Paris-Roubaix Chaos: Bike Change Disaster for Pogačar, Van der Poel Punctures on Arenberg

Double distaster struck Sunday for the two favorites at Paris-Roubaix.

Tadej Pogačar hit turbulence early at Paris-Roubaix even before reaching the decisive forest of Arenberg.

The world champion suffered a mechanical nightmare just moments ahead of the first key decisive phase Sunday, putting him in a desperate chase behind his key rivals just as cycling’s hardest race was heating up.

With about 120 kilometers to go, Pogačar punctured just as UAE Emirates-XRG began to turn the screws at the front.

Things quickly unraveled into a logistical nightmare for Pogačar, who was left stranded without support as the front of the race surged on.

The group had already split under pressure, so there were no team cars immediately behind the lead group.

With no team vehicle in sight, the Slovenian was forced to jump on one of Shimano’s blue neutral service bikes.

Pogačar was forced to ride through one more full sector of cobbles before a team car could reach him to swap out the bike.

The world champion chased alone across another sector to link up with the favorites just ahead of Arenberg.

Van der Poel punctures twice on Arenberg

Just as quickly, the luck swung the other way.

Van der Poel punctured about one-third of the way through the Arenberg, and things quickly turned black for the three-time champion.

Alpecin-Premier Tech teammate Jasper Philipsen stopped to swap his bike, but Van der Poel could not clip into the pedals because Philipsen was riding with a prototype that was non-compatible.

Another teammate arrived and traded out wheels on Van der Poel’s bike, but then he punctured a second time. MVDP was forced to walk before a team car could arrive with a spare bike.

The Dutch superstar was more than two minutes in arrears as he exited the notorious sector. Pogačar linked up with the leaders that included Wout van Aert and Mads Pedersen to drive forward.