This is part of a mini-series exploring five of the major achievements missing from Tadej Pogačar’s already stunning palmarès: Milan-San Remo, Paris-Roubaix, the Vuelta a España, an Olympic title, and a record-equalling fifth Tour de France title.
Can he tick these off? We’re taking a closer look at each race to analyse his chances.
Tadej Pogačar hasn’t quite won it all in professional road cycling, but he’s not all that far off after seven years of racing at the top level.
The Slovenian has so far racked up Grand Tour wins at the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia, Monument wins at the Tour of Flanders, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Il Lombardia, various WorldTour stage race victories including Tirreno-Adriatico, Paris-Nice and Critérium du Dauphiné, other major one-dayers including Strade Bianche, Amstel Gold Race, La Flèche Wallonne, plus a couple of world titles to boot.
A short list of major races is currently missing from Pogačar’s palmarès, including the Vuelta a España, a clutch of other major stage races, Olympic titles and two of cycling’s Monuments.
We’ve already analysed his chances at one of the toughest challenges lying ahead of him in the shape of La Classicissima, Milan-San Remo. In the second part of our series, we’re looking at another momentous task – Paris-Roubaix.
Unlike his relationship with Milan-San Remo, there isn’t a long history between Pogačar and the Hell of the North. He has tried, and so far failed, to win the Italian Monument on five occasions, taking third place in each of the past two editions.
As such, he obviously has less experience on the harsh cobbles of the Nord, at a race where it’s said experience counts if you want to succeed. That maxim usually rings true, since few riders can turn up and compete at the sharp end of affairs straight away.
However, that obviously wasn’t the case for Pogačar, who raced a limited spring campaign – including only Flanders from the usual schedule of cobbled Classics – before heading to Roubaix for the first time as a pro.
It was a…
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