Tour de France champion Pogacar targets Paris-Roubaix’s cobbled ‘hell’
PARIS: Three-time Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar will race the notorious Paris-Roubaix, known as the ‘Hell of the North’ for its treacherous cobbled mining roads, for the first time, his team UAE announced on Wednesday. Of the five big one-day races known as ‘Monuments’, Paris-Roubaix is the least suited to the Slovenian’s slender frame and adding that title would confirm his growing status as one of the all-time greats. He will be the first reigning Tour de France champion to tackle what is often a mudfest since Greg Lemond in 1991 — the American finished 55th. Cycling legends Bernard Hinault and Eddy Merckx also tried to win the one-day race in 1982 and 1975 respectively, a year after winning the Tour de France. Neither was successful although Merckx finished second, edged out on the line by Roger De Vlaeminck.
