On a 'Sunday in Hell' – as it is known – Tadej Pogačar became the first reigning Tour de France champion to podium Paris-Roubaix since Eddy Merckx in 1975. After a breathtaking battle with Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), the world champion finished second in the Roubaix Velodrome, writing his way into the history books.

 

As Van der Poel was able to celebrate a third victory in a row, Pogačar overcame mechanicals and an unfortunate crash to cross the line alone in second. Behind the race debutant, his UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammate Florian Vermeersch secured fifth place after a gutsy ride that saw him continue his fine spring Classics campaign.

 

Throughout the course of the afternoon, Pogačar and Van der Poel enjoyed a ding-dong contest for the ages, with both men producing a plethora of attacks and ensuring this would become an edition remembered in perpetuity.

 

After Pogačar, Van der Poel and Lidl-Trek's Mads Pedersen had blown the race to pieces heading into the Trouée d'Arenberg, it looked as though the winner might come from a select group. This became ever more likely as Pogačar and Van der Poel became a leading duo alone, but the world champion ran wide on a right-hand bend, allowing Van der Poel to take the initiative and ride to the finish alone.

 

Refusing to let the mishap damage his plans, Pogačar went full gas in pursuit of Van der Poel. Had it not been for a mechanical as the gap hovered at 20 seconds, the race might have drawn to a thrilling finale. As it was, the 26-year-old would have to change bikes and concentrate his efforts on securing second place. In doing so, he takes UAE Team Emirates-XRG's best-ever finish in the Monument known as 'the Hell of the North'

 

Earlier in the race, UAE Team Emirates-XRG had already shown face at the front before the first sector of cobbles, with Nils Politt and Tim Wellens looking to force their way into a breakaway. In the end, an eight-man move went up the road and the Emirati squad looked to make the race hard from behind. As wind threatened the creation of echelons in the early knockings, Pogačar went through-and-off at the head of the peloton, keen to offer himself sanctuary from misfortune.

 

With 150km yet to race, the Queen of the Classics was already in pieces, with the likes of Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers), Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) all suffering crashes or mechanicals. It was some 20km later that the race came to a further boil, with Politt making an attack, teammate António Morgado stretching things out and eventually, Pogačar himself going on the front foot.

 

His first attack of the day came in advance of the legendary Trouée d'Arenberg, with the Slovenian quick to shirk any doubts as to how he would fare at the toughest one-day race of the season. Like a duck to water, the three-time Tour de France champion moved over the cobblestones with grace befitting of the man in the rainbow jersey.

 

As Pogačar made his first acceleration, Van der Poel tracked his move with the eyes of a hawk. Soon, the pair would trade blows as the peloton was buckled by the pressure. Once the breakaway was mopped up, the leading group on the road consisted of Pogačar, Van der Poel, Philipsen, Pedersen and Stefan Bissegger (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), with Vermeersch riding strongly in the second group on the road.

 

With Pedersen the victim of a flat tyre, Pogačar went on the offensive once more, drawing out only Van der Poel at the head of the race. The pair would be joined by Philipsen and with 65km to go, the winner of this year's race was clearly sitting within the trio. Determined not to come to the finish with the two Alpecin-Deceuninck teammates, Pogačar dropped the hammer on the iconic Mons-en-Pévèle sector, finishing Philipsen off for good.

 

Just as it looked like nothing could seperate the winners of this year's Milano-Sanremo and the Tour of Flanders, Pogačar suffered a fatal blow. Carrying too much speed into a right-hand bend, the 26-year-old overshot the corner and ended up on the ground. Forced to change his bike in the midst of the chaos, the UAE Team Emirates-XRG man was given a sizeable task to remake contact with Van der Poel at the front.

 

This challenge was made all the more difficult by a further front-wheel puncture suffered by Pogačar, which proved the final blow in the battle for the day's victory. Alas, to his credit, the world champion marched on and left every ounce of energy on the road, as he came across the line in second. As the Slovenian fell to the ground inside the Roubaix Velodrome, he just had time to watch his teammate Vermeersch sprint to fifth place.

 

The Belgian had been involved in his own thrilling battle, but this one with Van Aert and Pedersen, with the three proving the strongest of the chasers behind. Coming to the finish alongside two men known for their sprinting prowess, Vermeersch did his best to show them a fresh pair of heels inside the final 20km, but it was not to be. Crossing the line in fifth, he could be proud of another fantastic display in what has been a mightily impressive debut Classics campaign in UAE Team Emirates-XRG colours.

 

Speaking to the media after the finish, the second-placed Pogačar reflected on a memorable debut outing at the Queen of the Classics.

 

Pogačar: 'Today was a great race for our team, with two guys in the top five. We can come back next year with a strong team again and be motivated to fight for victory over the next few years.

 

'[In regard to the crash] When you go full gas and motos are in front of you and they don't turn, you also think there is no turn. But suddenly they are just standing still... I should have known there was a corner coming. No excuses.

 

'Mathieu is a great champion and one of the best riders in the world. To race against him is a big honour. If I was a kid, he would be my idol. Racing against him is a strong motivation.

 

'You think it's a flat race, but in terms of power this is one of the hardest races I've ever done. This adds up with the cobbles and the stress to make it a very tough race. This experience will be useful in the future, for the race to feel less exhausting.

 

'When I was at the front with Mathieu and Jasper, I was thinking that it was not a good idea to come into the velodrome with two of the fastest riders in the world. So I was trying to make something happen.'