{"id":590630,"date":"2026-04-07T05:47:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T05:47:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/590630\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T05:47:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T05:47:13","slug":"for-tadej-to-drop-riders-clinging-onto-his-wheel-like-a-blanket-thats-a-difficult-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/590630\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cFor Tadej to drop riders clinging onto his wheel like a blanket, that’s a difficult one\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nParis-Roubaix removes that dynamic almost entirely. \u201cIt is a different animal again,\u201d Kelly said on TNT Sports<\/a>, turning immediately to the tactical demands of the race. \u201cTactics is a big thing, how to ride on the cobbles, where to ride, and you don\u2019t have those killer climbs with cobblestones.\u201d<\/p>\n

Without those natural selection points, the race becomes far less about sharp, explosive efforts and far more about positioning, resilience and sustained power over flat sectors. \u201cIt is not huge power output, it is gradual power over all the cobble sections,\u201d added the nine-time Monument winner, underlining how the nature of the effort changes across the race.<\/p>\n

That shift opens the door to a broader group of contenders surviving deep into the finale. \u201cThat is where a lot more riders are going to be into the equation,\u201d he continued, before arriving at the key limitation for Pogacar. \u201cFor Tadej to get rid of all those riders clinging onto his wheel like a blanket, that is a difficult one.\u201d<\/p>\n

A race that brings others into play<\/p>\n

The same theme was picked up by TNT Sports colleague Matt Stephens, who pointed to Roubaix as a race that naturally reduces the advantage of a rider who relies on climbing to make the difference.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou level the playing field a bit, and especially when you throw the likes of Filippo Ganna in the mix,\u201d Stephens said, highlighting how the pool of contenders expands compared to Flanders. \u201cIt is going to suit the bigger riders, the heavier riders; it is a bit more about absolute power, and Tadej does not have the same top-end as those bigger riders, that is why he has to go on the climbs.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Roubaix, those climbs simply are not there to be used in the same way.<\/p>\n

Stephens also pointed back to last year\u2019s edition to illustrate how those differences play out on the road. \u201cTechnically as well, as we saw last year Tadej did not exactly throw it away, but he was outclassed in terms of technique and on the completely flat roads he was outgunned, outpowered by Van der Poel.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Paris\u2013Roubaix<\/p>\n

Van der Poel leads Pogacar and the peloton on the cobbles in 2025<\/p>\n

A much closer contest expected<\/p>\n

Despite Pogacar\u2019s recent dominance, the expectation is that Roubaix will bring the gap back towards equilibrium. \u201cI think they are very close in form, next week is going to be very, very exciting,\u201d Stephens added, before offering a clear contrast to what was seen in Flanders. \u201cI just think it will be a much closer affair.\u201d<\/p>\n

That outlook aligns with Kelly\u2019s reading of the race, where the difficulty lies not in making one decisive move, but in being able to repeat it enough times to shed every rival.<\/p>\n

Why Van der Poel still holds the edge<\/p>\n

Kelly\u2019s conclusion reflects that broader context rather than recent results alone. \u201cI think Mathieu van der Poel,\u201d the Irishman said when asked to name his favourite, leaning on both experience and the specific demands of the race.<\/p>\n

Even after Pogacar\u2019s victories in both Milano-Sanremo and the Tour of Flanders<\/a>, Roubaix presents a different set of problems.<\/p>\n

The climbs that allow him to break the race apart are replaced by long, flat sectors where rivals can hold position, absorb pressure and remain in contention. And in that environment, the question is no longer who can attack, but who can endure when everyone is still there.<\/p>\n

For Kelly, that remains a scenario that continues to favour Van der Poel.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Paris-Roubaix removes that dynamic almost entirely. \u201cIt is a different animal again,\u201d Kelly said on TNT Sports,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":590631,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[64,63,784,77973,165754,202303,85,6494,167262],"class_list":{"0":"post-590630","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-cycling","11":"tag-mathieu-van-der-poel","12":"tag-paris-roubaix","13":"tag-sean-kelly","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-tadej-pogacar","16":"tag-tour-of-flanders"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/590630","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=590630"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/590630\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/590631"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=590630"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=590630"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=590630"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}