photo credits @ Paris-Roubaix
Wout van Aert finally won one of cycling’s cobbled Monuments after he outsprinted world champion Tadej Pogacar to take the Paris-Roubaix victory today.
Indeed, Van Aert collected one of the two prestigious cobbled classics after seven previous top-four finishes in either the Tour of Flanders or here in northern France.
It was his second Monument victory after Milan-San Remo in 2020.
In crossing the line first at the famous velodrome in Roubaix, Van Aert prevented Pogacar from completing a clean sweep of the five Monument races, and stopped the 27-year-old Slovenian’s run of four straight victories in these major classics.
“It means everything to me, it’s been a goal since I first did this race,” said Van Aert, who broke down in tears after crossing the line.
He dedicated his victory to former teammate Michael Goolaerts, who died at the age of 23 while racing Paris-Roubaix in 2018.
“This victory is for Michael but especially for my family, the staff, all my friends and teammates in the previous team,” added Van Aert.
“Luck was not on my side (previously, but) I kept believing in it and finally luck was on my side.
“Obviously, there’s no more beautiful way than going to the line with the world champion. Beating him in the sprint ‘mano-a-mano’ is something really special for me.”
In an incident-packed race, Jasper Stuyven took third place 13 seconds back, with pre-race favorite Mathieu van der Poel relegated to fourth at 15 seconds.
That in itself was a remarkable result for three-time champion Van der Poel, who lost two minutes to the leaders after suffering two punctures in the crucial Arenberg forest cobbled sector with just under 100km to race.
The leading pair broke clear with just over 50km to ride, after which Van Aert worked hard to stick to Pogacar’s wheel as the world champion put in several bursts of acceleration over cobbled sectors.
Pogacar, who had won his three previous races this season, was unable to distance Van Aert and so the pair arrived together at the Roubaix velodrome.
After that, Pogacar led out the sprint, but Van Aert proved too strong and breezed past to win convincingly.
Race Highlights
175 riders took the start of the 123rd edition of Paris-Roubaix Hauts-de-France, tackiling 258,3 kilometers between Compiègne and the Vélodrome André Pétrieux in Roubaix with 30 cobbled sectors to be covered on the way. The opening 90 kilometers of the race played out as an exciting back-and-forth between the many riders trying to establish a breakaway that never actually came to fruition.
From there, a full bunch entered the first sections of cobbles led by UAE Team Emirates-XRG. However, just 60-odd riders were left at the front after sector 26 in Briastre, including all the main favorites despite punctures for Mads Pedersen and van Aert.
Mechanicals galore
Mechanical problems contiunued the plague the race, taking their toll on most of the main riders. For instance, Pogacar had to get a spare bike from the Shimano neutral service with 121 kilometers to go. After falling nearly 1’00” behind the head of the race, he was helped by three teammates to regain the front group 98 kilometers from the finish. Shortly after, the peloton went into the Arenberg Forest, and it was Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) who had to endure a nightmare scenario, with a string of mechanical issues that made him stop up to three times and leave this iconic sector more than two minutes behind the head of the race.
Pogacar and Van Aert overcame two punctures each
Seven men came out of the Arenberg Forest in the lead: Pogacar, Pedersen, van Aert, Christophe Laporte (Visma-Lease a Bike), Stefan Bissegger (Decathlon-CMA CGM), Jasper Stuyven (Soudal-Quick Step) and Laurence Pithie (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe). Two more riders, Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) and Jordi Meeus (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe), managed to bridge back with 84 kilometers to go, yet ended up falling out of contention later, with the Italian suffering several mechanicals and even a rough crash.
Both Pogacar and Van Aert would have a second puncture each later on, during sector 16 from Warlaing to Brillon. They both managed their way back into the head of the race – the former at the exit of sector 15, from Tilloy to Sars-et-Rosières , the latter ahead of sector 13 in Orchies.
Van der Poel nearly bridged back after a mechanical nightmare
The front group reached sector 12 from Auchy-lez-Orchies to Bersée with a 25” gap on a chasing group led by an impressive van der Poel, who nearly succeeded in rejoining the head of the race. At the entrance of the sector, Van Aert and Pogacar accelerated and went clear, with Pedersen falling just short of holding their wheel. The world champion and the Belgian powerhouse managed to build a 42” lead through Mons-en-Pévèle, where Van der Poel and Tim Van Dijke (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) bridged back with Pedersen, Laporte, Bissegger and Stuyven, while Pithie crashed out of the fight for the podium. The leading duo managed to keep the six chasers at bay, even if they were as close as just 25” back after sector 5, Camphin-en-Pévèle.
A breathtaking finale in the Vélodrome André Pétrieux
The always-decisive, the Carrefour de l’Arbre proved fatal for the ambition of the chasers, who lost some terrain and were 40” in arrears at the exit of this iconic sector after Pogacar unleashed some accelerations to try and drop a defensive Van Aert. From then on, the leading duo cooperated their way into the Vélodrome André Pétrieux for a breathtaking final sprint in which the Belgian overpowered the Slovenian, launching his effort with 200 meters to go and winning by a clear margin.
Meanwhile, Stuyven deployed a canny attack 3 kilometres from the finish to climb onto the podium, with just a few meters on van der Poel and Laporte.
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