Matxin Praises Van der Poel's 'Champion Mentality' — But Expects Pogacar to Match Him at Roubaix
UAE Team Emirates-XRG performance director Joxean Matxin Fernandez has offered a rare insight into how Tadej Pogacar's inner circle views the Paris-Roubaix challenge, praising Mathieu van der Poel's "champion mentality" on the cobblestones while expressing absolute confidence that the world champion can match and surpass it when the Hell of the North arrives on Sunday, April 12.
Speaking to media in northern France where UAE's cobblestone squad has been conducting final reconnaissance of key sectors, Matxin did something unusual for a rival team boss: he praised Van der Poel without reservation. "What Mathieu does at Paris-Roubaix is exceptional," Matxin said. "Three consecutive victories — that is not luck, that is not just talent. That is a champion mentality. He arrives at Roubaix knowing exactly what he has to do, and he executes it perfectly. You have to respect that enormously." It was a statement that acknowledged the scale of the challenge facing Pogacar this Sunday.
But Matxin's admiration for Van der Poel came with a clear caveat: he expects Pogacar to deliver something equally extraordinary. "Tadej has that same mentality," Matxin continued. "He finished second here last year on his debut. He lost time with a crash, he misjudged one turn, and he still almost won. This year, he knows the course. He has trained specifically for the cobbles all winter. We put a huge amount of effort into the Roubaix preparation — the equipment, the reconnaissance, the team tactics. Everything is different from twelve months ago."
The preparation Matxin describes has been visible throughout the spring. Pogacar completed a surprise 160-kilometre reconnaissance of the Roubaix cobbles alongside Florian Vermeersch, his newly re-signed cobblestone lieutenant, testing different tyre widths and pressures on every major sector. His overhauled Colnago setup — featuring a new frame optimised for the cobbles' unique demands — has been refined across multiple test rides. And his Tour of Flanders victory two days ago demonstrated a level of form that borders on the frightening: he soloed away from Van der Poel on the Oude Kwaremont with what the Dutchman himself described as "650 watts I couldn't follow."
There is a broader tactical dimension to Matxin's confidence. UAE Team Emirates-XRG have assembled a cobblestone squad that is significantly stronger than the one they fielded in 2025. Vermeersch, the Belgian who finished on the Roubaix podium in 2021, has been retained on a long-term contract extension specifically to guide Pogacar through the northern French pavé. Tim Wellens and Nils Politt both bring deep cobblestone experience, and the team's Flanders performance — where their early pacemaking on the Molenberg helped shape the race in Pogacar's favour — showed a unit operating with precision and purpose.
Wout van Aert remains the great unpredictable factor. The Belgian's fourth-place finish at Flanders represented an improvement on recent seasons, and his Visma-Lease a Bike team have publicly backed him as their best suited rider for Roubaix. Van Aert has finished second, third and fourth at Paris-Roubaix without ever winning — a record that speaks to both his quality and his misfortune on the cobblestones. Mads Pedersen, who took second at Flanders, arrives with Lidl-Trek as another rider capable of exploiting any tactical miscalculation between the two favourites.
Matxin's final message was directed squarely at his own rider: "The only Monument Tadej has not won is Paris-Roubaix. He has Milan-San Remo, he has Flanders, he has Il Lombardia, he has Liège. Roubaix is the one that is missing. And I promise you — he wants it more than anything else on the calendar this year. More than the Tour. He told me that himself." That raw desire, combined with the meticulous preparation Matxin outlined, makes the 2026 Paris-Roubaix the most anticipated edition of the race in a generation.