Tadej Pogacar 'rattled' as 'serious issue' at Paris-Roubaix provokes 'panic stations' in quest for Monument history
By Leon Imber
Updated 12/04/2026 at 16:07 GMT+1
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Tadej Pogacar went into Sunday's Paris-Roubaix aiming to further write himself into the cycling history books. But the 'Hell of the North' moniker bestowed upon the gruelling Monument race became all too real for the all-conquering Slovenian, as a puncture left him "rattled" on a neutral service bike during a pivotal moment on the narrow, chaotic roads.
'He is rattled!' - Pogacar punctures in Paris-Roubaix chaos, forced onto neutral bike
Video credit: TNT Sports
An ill-timed puncture left Tadej Pogacar and his UAE Team Emirates-XRG colleagues in "panic stations" as the 26-year-old - bidding for Monument history - displayed a rare show of frustration at Paris-Roubaix on Sunday.
Pogacar was bidding to join Rik Van Looy, Eddy Merckx and Roger De Vlaeminck in an exclusive group of riders to have won all five Monument races in their career, and the only one among the quartet to hold them all at the same time.
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.
"Pogacar with an issue here. 120km to go," TNT Sports commentator Rob Hatch said. "Tadej Pogacar has a serious issue… it’s a puncture.
"This could be race-defining for Pogacar, he’s a long way back from the cars. They’ve done everything perfectly."
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.
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'It was not even cobbles' - Pogacar explains recon crashes before Paris-Roubaix
Video credit: TNT Sports
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.
"Any problem you have in Paris-Roubaix, on these sectors, with what’s happening in front of you, is magnified," Hatch said. "It’s doubled, tripled. It can become an absolute nightmare. And just exactly why Pogacar has been riding the front."
But TNT Sports expert Matt Stephens felt Pogacar made the sensible decision to continue moving in the race, despite grappling with an unfamiliar bike.
"He’s done the right thing," Stephens said on commentary. "He needs to keep riding until his car moves up. There wasn’t enough of a gap to put team cars in between, that’s all he had.
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"But he’s 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’s way too high."
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.
Stephens, meanwhile, was concerned with the manner in which the UAE team car was approaching the two-time world champion.
"The team car should be at the back of that group, not in the middle of it," Stephens said. "It shouldn’t 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."
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.
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'Catastrophic!' - Van der Poel suffers double puncture on the Arenberg Trench
Video credit: TNT Sports
And he was seen shouting as he pulled away once more, an uncommon show of frustration from the sport's most imperious figure.
"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."
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.
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.
Stream the 2026 cycling season, including Paris-Roubaix, the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana, live on TNT Sports and HBO Max.
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