First Italian victory in 22 years: Colbrelli wins Paris-Roubaix

The 31-year-old prevailed on Sunday after more than 6 hours in his first appearance in this most traditional one-day race and thus won one of the five monuments of cycling.

After the 257,7 km long dramatic cobblestone ordeal, which was affected by rain and many falls, especially in the first few hours, Colbrelli beat the Belgian Florian Vermeersch (Lotto Soudal) and top favorite in a thrilling final sprint on the old concrete track in the Velodrome in Roubaix Mathieu van der Poel from the Netherlands (Alpecin-Fenix) takes his place. When they reached the finish line, the participants were marked by the weather and the exertion.

"This is a dream. It's my first Paris-Roubaix and me win. This year is my year, I am very happy,” said Colbrelli at Eurosport before he took over the heavy paving stone Winner's trophy for one of the five monuments of cycling stretched. The multiple Tour de France stage winner and Cross world champion van der Poel, who has already competed at the Olympics missed the gold medal in a mountain bike race due to a fall, stood served on the podium.

Colbrelli was extremely jubilant. © APA/afp / ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT

In total, there were more than 20 crashes in this year's edition of the cycling classic - Paris-Roubaix once again fully lived up to its infamous reputation. Gianni Moscon from Nonsberg also had to experience this. After a long solo ride he seemed to be on his way to victory. But with 30 kilometers to go, Moscon had a flat tire, waited for a new bike and lost time before crashing a short time later. He fought back for a long time, but with a good 17 kilometers to go on the Carrefour de l'Arbre, one of the most difficult cobblestone sections, van der Poel, Colbrelli and Vermeersch started to attack. Moscon ultimately had to settle for 4th place (+44 seconds).

Gianni Moscon (front) from Nonsberg was in the lead for a long time (in the picture in front of Van der Poel and Colbrelli. © APA/afp / ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT

The professional cyclists and fans had to wait 903 days for the 118th edition; it was the longest break in the race since the Second World War. In 2020 the race was canceled due to the corona pandemic, this year the actual spring classic had to be postponed to autumn due to the spread of the virus.

The women's race had already taken place on Saturday - it was the first time that this cycling classic was also held for women. We had to cover 116 kilometers, 30 of which were over the dreaded cobblestones. The 32-year-old Brit Elizabeth Deignan celebrated a prestigious debut success after an impressive solo ride. The Dutch Marianne Vos (Jumbo/+ 1.17 min.) came second. Third place went to Deignan's teammate Elisa Longo Borghini (ITA/1.47). In difficult conditions with partly wet ground, wind and rain in the final phase, there were a number of falls.

The South Tyrolean Elena Pirrone was also there for the women. However, the 22-year-old from Steinmannwald had material problems right from the start and had to give up after around 50 kilometers.

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First Italian victory in 22 years: Colbrelli wins Paris-Roubaix

European cycling champion Sonny Colbrelli has won the 118th edition of Paris-Roubaix, marking the first victory in this classic by an Italian in 22 years.

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