Pogacar leaves Hoole in awe on famous Flemish hill, just like in 2023: "That's really crazy"

The tall Dutch rider joined the Italian riders in the leading group of the moment, which included Tiesj Benoot and Stefan Küng. That had been Pedersen's advice. "In a previous attack, Mads was the only one at the front, and he told us we could join him. So I went to the front as quickly as possible and joined Trentin and Ganna. I followed them as long as I could until the Koppenberg. And then I tried to bring Mads back."

Pedersen had to let Pogacar and Mathieu van der Poel go on the Koppenberg but could count on his teammate. On top of the Bult van Melten, his teammate also encouraged him via the earpiece. "I shouted into the earpiece: come on, Mads, I can still bring you back. A little motivation," Hoole explains.

Before he could bring back leader Pedersen, Van der Poel and Pogacar had already passed him. Hoole had already experienced this on the Paterberg and now also on the Koppenberg. "It went pretty well. I could keep up with my group, but then I saw Mathieu and Pogi pass by. That's a... different speed, yes. And how often they can do that is really bizarre."

"Pogacar is a phenomenon, of course," Hoole explains. "When I had to slow down after the Koppenberg, that was it for me. But those guys can do that five or six times. He doesn't get tired. Impressive."

Lidl-Trek has the task of containing the Slovenian in Paris-Roubaix, according to Hoole. "They are both in top form, but it's great that this is also rewarded with a nice result. I think Roubaix suits us even better, and we also have Jonathan Milan. It looks promising," the fast rider concludes.