emirates7 - On what is known as a "Sunday in Hell," Tadej Pogačar of UAE Team Emirates XRG made history by becoming the first reigning Tour de France champion to reach the podium at Paris-Roubaix since Eddy Merckx in 1975.

In an intense showdown with Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), the world champion finished second at the Roubaix Velodrome, securing his place in the history books.

While Van der Poel celebrated his third consecutive win, Pogačar fought through mechanical issues and a crash to cross the finish line alone in second place. UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammate Florian Vermeersch also impressed with a fifth-place finish, continuing his strong performance in the spring Classics.

As Pogačar, Van der Poel, and Mads Pedersen from Lidl-Trek tore apart the race heading into the Trouée d’Arenberg, it seemed the victory would come from a group. The duo of Pogačar and Van der Poel looked set for the win, but Pogačar ran wide on a right-hand turn, allowing Van der Poel to take the lead and ride to victory alone.

Reflecting on his debut at the legendary race, Pogačar shared his thoughts with the media, "Today was a great result for our team, with two riders in the top five. We’ll come back next year with a strong team and be motivated to fight for the win in the years ahead."