Wout van Aert wins Paris-Roubaix for first time after thrilling duel with Tadej Pogacar
Wout van Aert won Paris-Roubaix for the first time in his career on Sunday. He beat Slovenian world champion Tadej Pogacar in the sprint on the Roubaix velodrome. Jasper Stuyven finished third, with Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel coming fourth after suffering a string of misfortunes. In the women’s race, Germany’s Franziska Koch beat Dutch legend Marianne Vos in a sprint.
After finishing second in 2022, third in 2023 and fourth last year, this was Van Aert’s first victory in Roubaix and his second Monument after Milan-Sanremo in 2020. It had been seven years since a Belgian last won Paris-Roubaix, Philippe Gilbert in 2019.
The 123rd edition got off to a lively start, with punctures from the first cobbles, first for Van Aert and Mads Pedersen, then for Pogacar. After a double bike change, Pogacar had to expend a great deal of energy chasing for over 20km. He rejoined the peloton just before the Forest of Wallers.
That’s where it all went wrong for the other favourite, Van der Poel. Due to two punctures and a botched bike change with teammate Jasper Philipsen, he emerged from the five-star section over two minutes behind.
"I’ve ridden this sprint so many times in my dreams. I knew exactly what to do”
At the front, a leading group of seven riders had formed, including Pogacar, Pedersen, Van Aert and his teammate Christophe Laporte, as well as a second Belgian, Jasper Stuyven. Partly due to the numerous mechanical issues, the pace in the leading group dropped, until Van Aert attacked 54km from the finish. Only Pogacar had an answer.
The two leaders then stayed together until the climax of the race in the iconic Roubaix velodrome, with Van Aert moving ahead with a decisive burst of speed. With a late breakaway in the streets of Roubaix, Stuyven took third place.
The victory evoked strong emotions in Van Aert afterwards, who dedicated it to his former teammate Michael Goolaerts, who suffered a fatal cardiac arrest in the race in 2018.
“This means everything to me,” he said in his flash interview. "This has been a goal since 2018, when I first rode this race. In that edition, I lost my teammate. Ever since then, I’ve always wanted to point my finger to the sky here. This victory is for Michael, and above all for his family and everyone in my former team.”
There could be "no better way to win than crossing the line with the world champion”, he added about the sprint against Pogacar. “He made it so difficult for me today. Beating him head-to-head makes it very special for me. I’ve ridden this sprint so many times in my dreams. I knew exactly what to do.”
Shortly afterwards, Germany’s Franziska Koch won the sixth edition of the women’s race, narrowly beating Dutch great Marianne Vos in a sprint. Vos recently lost her father and had hoped to pay tribute to him with a victory in Roubaix. However, her German rival, 13 years her junior, proved just that little bit stronger.
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, a teammate of Vos, finished third a few moments later. Ferrand-Prévot was the winner of last year’s Hell’s Classic. One and a half minutes behind the winner, the Belgian Lotte Kopecky finished fourth.
#FlandersNewsService | Wout van Aert celebrates on the podium after winning the men's Paris-Roubaix © BELGA PHOTO JASPER JACOBS
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