Wout van Aert takes the win at Paris-Roubaix (Photo Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool)
An emotional Wout van Aert held off Tadej Pogačar in a thrilling final sprint to win the Paris–Roubaix race over the famous cobbles in the fastest ever edition at an average speed of 49km/h and cap a brilliant comeback from a fractured ankle that he sustained in January.
The Belgian grabbed an emotional first cobbled Monument win despite bike problems in the famous ‘Hell of the North’ race.
The 123rd edition of the men’s race was over 258.3km starting out from Compiègne with 30 sectors of the gruelling cobbles that have caused chaos, even with the world’s best riders down the years.
Last year’s winner Mathieu van der Poel of the Netherlands was expected to be in the mix again, while Slovenian marvel Pogačar was looking to complete the full set of five career Monument wins in road cycling.
In the absence of Briton Tom Pidcock through injury, it was Van Aert who was looking to build on his previous podium finishes here and his only Monument win at the Milan–San Remo race in 2020.
The peloton remained together for around the first 100km at a quick average pace of 54km/h, then Pogačar suffered a puncture just before sector 22 which his UAE Team Emirates-XRG team needed to chase down.
Van der Poel jumped out to try and create a gap, however he then suffered a mechanical and puncture in quick succession himself which set him back more than two minutes from the likes of Van Aert.
With 72km to go, Pogačar and Van Aert had punctures that needed chasing back as Van der Poel dug deep brilliantly to reduce his gap – Visma-Lease a Bike’s Van Aert then going clear 20km further on.
– Pogačar was determined not to let the Belgian force the pace too much through the Mons-en-Pévèle sector and, with 20km remaining of the race, tried to go clear only for Van Aert to stick close again.
Pogačar and Van Aert kept their lead to enter the final velodrome section together and, after letting the Slovenian lead for most of the last sprint, he passed him with 200m left for a famous victory with Belgian Jasper Stuyven holding off Van der Poel for third and Frenchman Christophe Laporte finishing fifth.
After claiming his first win at the ‘Hell of the North’, the 31-year-old revealed: “It means everything to me. It’s been a goal since 2018, when I first did this race. It’s now eight years ago and I lost a teammate, Michael Goolaerts. Ever since then, it has been my goal to come here and point my finger to the sky. This victory is for Michael, but especially for his family… for the staff of my previous team.”
In terms of how he learned from previous near misses, he added: “I was unlucky in this race, but it brought me experience. Even today, when luck was not on my side, I kept believing in it. Finally, the reward is there. Honestly, there is no more beautiful way than going to the line with the World Champion. He is a true champion and beating him in a sprint mano-a-mano is something really special for me.”
The 2020 Olympic road race silver medallist and 2022 Tour de France points champion admitted: “It’s such a chaotic race. I think everyone coming to the line has his own story, and that is why it is so beautiful. It can be hard, but on a day like this, it is the best race there is.”
RESULTS
1. Wout van Aert (Bel) Visma-Lease a Bike 5:15.52
2: Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates-XRG same time
3: Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step +13s
4. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Premier Tech +15s
5. Christophe Laporte (Fra) Visma-Lease a Bike +15s
