Tadey Pogachar, who failed to make the podium in the Tour of Flanders, once again rode on rough cobblestone surfaces. The UAE Team Emirates rider rode a section of cobblestones that is part of the Tour de France and part of Paris-Roubaix, which will be held in two weeks.

"It's more difficult than the Tour de Flanders. It's always flat here, and it's different from yesterday," Pogachar said after the reconnaissance run.

"My legs are still a little sore from yesterday. I didn't kick very hard during the reconnaissance run."

After the opening three days of racing and a rest day in Denmark beginning July 1, the 2022 Tour de France will return to French soil for stage 5, a 19.4-km cobbled ride from Lille to the Arenberg Port du Hainaut that will shake up the battle. The stage has 11 cobblestone sectors, some of which were used in Paris-Roubaix. Some of them were used in Paris-Roubaix. A new sector appears as we travel south to Cambrai and connect to the familiar tracks at Hornen and Wallers. In fact, the 2021 Paris-Roubaix just featured a fourth sector, the three-star Waring à Brillon.

"I'm looking forward to the cobbled stages of the Tour," the two-time Tour de France champion told Sporza. 'Sometimes they go terribly wrong, sometimes they go right. You can't win the Tour here, but you can lose the Tour."

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Calling his run in the Tour de Flanders "one of the best days on the bike," Pogachar was looking ahead to Paris-Roubaix and a third Tour de France title. His homework to win another maillot jaune at the Tour is focused on both mental and physical preparation. Already this year, he has won the UAE Tour overall and the Tirreno-Adriatico overall in the traditional road race, as well as an incredible 50km solo attack at Strade Bianche.

His cobbled homework continues. His first cobblestone classic appearance as a Slovenian elite rider was last Wednesday at Dwars door Hlaanderen.

Three days later at the Tour of Flanders, his second professional classic, Pogachar set the tone for the race by repeatedly accelerating on key climbs; the two appeared to be set for a one-two knockout punch before the finish, but they paced themselves to mark each other before the sprint When they slowed, their pursuers Dylan van Baar (Ineos Grenadiers) and Valentin Maduas (Groupama-FDJ) jumped out with 100m to go, making it a four-man race.

"Yeah, the race was pretty much how I imagined it would be, but it was still a bit of a shock to the body and the mind on Wednesday. You always need to hold your position," Pogachar said before the Tour de Flanders.

He looked disappointed right after the finish in Flanders, but later smiled and said, "Overall, it was a great experience. It was a really great race. The team was super and perfect. It was just me and Mathieu [Van der Pol] and we made the finale a lot of fun, and the atmosphere on the climbs was great."

The team's teammate, Mathieu, was also very happy with the way the race went.