Tadej Pogačar has caused a stir in his recon for Paris-Roubaix. The three-time Tour de France winner rode 213 kilometres on Wednesday, setting Strava best times on several cobbled sectors. His performance on the infamous Carrefour de l'Arbre sector was particularly impressive, where he was just one second slower than Wout van Aert, who holds the KOM there. The 26-year-old Slovenian from UAE Team Emirates - XRG completed a large part of the Paris-Roubaix finale and then crossed the Belgian border to also ride the Oude Kwaremont and the Paterberg. These two climbs could play a decisive role in the Tour of Flanders 2025 next Sunday. However, the focus was clearly on preparing for Paris-Roubaix, where Pogačar will make his debut in 2025.
Tadej Pogačar's Paris-Roubaix exploration ride on Strava
Impressive performances on the cobblestones
Pogačar set several exclamation marks on the training ride. In the Strava segment Mons-en-Pévèle, a three-kilometre-long cobblestone section, he achieved the fastest time ever recorded on Strava with a time of 4 minutes and 27 seconds. He also took the KOMs on the Auchy-lez-Orchies à Bersée and Gruson sectors. Even more remarkable was his performance on the Carrefour de l'Arbre. Pogačar took exactly 2 minutes and 51 seconds on the two-kilometre sector - one second slower than Wout van Aert's time in the Paris-Roubaix race two years ago. These times give an idea of Pogačar's ambitions for his Paris-Roubaix debut. In recent years, the Slovenian has proven time and again that he can quickly find his way around unfamiliar terrain.
At this point, you will find external content that complements the article. You can display and hide it with a click.
Tadej Pogačar: The hunt for the fourth monument
A victory in Roubaix would mean the fourth Monument of cycling for Pogačar. So far, he has won the Tour of Flanders once, Liège-Bastogne-Liège twice and the Tour of Lombardy four times. Only Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix are still missing from his impressive collection.
With his appearance at Paris-Roubaix, Pogačar is challenging the established classics specialists such as Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel on their very own terrain. The two rivals are considered top favourites for the cobbled classic, but must now also have the Tour de France winner on their radar. The cycling world is now looking forward to 13 April, when Pogačar will make his debut at the "Hell of the North". His impressive training performances suggest that he could also be in contention for victory in this classic. Whether it will be enough for the big time remains to be seen.
