Wout van Aert wins Paris-Roubaix for first time after thrilling duel with Tadej Pogacar

Wout van Aert has 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 surprisingly beat Dutch living legend Marianne Vos in a sprint.

After finishing second (2022), third (2023) and fourth (2025), this was Van Aert’s first victory in Roubaix and his second Monument ever. In 2020, he won Milan-Sanremo. It had been seven years since a Belgian last won Paris-Roubaix. In 2019, Philippe Gilbert was the winner.

The 123rd edition of Paris-Roubaix got off to a very lively start. From the very first cobbles, punctures were rife. First for Van Aert and Mads Pedersen, then for Tadej Pogacar. After a double bike change, the world champion had to expend a great deal of energy chasing for over 20 km. Pogacar rejoined the peloton just before the Forest of Wallers.

That’s where it all went wrong for the other top favourite, Mathieu van der Poel. Due to two punctures and a botched bike change with teammate Jasper Philipsen, ‘MVDP’ emerged from the five-star section over two minutes behind.

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 54 km from the finish. Only Pogacar had an answer.

The two leaders then stayed together until the iconic velodrome in Roubaix. With a strong sprint, Van Aert won there with a clear lead over Pogacar. With a late breakaway in the streets of Roubaix, Stuyven took third place on the podium.

"I’ve ridden this sprint so many times in my dreams. I knew exactly what to do.”

The victory evoked strong emotions in the Belgian afterwards, who dedicated it to his late former teammate Michael Goolaerts. “This means everything to me,” said Van Aert 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’s no better way to win than crossing the line with the world champion,” the Belgian 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 Paris-Roubaix in the women’s race. On the Roubaix velodrome, she narrowly beat 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}