“With him, everything is possible”

Paris-Roubaix is ​​not all cobblestones and brutality. It is also the place where you can breathe the purest essence of cycling, the one that can only be perceived in France and Flanders. This Sunday, on that same stage, Tadej Pogacar will try to make history again in a sport in which, for many, he is already the best of all time. In the ‘Hell of the North’, the Slovenian will seek to continue writing his name in golden letters if he achieves a milestone that has only been achieved by four runners in history: Fausto Coppi, Felice Gimondi, Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault. These four cyclists, who dominated cycling from the 1940s to 1980, have been the only ones, so far, to raise their arms in Paris-Roubaix, the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia.

Of all of them, Coppi was the first to shine. The one from Castellania completed this ‘treble’ in 1950, the year in which he beat Maurice Diot on a 250 kilometer route in the north of France. It was Italians. In 1967, Gimondi went down in history after winning a Giro d’Italia that allowed him to obtain a triptych that is only available to the chosen ones.

However, The level increased with the arrival of a Merckx who appeared willing to break the rules of the game.The Belgian completed his trilogy in the 1969 Tour de France after having won the Giro and the 1968 Roubaix. So far, the last to join this select club was Hinault. In his case, his season was 1981, the year in which he won the ‘Hell of the North’ after having been crowned twice in France – 1978 and 1979 – and once in Italy – 1980 -.

France, same country and completely different essences

They are held in the same country, but the Tour de France and Paris-Roubaix could not be more different. For this reason, the list of runners who have managed to go down in the history of both races is very small—only 15 cyclists. Much of the blame lies in the fact that, as the years have gone by, the number of athletes who have achieved victory in both events has been drastically reduced. This means that, of those 15, 66.7% had signed the victory before 1950 or that same year.

The remaining 33.3% is made up of five cyclists, all of them born in the 20th century: Louison Bobet, Felice Gimondi, Jan Janssen, Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault. This information is not a simple conjecture, but confirmation that The sport has evolved towards a much more specialized model, in which the runners are classic or ‘Grand Tour’ enthusiasts. At least it had been that way until the arrival of Tadej Pogacar, who has arrived to break the mold.

With the 2025 Tour under his arm, the one from Klanec lands in the ‘Hell of the North’ ready to achieve a feat that has only been witnessed on six occasions: win in Roubaix after having won the yellow jersey. This milestone was completed by five runners: Octave Lapize (1911), Fausto Coppi (1950), Louison Bobet (1955), Felice Gimondi (1966) and Eddy Merckx (1970 and 1973).

One of the data that confirms this evolution mentioned above comes from Bernard Hinault.The Frenchman, who raised his arms at the Roubaix velodrome in 1981, was the last rider to win on its cobblestones, having won the ‘Grande Boucle’. Since then, 45 years and nothing. It is true that it has not occurred because it has not been attempted, but because of its extreme difficulty.

Of the 64 cyclists who have reigned on the Champs-Elysées, 31 have started in Compiègne. Of those 31, the 15 mentioned above have triumphed, but another 16 have been left at the doors. Some of the most famous cases are recent: Geraint Thomas, who participated six times without success, and Bradley Wiggins, who participated eight times and, despite being a great classicomaniac, fortune did not smile on him. In fact, there are more Tour winners who have never participated in Paris-Roubaix (18) than there are cyclists who have managed to win both events (15). Next to nothing.

Although it may seem contradictory, Paris-Roubaix is ​​the Monument in which the most riders who have won the Tour de France have managed to win. The podium is completed by the Giro de Lombardia with 12 and the Milan–San Remo with 11; For its part, in the last two places, we find Liège-Bastogne-Liège (7) and the Tour of Flanders (3). This year, Pogacar will seek to add a figure to each of these races.

Motivation is high, but pressure is low

Tadej Pogacar

“It’s no secret that Paris-Roubaix is ​​one of the big goals of the season. The few races I’ve done so far have gone perfectly; so the motivation is high, but the pressure is low”highlighted Pogacar. As it is, the Slovenian does not appear with the need to win, but with the intention of enjoying: “I’m going to have a good time, regardless of the result, because I really want to have a great weekend of racing. We have a very solid team and riders who already know what it’s like to get on the podium here, so I’m not the only one with a chance of achieving a good result.”

Giro winners have it even more difficult

He does not arrive as the current winner of the Giro d’Italia, but Pogacar lands with the ‘Corsa Rosa’ 2024 on his resume. However, if the number of winners of Tour and Roubaix is ​​small, that of the Italian round and the cobblestone race is even smaller. Of the 71 runners who have claimed victory in Italy, only five have triumphed in ‘The Hell of the North’; that is, 7%.

Of these five, three are Italian: Fausto Coppi, Felice Gimondi and Francesco Moser, all of them winners from 1950 onwards.As it could not be otherwise, the remaining two are Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault. A very meager number, even more so if we take into account that 24 other winners of the ‘Corsa Rosa’ have tried without success. Of all of them, the most recent have been Chris Froome – who abandoned his only participation – and Hesjedal.

In his eagerness to check off all the boxes on his record, the Slovenian faces Roubaix for the second time in his sporting career. Experience in the ‘Hell of the North’ usually plays a crucial role – proof of this is Van der Poel, who won in his third participation. In an interview given to ‘El Farolillo Rojo’, Imanol Erviti spoke about the possibility of winning in the velodrome at the first opportunity: “It is not easy, but with this man everything is possible, and even more so in this era. In the end, today, you can do a lot of reconnaissance, have access to a lot of information, have the best material and appropriate set-up… Everything has evolved a lot and now there are more means available. In that sense, the difference narrows a bit. With a talent like him, anything is possible.”

It’s not easy, but with this man everything is possible, and even more so in this time

Imanol Erviti, about Pogacar

The fans don’t say it, it’s a rider who has gone down in the history of Spanish cycling thanks, among other things, to a resume that includes 17 participations in Roubaix. Furthermore, the Navarrese, who analyzed his presence, concluded with a phrase that summarized very well what Klanec means: “A runner as strong as him is going to have a clear impact on the race. Your participation will attract a lot of attention and will affect the test, but it will be a great show and we will all enjoy it.”.

The ‘rara avis’ of Roubaix and LaVuelta

LaVuelta is the last ‘Great’ that Tadej Pogacar needs to complete a ‘Triple Crown’ that Jonas Vingegaard is already brushing with his fingertips. If the complexity of winning the Spanish round and Roubaix is ​​already high, winning in ‘El Infierno del Norte’ with the current red jersey is something unheard of; at least, so far.

Of the 63 cyclists who have conquered Spanish soil, only five know what it is like to raise their arms in the Roubaix velodrome: Sean Kelly (1984 and 1986), Hinault (1981), Eddy Merckx (1968, 1970 and 1973), Jan Janssen (1967) and Felice Gimondi (1966). At a percentage level, this figure represents only 23.8% of those runners who have won LaVuelta and have suffered the cobblestones of Roubaix —21 in total.

Of all these data, there is one—perhaps the most revealing—that reflects the influence of Tadej Pogacar: his pioneering nature in his country. Coming from the Balkans, the Slovenian has shown that cycling is no longer a sport dominated by specific countries, as was the case in the past. Today, origin no longer determines the relevance of a runner. The Klanec cyclist has promoted a new way of competing: less speculative and much more ambitious cycling.