Pogačar and the last monument: why Paris-Roubaix is the final frontier
There are races that define a generation, and then there is what Tadej Pogačar is attempting in the spring of 2026, something that has no real precedent in modern cycling. With 11 Monument victories already etched into the history books, the 27-year-old Slovenian is just one win away from joining an exclusive club of three riders who have ever conquered all five Monuments: Eddy Merckx, Rik Van Looy, and Roger De Vlaeminck. The missing piece? Paris-Roubaix — the Hell of the North. The race that doesn't just test your legs, but your nerve, your bike, your bones, and your luck.
With the Tour of Flanders coming up on April 5 and Paris-Roubaix following on April 12, the next two weeks could see cycling history rewritten. Or not. Because on the pavé of northern France, no one — not even Pogačar — is guaranteed anything.
Milan-Sanremo 2026: a statement victory Under a bloody skinsuit
If you needed proof that Pogačar operates on a different plane, look no further than what happened at Milan-Sanremo on March 22, 2026. Just 6km before the Cipressa, he was caught in a heavy crash that tore his skinsuit and left him bleeding. A lesser rider would have lost contact. Pogačar set record pace on both the Cipressa and the Poggio, distilling the 300km race down to a two-up sprint against Tom Pidcock — which he won by a margin of just 4cm.
It was his first Milan-Sanremo, the 11th Monument of his career, and yet another demonstration that his physical and mental resilience is without equal in the current peloton. Immediately after crossing the line, his message to the world was clear: "The shape is perfect. The team is ready. Bring on the cobbles."
The five monuments: Pogačar's monument palmares in numbers
To understand the scale of what Pogačar has achieved, it helps to see his Monument record laid out plainly. His 11 victories span four different races over just a few seasons:
- Il Lombardia: 5 wins (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025) — his most beloved race
- Liège-Bastogne-Liège: 3 wins (2021, 2024, 2025)
- Tour of Flanders: 2 wins (2023, 2025)
- Milan-Sanremo: 1 win (2026)
- Paris-Roubaix: 0 wins — the one that got away
The number that puts all of this in context: Eddy Merckx, the greatest rider of all time, had 12 Monument wins by age 27. Pogačar currently sits at 11. He is tracking the Cannibal's career with eerie precision — and he still has years ahead of him.
Why Paris-Roubaix is different from everything else
Every Monument has its character. Lombardia has its mountains and autumn romance. Liège has its brutal climbs in the Ardennes. Flanders has its iconic short, steep bergs and cobbled sections. But Paris-Roubaix is something else entirely. The 123rd edition of the race will cover approximately 257km from Compiègne to the velodrome in Roubaix, with 30 sections of cobblestones — totalling around 55km of pavé — at the heart of the challenge.
What makes Roubaix unlike any other race is its unpredictability. The cobbles punish mechanicals, bad luck, and the slightest lapse in concentration. The best riders in the world have been undone by a puncture at the wrong moment or a crash on a slick, muddy section. Power alone isn't enough — you need cobble-racing DNA, the kind of body that can sustain hours of violent vibration at race pace, and the technical skill to ride the sectors at full gas without losing control.
Pogačar knows this, and he has been preparing seriously. Earlier this season he completed a 210km reconnaissance of the course alongside teammate Florian Vermeersch, testing equipment and reading the cobbled sectors in wet conditions. "It was good training. We got lucky with the weather and had good sensations on the cobbles," he reported. Nothing is left to chance.
Tour of Flanders 2026: the prelude to history
Before Roubaix, there is the Tour of Flanders on April 5. For Pogačar, this race offers the chance to claim a third Flanders victory — and the field assembled for this edition may be the strongest in living memory. The three-way showdown between Pogačar, Mathieu van der Poel, and Wout van Aert, with the added wildcard of Remco Evenepoel making his Flanders debut for Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, is the kind of matchup that cycling fans rarely get to witness.
Van der Poel arrives in particularly ominous form. Despite nursing a hand injury from the Milan-Sanremo crash, the Dutch champion delivered a breathtaking 42.2km solo victory at the E3 Saxo Classic — sending a clear message to his rivals. He is the defending Paris-Roubaix champion and a three-time winner of the race. If Pogačar is going to complete his Monument collection at Roubaix, he will need to go through Van der Poel. And that is never easy.
The historic club: only three Riders have won all five monuments
The magnitude of what Pogačar is chasing becomes even clearer when you realize how few riders have ever accomplished it. In the entire history of professional cycling, only three men have won all five Monuments:
- Eddy Merckx — the original and still the greatest, with 19 Monument victories in total
- Rik Van Looy — Belgian champion who completed the set in the 1960s
- Roger De Vlaeminck — Belgian cobble specialist, winner of four Paris-Roubaix editions
No rider in the modern era has come close. Not Bernard Hinault, not Laurent Fignon, not even the great champions of the 1990s and 2000s. If Pogačar wins Paris-Roubaix, he will be the first rider in over half a century to join this club. Eddy Merckx himself has publicly stated his belief that Pogačar can do it.
Pogačar's own words: Roubaix over a fifth Tour de France
What is perhaps most striking is what Pogačar himself has said about his priorities. When asked to choose between a fifth Tour de France and Paris-Roubaix, he gave an answer that revealed everything about his mindset: "I think I would choose Roubaix because I won already the Tour four times. The difference between zero and one is bigger than the difference between four and five."
This is the thinking of a rider who is not chasing numbers for their own sake, but genuinely driven by the challenge of doing something that seems almost impossible. Paris-Roubaix has never been his race — yet. And that, for Pogačar, is the point.
What to expect: key cobble sectors to watch
For cycling fans planning to follow the race on April 12, here are the decisive cobble sectors that will likely determine the outcome. The five-star sector of Trouée d'Arenberg (sector 16, approximately 2.4km of brutal cobbles through the forest) is always a key moment of selection. The Mons-en-Pévèle (sector 11, 3km) is where power riders make their moves. And the final assault begins at Carrefour de l'Arbre (sector 4, 2.1km), just 16km from the velodrome — the last place where a winning attack can be launched or where a race lead can be defended.
With the right conditions — ideally some rain to make the cobbles slippery and the race more chaotic — the strongest rider tends to prevail. And in 2026, that may well be Tadej Pogačar.
Conclusion: A fortnight that could define a career
Cycling has given us remarkable champions over the decades. But what Tadej Pogačar is doing right now — at 27, in the prime of a career that already feels historic — is genuinely rare. Two races, two weeks, one chance at immortality. The Tour of Flanders on April 5. Paris-Roubaix on April 12. Whatever happens, we are watching one of the greatest cyclists of all time at the peak of his powers.
At EurekaBike, we'll be following every kilometre of cobbles with the same passion that drives every cyclist — whether you're chasing a Monument or just a personal best on your Sunday ride. This is why we love cycling.