{"id":539238,"date":"2026-04-19T10:44:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T10:44:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/539238\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T10:44:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T10:44:10","slug":"when-pogacar-punctured-we-increased-the-pace-to-make-him-use-energy-and-teammates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/539238\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cWhen Pogacar punctured, we increased the pace to make him use energy and teammates\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nThe reaction in the immediate aftermath made the moment even more significant. Within UAE Team Emirates – XRG<\/a>, frustration was clear, with Mikkel Bjerg among those to speak out strongly against the tactics used by their rivals.<\/a><\/p>\n

His comments reflected a view held by parts of the peloton that, while not against the rules, such moves sit in a moral grey area. The idea that a race should not be actively accelerated when a key contender suffers misfortune remains an unwritten code in many situations.<\/p>\n

No waiting in Roubaix<\/p>\n

Mattio\u2019s position is clear and rooted in the nature of the race itself. \u201cRoubaix is the only race where you can do that. If we had to wait for everyone who punctures, we\u2019d still be at the first sector,\u201d he explained. \u201cIt\u2019s part of the game. When Van Aert punctured, nobody waited for him either.\u201d<\/p>\n

That framing removes the moral layer entirely. It becomes a race of circumstance, not etiquette. What happens on the cobbles is accepted, not judged.<\/p>\n

A tactic, not a reaction<\/p>\n

The move was not improvised in isolation. It fitted within a broader approach from Visma, who had already committed to making the race as hard as possible from an early point.<\/p>\n

The initial plan had been to isolate the key favourites, Pogacar and Mathieu van der Poel, through sustained pressure across the sectors. Even after Wout van Aert suffered a puncture of his own and the plan had to be adjusted, that aggressive mindset remained.<\/p>\n

By the time Pogacar hit trouble, the race was already in a phase where hesitation carried its own risk. For Mattio and his team-mates, the decision was immediate and logical.<\/p>\n

The role behind the move<\/p>\n

Mattio\u2019s perspective is also shaped by the responsibility he carried on the day. \u201cThat\u2019s why I was the rider who always had to stay close to Wout,\u201d he explained. \u201cWith similar measurements, I could have given him my bike straight away.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is a detail that underlines his function within the team. Not just another rider in support, but a direct, like-for-like backup option in the most critical phases of the race.<\/p>\n

That responsibility placed him at the heart of the action when the race began to fracture, and explains why his account of the Pogacar moment carries added weight.<\/p>\n

\"Wout<\/p>\n

Wout Van Aert at the 2026 Paris-Roubaix<\/p>\n

Control at the front<\/p>\n

There was also a tactical context behind the decision. \u201cThere was a selection that reduced the group to around forty riders. We had five riders there, so everything was going perfectly,\u201d Mattio said.<\/p>\n

That numerical strength allowed Visma to dictate the race alongside Alpecin-Premier Tech<\/a>, increasing the pace at a moment when one of their main rivals was vulnerable.<\/p>\n

Pogacar was forced to chase back after the puncture, expending energy and resources that would later shape the finale. The Slovenian still recovered to contest the race at the front, but the cost of that effort has been widely discussed.<\/p>\n

From Arenberg to the finish<\/p>\n

Mattio\u2019s own race adds another layer to the story. \u201cI did my final pull before the Forest, and from that moment my race was over,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Tasked with staying as close as possible to Van Aert through the key phases, the Italian had fulfilled his role just before the race exploded across the Forest of Arenberg.<\/p>\n

Even from behind, the scale of what was unfolding remained clear. \u201cI thought it would be really hard for him, but I didn\u2019t think he was out of it,\u201d Mattio said of Van der Poel. \u201cOver the radio we were getting time gaps and he was always coming back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those details underline just how fluid the situation remained, even after key incidents had reshaped the race.<\/p>\n

A defining moment in a chaotic race<\/p>\n

That sequence has since become one of the defining talking points of the race. The criticism that followed has ensured it remains a central part of the post-race narrative, highlighting the tension between tradition and competitive instinct. The question is not whether the move was allowed, but whether it should have been made.<\/p>\n

Mattio\u2019s version cuts through that tension with a different perspective. There is no suggestion of doubt, and no indication that anything would have been done differently.<\/p>\n

The wider conversation is unlikely to fade quickly. Paris-Roubaix has always operated with its own rules, both written and unwritten. What this edition has done is bring those boundaries back into focus. Was it ruthless? Or simply correct?<\/p>\n

Mattio\u2019s answer is clear. In Roubaix, there is no waiting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The reaction in the immediate aftermath made the moment even more significant. Within UAE Team Emirates –…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":539239,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[143965,4985,110509,185996,101,8782,36242,12183,56,54,55,8783],"class_list":{"0":"post-539238","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-alpecin-premier-tech","9":"tag-cycling","10":"tag-paris-roubaix","11":"tag-pietro-mattio","12":"tag-sports","13":"tag-tadej-pogacar","14":"tag-team-visma-lease-a-bike","15":"tag-uae-team-emirates-xrg","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom","18":"tag-unitedkingdom","19":"tag-wout-van-aert"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/539238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=539238"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/539238\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/539239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=539238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=539238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=539238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}