Wout Van Aert Takes Dream Paris-Roubaix Victory over Tadej Pogačar

Wout Van Aert showed the power of perseverance and dedication on Sunday, outsprinting Tadej Pogačar to finally win Paris-Roubaix after many, many years of trying.

The Belgian ripped clear of the front group with just under 55km remaining in the race and was quickly joined by Pogačar, who dropped Mads Pedersen with a brutal surge.

They were chased by a group led by Mathieu van der Poel, who suffered two punctures early on and missed the crucial move as a result. The defending champion led the chase for much of the final hour but was unable to rejoin. That left Pogačar and Van Aert alone out front and while the world champion did everything he could to drop the Visma-Lease a Bike rider, he couldn’t do so and things came down to a sprint.

Van Aert came off Pogačar’s wheel and ripped clear, collapsing after line in tears of disbelief, and then savoring the most emotional win of his career.

“It is such a cliché but I still cannot believe it,” he said afterwards. “I am still afraid in a moment I will wake up from a really good dream.

“I planned my sprint already for years. I did this sprint in so many dreams, in so many thoughts. Before every edition I knew exactly how I wanted to approach. I hesitated just a little bit because it was quite far before the corner, but anyway I wanted to launch early and take the shortest line. I think it worked out.”

Jasper Stuyven (Soudal Quick-Step) raced in for third, two seconds ahead of a disappointed Van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech). Van Aert’s teammate Christophe Laporte was fifth, ahead of Mike Van Dijke (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek).

Pogačar said he felt the effects of his earlier chase when he was clear with Van Aert. He tried repeatedly to drop him but said he lacked needed freshness in his legs.

He also was unable to capitalize from the tougher parts of the course. “Carrefour is really hard, but then the wind is also in the face. I knew maybe from there it was going to be 99 percent impossible, but I still had hope in the sprint.

“But when I started the sprint my legs were like spaghetti.”

Early misfortune for Pogačar

A huge battle was brewing as the riders rolled out of Compiègne, with Paris-Roubaix arguably the toughest and most unpredictable bike race of the season.

Pogačar had drama early on, puncturing on sector 22 and having to jump on a neutral service bike. His UAE Emirates-XRG team car arrived soon afterwards and he switched machines, but found himself 45 seconds down and was visibly panicking.

Van der Poel’s Alpecin Premier Tech team tried to make the most of his misfortune and drilled the pace going onto the four star sector of Haveluy à Wallers. Van der Poel then hit the front with just under 104km to go, applying even more pressure.

However Pogačar was getting closer and closer and finally bridged with 98km remaining, just before the featured sector of Trouée d’Arenberg. He quickly moved to the front and then was thrust into a commanding position when Van der Poel himself suffered a front wheel puncture with 94km to go.

Teammate Jasper Philipsen gave him his bike but Van der Poel stopped again almost immediately and instead got a front wheel from his other teammate Tibor Del Grosso.

That left him 1’22 behind the leaders and this gap grew to 1’48 when he suffered another puncture.

Pogačar sprung into action, echoing Van der Poel’s earlier turning of the screw in applying the pressure when a key rival was off the back. He forced a selection and ended up out front with Van Aert plus his Visma-Lease a Bike teammate Christophe Laporte, Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), Stefan Bissegger (Decathlon CMA CGM), Jasper Stuyven (Soudal Quick-Step) and Laurence Pithie (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe).

Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) was chasing behind with Jordi Meeus (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and joined the leaders with 84km remaining. However Ganna punctured two kilometers later, with Pithie also suffering the same problem soon afterwards.

Van Aert pushes forward

Both Pogačar and Van Aert changed bikes in separate stops inside 72km to go. The latter joined up with Pithie and Meeus, who had waited for his teammate, and returned to the front with 61km remaining, some 3.5km after Pogačar had done so.

Van der Poel was still giving everything to get back and while he was 52 seconds back with 60km remaining, he slashed that gap down to 22 seconds over the next four kilometers.

This prompted Van Aert to launch a big move 54.2km from the finish, just before the four star sector Auchy-les-Orchies à Bersée sector. Pogačar dragged Pedersen across and dropped the Dane when he accelerated past Van Aert. This forced the Belgian to dig very deep to hold him.

Further accelerations followed but he couldn’t snap the elastic. He made a huge effort on the Carrefour de l’Arbre, trying what he could to drop Van Aert. The Belgian clung to his wheel there and did so once again when Pogačar put in a further dig on sector 3.

They had had 30 seconds over the Van der Poel chase with 10km to go, and still had 28 seconds with 5km left. Pogačar led into the velodrome and remained at the front, looking back repeatedly over his shoulder but being caught out when Van Aert launched.

He did what he could to respond but there was to be no catching Van Aert, who roared home for a huge and long-awaited Roubaix victory on what was his seventh time trying.