Tadej Pogacar responds to alternate take on his crash in Roubaix: "It's good that you mention it…"

Countless words have been written about the participation or non-participation of Pogacar in the most iconic one-day race on the calendar. On Sunday, he was there - on his initiative - and how. From the moment the peloton hit the first cobblestones, last year's Tour de France winner was riding at the front of the race.

Together with Mathieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen (and Mads Pedersen and Stefan Bissegger, who had been affected by bad luck at an earlier stage), the Slovenian seemed to be heading for victory at the Vélodrome in the northern French city. After Philipsen was forced to drop out, the situation changed again. Pogacar, however, did not take the corner well and single-handedly changed the race scenario. He was unable to catch up and had to settle for second place. What did he have to say at his press conference?

Tadej, how would you describe your introduction to this race as a professional?
"I think it was a great race as a team. We finished second and fifth, which shows that we can return next year with a strong and highly motivated team. I want to fight for victory in the coming years."

How tired are you, and how does racing on cobblestones impact your body?
"It is a flat race, but based on my abilities, this will be one of the toughest races I have ever done. The body has a lot to process on the cobblestones, so I certainly put it among the most difficult races I have raced. But I can use that experience next time, too."

Can you compare it to the 2023 World Championships in Glasgow, where you were also completely exhausted?
"I think so. Although I probably rode at even higher wattages here, there were fewer short sprints."

Did you think about the Tour de France during this race?
"Not for a second. That's still so far away. I just enjoyed this race as much as I could."

We all saw your crash. The motorbikes were positioned in a certain way; did that influence the situation?
"It's good that you mention it. When you're riding full throttle, you focus on the motorbikes. And when they don't take the corner, you think there is no corner. And then suddenly they were very close because they were standing still... (laughs) I should have known, so I'm not using it as an excuse."

You and Mathieu have battled it out a lot in recent weeks. How do you look back on that?
"Mathieu is a great champion. He is one of the world's best riders, and it is a great honor for me to race against him. I have said it before, but if I were a child, Mathieu would be my idol."

How did you communicate when the three of you were at the front?
"Normally, we rode there with three potential winners. I thought to myself: should I now ride to Roubaix with two of the fastest guys in the world? That didn't seem like a good idea, but Jasper was dropped. But Mathieu turned out to be too strong. It was as simple as that."

You won't be competing against Mathieu again until the Tour de France. Are you disappointed about that?
"Don't be greedy. Enjoy our performance in these races, and we will meet different opponents in the other races."

Pogacar will normally start the Amstel Gold Race on Sunday and then compete in the Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.