Sunday April 7, 2024 at 4:52 PM
Mathieu van der Poel has won Paris-Roubaix for the second time in a row in grand style. A week after his victory in the Tour of Flanders, Alpecin-Deceuninck opened the race early, after which MVDP opted for a solo with 60 kilometers from the finish, which he completed with force majeure. This way, the Dutch world champion could cheer in his rainbow jersey on the Roubaix velodrome. Jasper Philipsen sprinted far behind to second place, Mads Pedersen finished third.
The new edition of RIDE Magazine is now available! Our new 188-page spring edition is full of wonderful cycling stories about Mathieu van der Poel, Lotte Kopecky, Demi Vollering, Sepp Kuss and Matej Mohoric. Secure your copy and order it online now for just €9.95. Would you like to receive RIDE extra cheaply? Subscribe now and receive a 20% discount!
The program included the 121st edition of Paris-Roubaix, with no fewer than 29 cobblestone sections within 259.7 kilometers, accounting for 57.5 kilometers of stones. Most of the kilometers on cobblestones were in the last 200 kilometers, with the much-discussed Forest of Wallers (another 95 km), Mons-en-Pévèle (another 48 km) and Carrefour de l’Arbre (another 17 km) as 5-star strips.
Nine escapees during the fast first hour
The first hour of racing was completed at an unprecedentedly high pace, namely more than 54 km/h. The strong wind, which was mainly at an angle to the back, and the interest in a place in the early flight ensured those speeds. In that first hour, a leading group of seven men broke away, including Per Strand Hagenes (Visma | Lease a Bike), Rasmus Tiller (Uno-X Mobility), Kasper Asgreen (Soudal Quick-Step), Liam Slock (Lotto Dstny), Marco Haller (BORA-hansgrohe), Gleb Syritsa (Astana Qazaqstan) and Kamil Malecki (Q36.5).
The ‘early’ flight was caught early – photo: Cor Vos
They did not get much of a lead, allowing Dries De Bondt (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) and Dusan Rajovic (Bahrain Victorious) to make the jump. However, the peloton, mainly led by Alpecin-Deceuninck, did not give them much space. Even before the Forest of Wallers, the early breakaway was already captured by an elite group that was left after the first cobblestone sections.
Alpecin-Deceuninck separates the peloton
Mathieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen and their teammates rode very attentively over the first sectors. Alpecin-Deceuninck even pulled fans, which completely separated the peloton. Some were able to return afterwards, but the majority of the riders had already been beaten about 150 kilometers from the finish. Not at the front: Dylan van Baarle (did not start due to illness), Christophe Laporte (early puncture), Jonathan Milan (retirement after fall) and Laurenz Rex (retirement after two falls).
Joshua Tarling also had to leave the race, but he due to a very noticeable sticky bottle that led to a justified disqualification. The Briton had to let go of the thinned out peloton, which included almost all the favorites. Then we had to wait for the Forest of Wallers, the first 5-star section of the day, and the much-discussed chicane. The elite group got through this well, after which Mads Pedersen was the first to start the Bos.
Mathieu van der Poel in the lead in the Bos van Wallers – photo: Cor Vos
Van der Poel in the lead through Bos van Wallers, flat tires Philipsen and Pedersen
On the terrible cobblestones, Van der Poel accelerated with Pedersen, Philipsen and the surprisingly strong Mick van Dijke in the wheel. They left the Bos with a lead, but it turned out that Philipsen had a leak. The pace slowed down a bit, allowing a group (with Stefan Küng, Laurence Pithie, Tom Pidcock, Nils Politt, Tim Wellens, Stefan Bissegger, Johan Jacobs, Jordi Meeus and Gianni Vermeersch) to return.
Philipsen was also able to return between the cars after a quick bike change, and at that exact moment flat tires rained. Pedersen, Meeus and Wellens all had to get off their bikes, but were able to return quickly. Three riders took advantage of the chaos: Politt, Küng and Vermeersch rode away, after which their teammates paralyzed the chase. They were able to drive away for 40 seconds, which led to Lidl-Trek starting the Van der Poel group.
World champion chooses solo of 59 kilometers
With 70 kilometers to go, the three escapees were again caught by Pedersen’s executioner, after which a new situation began. On the 3-star strip of Orchies, Van der Poel again chose the attack, which immediately gave him a big lead. No one could follow the world champion 59 kilometers from the finish. The chase also got off to a difficult start, because Philipsen and especially Vermeersch were doing blocking work.
How strong is the lone world champion on the cobblestones of Paris-Roubaix? – photo: Cor Vos
In this way, Van der Poel was able to pull away within ten kilometers in more than a minute (!), while the competition had to pull the chestnuts out of the fire with the MVDP teammates on the luggage carrier. Because there was a bit of a standstill at the back at Mons-en-Pévèle, the world champion was able to move further ahead. A new solo victory, a week after the Tour of Flanders, was thus imminent.
The battle for the other podium places continued at Mons-en-Pévèle. Pedersen, Küng, Pithie (who literally fell away moments later), Politt and Philipsen broke away from the rest, but that was more than 1.40 minutes after the soloing Van der Poel, who steamed unperturbed over the northern French cobblestones and ended up more than two minutes.
Historic victory for Van der Poel
In a dusty edition of the Hell classic, the rainbow shone like never before. And this in the knowledge that Mathieu van der Poel joined lists including Fabian Cancellara, Tom Boonen, Roger De Vlaeminck (the double Ronde-Roubaix in one season), Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Peter Sagan (winning Roubaix as world champion ), Maurice Garin and Rik Van Looy (following yourself in Roubaix). And that in the fastest edition of Paris-Roubaix ever.
photo: Cor Vos
That nothing could stop Van der Poel was evident from the time difference with the group with Pedersen and Philipsen. At 20 kilometers from the finish the gap was already almost three minutes. Just before Carrefour de l’Arbre, Vermeersch and Pithie almost came back to the Philips and co, but the strong Flemish and the New Zealander stalled at about twenty seconds and then fell silent.
On Gruson’s strip, Philipsen showed his strong legs, with which he finally released Küng. Pedersen and Politt were pushed to the limit, but were able to compete and prepare for a sprint for the podium places. The German was the first to sprint, but it was not entirely surprising that Philipsen claimed second place, just ahead of Pedersen. Küng finished fifth, a very strong Vermeersch sixth and Pithie seventh.
2024-04-07 14:52:00
#Mathieu #van #der #Poel #wins #ParisRoubaix #unprecedented #solo #kilometers
