Whether or not Tadej Pogacar will take part in Paris-Roubaix 2025 remains one of the lingering topics of debate in the cycling world. Has the final answer now been given by UAE Team Emirates – XRG’s Joxean Matxin though?
In an interview with Relevo, the UAE boss was once again asked for an update on the situation surrounding the Slovenian’s potential participation and Matxin was firm in his response. “The decision has already been made,” answers Matxin. “The decision on the sporting side has been made, but the communication has to be done by the team. The rest is simply speculation. The communications team is responsible for this task, and I don’t want to get into concepts I shouldn’t get into. I have the utmost respect for the communications team.”
One thing that is for certain, is Pogacar’s participation at Milano-Sanremo, even despite a crash at the recent Strade Bianche. “Look, it’s true that the first two days he was sore and had that discomfort after the fall. But well, every day he’s gotten a little better,” updates the UAE boss. “Honestly, I don’t know if he has any degree of pain or discomfort right now. I spoke with him this morning, but we haven’t fully analyzed it, because obviously the medical team and the trainers are responsible for that issue and that area.”
“Let’s see, he’ll be fine. I don’t know if he’ll be 100%, but he’ll be fine,” Matxin adds. “You’ve seen his level these past few days, and it’s obvious he’ll be fine for San Remo
Whether 2025 can be the year Pogacar finally gets the job done at Milano-Sanremo though, is another question. “Look, what’s clear is that a race of more than six hours, which is almost 290 kilometers with an average speed of 46 km/h… To actually decide it in five minutes is a very peculiar race, because in five minutes there are riders of the same quality, in many cases even superior to Tadej; call them Van Aert, Van der Poel, we have Jonathan Narváez, Mads Pedersen…” Matxin assesses. “Last year we held on to people like Philipsen, Matthews, I think we shouldn’t rule out a lot of very good cyclists. Filippo Ganna… I think all of them, none of us would be surprised if they were fighting in those decisive five minutes of the Poggio.”
“There are all kinds of possibilities in the world. It’s clear that the intensity of the race is determined by the race itself. Keep in mind that, as I said, last year we ran an average of 46 kilometres. Riding 46 kilometres on average means that between stops, key moments, and climbs, you’re running over 50 kilometres, and many times, practically 80% of the race,” Matxin concludes.
