But the Slovenian’s hopes of setting yet another cycling record were plunged into doubt when he dropped off the leading group at the 22nd pave sector on Sunday, with his puncture causing chaotic scenes on the narrow roads at Querenaing a Maing with 120km to go. <\/p>\n
“Pogacar with an issue here. 120km to go,” TNT Sports commentator Rob Hatch said. “Tadej Pogacar has a serious issue\u2026 it\u2019s a puncture.<\/p>\n
“This could be race-defining for Pogacar, he\u2019s a long way back from the cars. They\u2019ve done everything perfectly.”<\/p>\n
The UAE team car had long gone at the point Pogacar pulled up on the right-hand side of the road, with his rivals streaming past him. And such was the composition of the race that the only aid available to him in order to continue his pursuit for history was the Shimano neutral service bike.<\/p>\n
![\"picture\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-c3d46009-47ba-4fb8-acb5-18f31fa454f1-85-2560-1440.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
‘It was not even cobbles’ – Pogacar explains recon crashes before Paris-Roubaix<\/p>\n
Video credit: TNT Sports<\/p>\n
By this point, Pogacar had been caught by the second bunch – his equipment issue appearing to throw his title hopes into tatters. For the race dubbed ‘Hell of the North’, its punishing nature was taking its toll on sport’s most dominant force.<\/p>\n
“Any problem you have in Paris-Roubaix, on these sectors, with what\u2019s happening in front of you, is magnified,” Hatch said. “It\u2019s doubled, tripled. It can become an absolute nightmare. And just exactly why Pogacar has been riding the front.” <\/p>\n
But TNT Sports expert Matt Stephens felt Pogacar made the sensible decision to continue moving in the race, despite grappling with an unfamiliar bike.<\/p>\n
“He\u2019s done the right thing,” Stephens said on commentary. “He needs to keep riding until his car moves up. There wasn\u2019t enough of a gap to put team cars in between, that\u2019s all he had. <\/p>\n
“But he\u2019s moving. In Paris-Roubaix, you just have to keep moving the best you can until you can get that service. It looks like the seat height is too high for Tadej, it\u2019s way too high.”<\/p>\n
An increasingly disgruntled Pogacar continued for just shy of 5km – around seven minutes – on the Shimano, and he appeared tetchy, frantically looking around for an opportune moment to re-mount a UAE bike.<\/p>\n
Stephens, meanwhile, was concerned with the manner in which the UAE team car was approaching the two-time world champion.<\/p>\n
“The team car should be at the back of that group, not in the middle of it,” Stephens said. “It shouldn\u2019t be overtaking riders as they get to him, he should drop back. But these are all things we can say in relative calm. This is panic stations now.”<\/p>\n
Pogacar eventually found the opportune moment to return to his more familiar saddle, in a frantic changeover as he pulled up alongside the UAE car. <\/p>\n
![\"picture\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-e7c3c9d1-b5d4-45e4-98fd-348d8393b707-85-2560-1440.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
‘Catastrophic!’ – Van der Poel suffers double puncture on the Arenberg Trench<\/p>\n
Video credit: TNT Sports<\/p>\n
And he was seen shouting as he pulled away once more, an uncommon show of frustration from the sport’s most imperious figure.<\/p>\n
“Pogacar is obviously rattled by this,” Hatch observed. “He is rattled, he is desperate to get back going again. He shouts, he screams. Rarely do we see Tadej Pogacar like this.”<\/p>\n
There was yet more drama later in Sunday’s gruelling spectacle as three-time champion Mathieu van der Poel – bidding for his own slice of history – suffered a double puncture on the Arenberg Trench.<\/p>\n
While Pogacar battled back admirably to pull himself into contention for the Paris-Roubaix crown, he was pipped on the final bend by Wout van Aert who fell to the ground in tears of joy upon crossing the line first.<\/p>\n