Spaghetti legs, but Pogačar doesn't blame bad luck: 'Dropping Van Aert was mission impossible'

Tadej Pogačar and his #striveforfive will have to wait another year. The Slovenian from UAE Team Emirates-XRG did not have a flawless Paris-Roubaix and ultimately had to bow to a rock-solid Wout van Aert in northern France. "Wout was super strong and smart" Pogačar said afterwards.

Did Pogačar lose the race because of bad luck? The Slovenian wanted none of it. "Most riders had plenty of problems. I punctured three times and had to change bikes three times."

"I'd already punctured once before at the front, but I was saved by the sealant in my tubular," Pogačar told Sporza. "But then I was riding at the back completely flat and couldn't continue."

He eventually had to carry on using a Shimano bike. "That was very uncomfortable. I then took my own bike back, but I punctured again. I had to use up a few bullets that I shouldn't have had to. But still, I enjoyed it. It was a beautiful race."

"We had a super strong team that brought me back before Arenberg. But by then I was already on the limit — there wasn't much freshness left in the legs," the world champion admited, after having to dig deep on the Haveluy sector.

In the end, he did manage to break apart the lead group — bar one man: Van Aert. "Dropping him on the cobbles felt like mission impossible. He also won on the Champs-Élysées," Pogačar recalled, referencing their duel on the final stage of last year's Tour de France.

'I still wanted to go on the Carrefour de l'Arbre, but the wind was against us and I had to gamble on my sprint,' the UAE team leader continued, speaking to Eurosport.

'When he first attacked, I thought I could counter, but he rode super strong and smart. We shared the work well. I kept hoping, but when I launched my sprint, my legs felt like spaghetti,' he said, producing a fine metaphor after 260 kilometres of racing.

'Will I come back? I can't say right now, but maybe. It's the hardest race of all,' said Pogačar, for whom The Hell of the North is the only Monument he still needs to win.

'Last year I had no bad luck and finished second. This year I did and I finish second again. Maybe next time it'll go better. Will I win here one day? I want to try,' he assured.

'Everyone who finishes second is disappointed, but we should be proud of how we rode as a team. I tried to beat Wout in the sprint. It didn't work, but it was a fantastic experience,' he concluded.