The Paris-Roubaix Hauts-de-France race is never written in advance. The 123rd edition seemed destined to be a duel between the three-time defending champion, Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech), and Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates XRG), who was dreaming of a first victory in the only Monument missing from his palmarès.
But once again, nothing went according to plan. The Dutchman saw his chances evaporate following two punctures in the formidable cobbled sector of the Trouée d’Arenberg (km 163). MVDP emerged from the sector two minutes behind the leaders, then launched a furious chase, though he was unable to bridge the gap. But Pogacar still had a formidable rival to overcome: Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike), widely tipped as the third favorite.
Present in a lead group whittled down to just eight riders, the two men broke away from the pack on the cobbles between Auchy-lez-Orchies and Bersée, 54 kilometers from the finish.
Tenacious to the end, Van Aert withstood Pogacar’s attacks on the cobbles of the Carrefour de l’Arbre—the very spot where the Slovenian had intended to make his decisive move.
Pogacar was then left with no choice but to defeat his opponent in the final sprint at the André-Pétrieux Velodrome. The superior sprinter of the two, the Belgian ultimately prevailed over his rival. At 31 years of age—and after two podium finishes in the “Hell of the North” (2nd in 2022, 3rd in 2023) and various brushes with misfortune—Wout van Aert finally embraced his destiny, becoming the first rider to defeat Pogacar in Finishing third—after surprising the chasing group just before entering the velodrome—Jasper Stuyven (Soudal Quick-Step) rounded out the podium of what was already a memorable edition of the “Queen of the Classics.” He managed to keep the rest of the chasers at bay after attacking with 3k to go. He is followed into the finish line by Van der Poel, Laporte, Van Dijke, Pedersen and Bissegger.
The victory of a lifetime in the race of the century.
- Wout Van Aert(Team Visma – Lease a Bike) 5h16’52”
- Tadej Pogacar(UAE Team Emirates XRG) +0’00”
- Jasper Stuyven (Soudal Quick-Step) +0’13”
