{"id":205080,"date":"2026-04-10T11:56:06","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T11:56:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=205080"},"modified":"2026-04-10T11:56:56","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T11:56:56","slug":"pogacar-and-van-der-poel-chase-history-and-each-other-in-paris-roubaix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2026\/04\/10\/pogacar-and-van-der-poel-chase-history-and-each-other-in-paris-roubaix\/","title":{"rendered":"Poga\u010dar and van der Poel Chase History \u2013 and Each Other \u2013 in Paris-Roubaix"},"content":{"rendered":"

After the parade of best one-day riders in last Sunday\u2019s Tour of Flanders, headed by the best of them, Tadej Poga\u010dar (UAE Team Emirates\u2013XRG), you might expect something similar in next Sunday\u2019s Paris-Roubaix. But don\u2019t. Paris-Roubaix has thrown up more unexpected winners than any other major race, including two \u2013 Mathew Hayman (2016) and Dylan van Baarle (2022) \u2013 who went from finishing last in the race to winning it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Who will make history?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

It is a race that requires patience, intelligence, stamina and, because of its vicious cobblestones \u2013 it\u2019s not called the \u201cHell of the North\u201d for nothing \u2013 superb bike-handling skills. Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin\u2013Premier Tech) has all those qualities and has won the race the past three years. If he wins it again this year, he will be the first rider to win the race four times. He stood before a similar record in the Tour of Flanders, but couldn\u2019t keep up with Poga\u010dar, who has won all three races he has entered this year.<\/p>\n

Paris-Roubaix<\/a> is now the only Monument the Slovenian has not won. If he wins on Sunday, he will join Eddy Merckx, Roger De Vlaeminck and Rik Van Looy\u00a0in the elite club of riders who have won all five Monuments (Milan\u2013San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge and Il Lombardia). It will also make him eligible to become the only rider to win all five in a calendar year.<\/p>\n

That is considered the most difficult feat in professional cycling. Only two riders have won as many as three Monuments in a calendar year, Merckx, who did it four times (1969, 1971, 1972, 1975), and Poga\u010dar, who did it last year. Oh boy, does Pogi want to win all five this year. You can tell by the way he\u2019s riding that he is on a mission, and that is the mission. But it\u2019s not going to be easy.<\/p>\n

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Zobrazit p\u0159\u00edsp\u011bvek na Instagramu<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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P\u0159\u00edsp\u011bvek sd\u00edlen\u00fd Paris-Roubaix Hauts-de-France (@parisroubaixcourse)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n