u201cI got some \u2018karjolo\u2019 [slang for wheelbarrow \u2013 ed<\/em>] from Shimano,\u201d he quipped. \u201cI could ride a little, but I had to change the bike again.<\/p>\n \u201cThen the chase started, and I punctured again.\u201d<\/p>\n Poga\u010dar was forced to take a neutral service bike 120km from the finish Sunday when he punctured on the cobbles of Qu\u00e9r\u00e9naing.<\/p>\n The UAE Emirates team car was way back, forcing King Pog to suffer what the peloton sees as \u201cthe last resort\u201d \u2013 riding a Shimano neutral service bike.<\/p>\n Video from a fan of Poga\u010dar\u2019s bike change.<\/p>\n \ud83c\udfa5: sjavie_ pic.twitter.com\/MHOhhGXsZX<\/p>\n \u2014 Luk\u00e1\u0161 Ronald Luk\u00e1cs (@lucasaganronald) April 13, 2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Shimano cars are loaded with unbranded blue bikes that are fitted with different pedal systems and a dropper post. In theory, the cars can provide a lifeline to riders using any cleat system, and of any size.<\/p>\n Only it seems Poga\u010dar didn\u2019t get the memo and overlooked the dropper.<\/p>\n \u201cI was able to start my chase, but it had been a long time since I\u2019d ridden a Shimano bike. The saddle height wasn\u2019t right,\u201d he told Slovenian media.<\/p>\n \u201cThe wheels weren\u2019t suitable for the terrain either. So I had to switch again.\u201d<\/p>\n The rest is history.<\/p>\n The Mercxk-chasing modern GOAT still had the legs to chase back to set up the thrilling final with Van Aert, but by then, his legs were noodles.<\/p>\n A frantic pursuit and \u2013 who knows, maybe 6km riding a bike that didn\u2019t fit \u2013 had cooked his quads.<\/p>\n \u201cI still had hope in the sprint. But when I started the sprint my legs were like spaghetti,\u201d Poga\u010dar said in his finish line interview.<\/p>\n Shimano doesn\u2019t build its own frames, so it sources its neutral fleet externally before it debadges them and daubs them in bold blue.<\/p>\n The exact brand and model of bike is a closely-guarded secret, however, it\u2019s clear that they\u2019re no Pogi-approved team-issue Colnago Y1RS.<\/p>\n It\u2019s widely believed they\u2019re a very dated Canyon Endurace.<\/p>\n Speaking to Sporza<\/em>, former Roubaix champion turned Shimano driver Servais Knaven hinted that the need to fit a dropper post keeps the bikes in the past.<\/p>\n \u201cWe use bikes with dropper posts, so the riders can easily adjust their saddle height using the handlebars,\u201d Knaven told Sporza<\/em>. \u201cOtherwise, you have to use an Allen key all the time.<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, for the dropper we use, you need a round seatpost. They\u2019re rarely made these days,\u201d he said. \u201cShould we ever purchase new frames in the future, that would be a challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n Poga\u010dar might hope those frames get an upgrade from \u201cwheelbarrows\u201d before he returns to the pav\u00e9<\/em>.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n [analyse_source url=”https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/news\/pogacar-shimano-bikes-wheelbarrows-roubaix\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2270504018-1.jpg”] Jim Cotton Updated April 15, 2026 08:44AM Tadej Poga\u010dar got \u201cspaghetti legs\u201d and was outsprinted by Wout van Aert at Paris-Roubaix after he pedaled a \u201cwheelbarrow\u201d across the heinous pav\u00e9. At least, that\u2019s how the UAE Emirates superstar described his wild ride through the Hell of the North on Sunday in quotes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,71],"class_list":["post-1885288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-velo-outsideonline-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1885288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1885288"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1885288\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1885288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1885288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1885288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
Poga\u010dar held back by wrong saddle height, bad wheels<\/h2>\n
Shimano neutral service bikes: The last resort for the stranded<\/h2>\n
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