Van der Poel Defends Tactics against Pogačar Ahead of Bruising Roubaix Showdown

To pull or not to pull, that is the question that’s stalked Mathieu van der Poel in his monument brawls with Tadej Pogačar.

Speaking to the media Thursday ahead of the third round of their titan rivalry at Paris-Roubaix, Van der Poel batted back at the armchair experts who have been questioning his tactics.

MVDP is a racer. Maybe the best cobblestone racer of the era, in fact.

He’s not going to suck anybody’s wheel – not even Pogačar’s.

“I did what I had to do. I was in a position to win,” Van der Poel said when asked why he worked with Pogačar in the bruising finale of the Tour of Flanders.

“I don’t see how not cooperating with him would have changed the outcome or increased my chances. I just did my best,” he told Het Nieuwsblad and the cobble-hungry press corps.

Van der Poel has become one of the greatest cobblestone racers of the era with pure brawn and a racing brain.

But it’s a savvy that’s not immune to ego, pride, and honor codes.

“Not riding with him would have been a bit ‘anti-racing,'” Van der Poel said Thursday. “Tadej and I are going to cross paths for years to come. It’s better that we get along well.”

Van der Poel hasn’t played dirty – yet

Images of Van der Poel and Pogačar in each other’s wheels have defined the monument season so far. The two rotated through in the corn-popping finales of both Milan-San Remo and Tour of Flanders.

It’s a tactic some believe only hastened Van der Poel’s demise.

Why play nice when he could despatch the Slovenian in a sprint?

“It’s not good to be afraid and not pull,” Van der Poel said Sunday on the morning of De Ronde. “Of course, he [Pogačar] is the strongest, but I’m always there to make the race,”

Does the Cobblestone King need to start getting evil in the Hell of the North this weekend?

If he ends up 1-on-1 with Pogačar on the decisive stones of Carrefour de l’Abre, his best chance might be to park the pride.

Hopping on the Pogi express for a free ride to the velodrome offers the hench Dutchman a less spectacular, but more certain, chance at success.

“A solo gives you the greatest certainty, but it won’t go that way every year,” Van der Poel said Thursday. “If you do manage to get to a sprint, then you’ve ridden a good race.

“But if I can choose, I’d rather finish solo.”

He might not have the luxury of choice this Sunday in Hell.

No climbs, crippling cobbles: ‘Roubaix suits me better than Flanders’

Pogačar’s record-equalling win in Flanders last weekend against the most heavyweight one-day field in memory felt like a tipping point.

The scales between him and Van der Poel leveled when not even 650 watts were enough for the big Dutchman to hold the wheel.

After Pogačar stampeded to huge wins at Strade Bianche, Milan San-Remo, and De Ronde, it’s not so easy to call the three-time winner the favorite for Paris-Roubaix. Not even the weather forecast is siding with him.

Van der Poel isn’t bothered.

Roubaix is his backyard.

“This race suits me and the team very well,” he told the media. “Especially against Tadej, this one suits me better than the Tour of Flanders. Hopefully, I can turn the tables.”

Van der Poel acknowledged on Thursday that Pogačar could end his record-equaling streak of three Roubaix wins in a row.

But he’s not going to roll over and let it happen.

“Obviously, it will be difficult to drop him, but the other way around too,” he said. “There are no climbs to make a difference, so that makes it harder to open a gap.”

‘I will race by feel’

Alpecin-Premier Tech is taking a team of pure muscle into the notorious cobbles on Sunday. Former runner-up Jasper Philipsen and hot talent Tibor del Grosso could provide MVDP with crucial tactical cards.

But in Paris-Roubaix, it’s 55 kilometers of cobbles that decide the strategy, not a sport director meeting.

“I will race by feel and assess the situation, like always,” Van der Poel said Thursday. “In Roubaix, anything can happen. The key is to stay alert at the front and get through the cobblestones as safely as possible.”

Tactics might be the last thing on MVDP’s mind in the hottest corners of Hell of the North this weekend.