"We are not disappointed": UAE boss Gianetti gracious in defeat as Van Aert wins Paris-Roubaix

The Vélodrome in Roubaix erupted when Tadej Pogačar and Wout van Aert rode in together at Paris-Roubaix. The Belgian from Visma | Lease a Bike won, and almost everyone seemed delighted. Even UAE Team Emirates-XRG sported broad smiles, despite another second place for Pogačar. IDL Pro Cycling caught up with team boss Mauro Gianetti for a revealing conversation.

The Swiss greeted Pogačar on the infield in Roubaix and it did not take long for smiles to appear. Pogačar had to let Mathieu van der Poel go last year and yesterday lost the sprint to Van Aert. The team from the Emirates had made their peace with it. "We are not unhappy. Tadej wasted a lot of energy after his first puncture."

Gianetti was referring to a moment with 120 kilometres to go, when Pogačar had to get off his bike and even spent several minutes riding a blue Shimano neutral service bike. He eventually got a team bike back and fought his way to the front. "The peloton was riding at 60 kilometres per hour ahead of him. Getting back at that speed cost a lot of energy."

Pogačar did make it back, with help from an incredible Antonio Morgado. Nils Politt and Mikkel Bjerg also played their part, before Pogačar closed the final gap to the lead group himself. "Morgado and Politt were exhausted and could no longer help him after that. Tadej had to change bikes again, and it just went on and on. Exhausting, but everyone had their share of bad luck today."

"Everyone rode incredibly hard," Gianetti observed, refusing to pin it solely on Pogačar's misfortune. Van Aert, Mathieu van der Poel, Mads Pedersen and Filippo Ganna all punctured too. The two-up sprint on the Vélodrome was therefore a fair contest. "I think Van Aert was a bit fresher. He could benefit from the fact that Tadej put energy into staying away, which meant Van Aert had more left in the final sprint."

A possible puncture for Pogačar in the sprint itself was not discussed. Gianetti preferred to talk about Van Aert's fine victory. "Tadej was close again and will come back. We don't know when, but we have seen again that if we have a strong team and Tadej doesn't have to take the risks he took today, he can win. We are not disappointed with second place behind a great champion like Van Aert."

A great champion, then. That opened the floodgates for Gianetti's praise: "Wout works so hard for his victories. He was already in top form at Milan-Sanremo but had some bad luck. At the Tour of Flanders he was good, but perhaps not yet as strong as Mathieu and Tadej. On the flat, however, he was incredible today. He had a week to find his true peak form, and he managed it."

Was Gianetti secretly a little pleased at the finish that Van Aert had ticked off a great cobbled Monument? "We would rather have won ourselves, but I'm happy for him, because he deserves this. We congratulated him, because he is a very good person and a fantastic cyclist. He practises this sport with so much flair and presence."