Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar will make his Paris-Roubaix debut next month in his bid to win all five one-day Monument races in cycling.
Pogacar’s UAE team Emirates said on Wednesday the Slovenian great would not compete in Friday’s E3 Classic and Sunday’s Gent-Wevelgem and instead focus on the following two top races.
“After discussions with the team, it has been decided that he will adjust his calendar to focus on the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix instead, aiming for peak form in those iconic races,” a statement said.
The Tour of Flanders is on April 6 and Paris-Roubaix with its demanding cobblestone sections a week later. They form the five Monuments together with Milan-Sanremo, Liege-Bastogne-Liege and Il Lombardia.
Pogacar has won Il Lombardia four times, Liege-Bastogne-Liege twice and the Tour of Flanders once. He finished third the second straight year at Milan-Sanremo on Saturday, while he has previously not raced Paris-Roubaix.
Only three men have managed to win all five Monuments at least once in their career – Belgians Eddy Merckx, Rik Van Looy and Roger De Vlaeminck.
There had been speculation Pogacar would be present for Paris-Roubaix because he had been training in the area.
But the team was said to be against his participation due to injury risks on the cobblestone sections which could endanger the most important goal of the season, the Tour de France.
Pogacar has topped the Tour three times, including last year when he also won the Giro d’Italia and the world title.