Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates): “I may come back to Paris-Roubaix next year”

April 13 ^th 2025 - 17:36

“I was focused on trying to follow the motorbikes when I crashed. I just didn’t see the corner coming, and couldn’t brake in time to avoid crashing. Shit happens. I believed I could come back, but the gap was all the time around 15”, and my front brake was touching the wheel. That played in my mind, and I sort of cracked a bit. By the time I changed bikes, I had already exploded and was just hoping to reach the finish line as quickly as possible.”

“I may come back to Paris-Roubaix next year. There are still a lot of goals left this season, so I don’t want to start thinking of the next one already. Today’s was a great race for our team, with 2 guys in the final top5. We can come back with a strong team again and be motivated to fight for victory over the next few years. I liked the atmosphere, with an amazing amount of people on the roadside. It was a great day of racing.”

“Mathieu [van der Poel] and Alpecin-Deceuninck were pretty strong throughout the race. Also Lidl-Trek was, and had Mads [Pedersen] not punctured he would have been up there too. Anyway, Mathieu was the strongest in the cobbles and rode incredibly well today. He is a great champion and one of the best riders in the world. To race against him is a big honor and a great motivation. If I was a kid, he would be my idol.”