'In the middle of winter, it's rather daring' – Tadej Pogačar spotted on Paris-Roubaix recon

Tadej Pogačar has been spotted on a recon of the Paris-Roubaix cobbles, four months out from the 2026 race.

The UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider was seen by a French local on Tuesday, according to regional newspaper La Voix du Nord, seemingly training on the famous Carrefour de l'Arbre. The French paper obtained pictures of the event, showing him alongside teammates Nils Politt and Tim Wellens.

It suggests that Pogačar will take a second tilt at 'the Hell of the North' in April; the world champion finished second behind Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) at his debut in the Monument.

He crashed – without harm – in that race after misjudging a corner. With no cobbles in next year's Tour de France, Pogačar racing Roubaix again is a natural conclusion.

"I live nearby, in Sainghin-en-Mélantois, and I cycle a lot," Jean-Luc Gallus told La Voix du Nord. "When I arrived at the Arbre crossroads, I saw UAE cars in the distance and as I got closer, I recognized Tim Wellens’ Belgian champion’s jersey,. Then I saw the rainbow bike and I realized it was Pogacar.

"I asked him if I could take his picture, he said there was no problem at all, and he even posed.

"I heard them talking," Gallus continued. "They were going back down towards Cysoing to take the cobblestones of Bourghelles and return via L'Arbre." He was "quite surprised".

He added: "In the middle of winter, it's rather daring. It's been raining a lot lately. The cobblestones are wet and there are muddy sections."

Following his debut, Pogačar said: "The cobbles, the stress on the body, it’s definitely one of the roughest, toughest, hardest races I’ve done. I think I gained some experience that maybe next time that I come here it will not be so extremely hard as it was today."

It is no secret that the Slovenian would like to win Roubaix, perhaps above all else. "I want to win Paris-Roubaix in particular," he told L'Équipe in July. "This year, for my first participation, I found this race crazy, my second place was already incredible. I want to come back."

Last year, Pogačar and UAE teased his debut with a training clip posted to Instagram in February. This year, it appears harder to keep the news under wraps. Sunday 12 April is the date everyone should circle on their calendars.