Tadej Pogacar: “I will definitely come back to win this race”

April 12 ^th 2026 - 17:58

Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) finished 2nd in the 2026 Paris-Roubaix Hauts-de-France.

“Wout van Aert deserves this victory for how he always comes back from every setback. He never gives up and he should be a hero for many young kids because of how he rides.” “Every time I tried to drop Wout, my legs were not the greatest anymore. He always could ride back to my wheel. I could feel it was not meant for me today to drop him before the sprint. And, as for the sprint, well - it was great to see from up close how fast he can be after so many efforts.”

“There were a lot of flat tires today. When I first punctured, I rode for a while on a half-empty tire, and broke my rear wheel as a result so I had to take a Shimano bike. Afterwards I had to ride across groups, and the team made a great effort to bring me back to the front. I had to spend a lot of energy because I wanted to reach the head of the race before Arenberg - otherwise, it would have been much more difficult to make it to the front. Some kilometers later I had one more puncture. Every problem means a waste of energy, but this is how this race goes. I don’t regret anything.”

“I will definitely come back to Roubaix. Maybe not next year, but I have many years left in my sporting career to try and win this race. I’ll come back for this victory.”

“There is always something you could have done differently. Right now, so close after the race, I just feel I did my best. Maybe tomorrow, once the dust is settled, I will realise I could have done something better. But, right now, I feel I did my best and have no regrets.”

“I find it very cool, how we [Van Aert, Van der Poel, himself ... - ed.] race together. I really like when everybody races with their heart on their sleeve, doing their best without trying to flick others. Sometimes it’s better to sit back and save some legs, but I love making the race hard and have a lot of respect for those who do the same.”