Van der Poel celebrated solo victory at Paris-Roubaix

The Dutch top favorite from the Alpecin-Deceuninck team won on Easter Sunday in the Roubaix Velodrome as a soloist ahead of his teammate Jasper Philipsen. The Belgian won the sprint for second place against his compatriot Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) 46 seconds behind the winner.

“It's unbelievable how we rode as a team. Jasper comes second. It doesn't get any better. I had one of the best days on the bike. I kept attacking, but I couldn't outrun the others. When Wout broke down, I drove as fast as I could. Of course it’s bad luck, but that’s part of the race,” said van der Poel.

The winners' podium (from left to right): Jasper Philipsen, Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert. © APA/afp / ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT

The decision in the “Hell of the North” over 256,6 kilometers and 29 sectors with a total of 54,5 kilometers of cobblestones was once again made in the Carrefour de l'Arbre sector about 18 kilometers before the finish. Van der Poel collided with John Degenkolb, whereupon van Aert attacked. The Belgian broke away from van der Poel, but shortly before the end of the 2,3-kilometer section he suffered a rear wheel defect. Van der Poel took advantage of his arch-rival's bad luck and drove to his first Roubaix victory. The 28-year-old cross world champion won his third cycling monument after the Tour of Flanders and Milan – Sanremo three weeks ago.

The peloton had solid pressure on the pedals from the start, with an average speed of over 50 kilometers per hour in the first two hours of racing alone. Memories of the high-speed race from the previous year were brought back when the statistics ended with the fastest Roubaix in history at 45,792 km/h.

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Van der Poel celebrated solo victory at Paris-Roubaix

Mathieu van der Poel has won the 120th edition of the cobblestone classic Paris-Roubaix.

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