Mathieu van der Poel triumphs again at the classic Paris-Roubaix

#Mathieu #van #der #Poel #triumphs #classic #ParisRoubaix

Through the hustle and bustle and over the cobblestones: Mathieu van der Poel was the fastest at the classic Paris-Roubaix, as he was last year.Image: keystone

Mathieu van der Poel wins the Pavé classic Paris–Roubaix for the second time in a row. As in the previous year, Stefan Küng achieved 5th place.

07.04.2024, 17:2207.04.2024, 19:39

Stefan Küng has long influenced the pavé classic Paris–Roubaix. After 260 strenuous kilometers, the Thurgauer came fifth. He is a good three minutes behind solo winner Mathieu van der Poel, who is in a league of his own.

As on Sunday before, the Dutch world champion triumphed at the Tour of Flanders, well ahead of his first pursuers. While he made the decision in Belgium with a dry start 45 km from the finish, van der Poel, knowing that he had “incredibly strong legs” that day, sat down in the north of France 60 km before entering the race Velodrome in Roubaix stands out from the competition.

The 29-year-old chose one of the easier of the 29 pavé sections for his attack. He immediately put 100 m distance between himself and the other favorites. Because this group of five, which included Küng and Mads Pedersen as well as Jasper Philipsen, a teammate of the leader, did not immediately agree on the pursuit work, the gap was already more than a minute and a half after two more sectors on the cobblestones.

Mathieu van der Poel ditches the pack!!! ⚡

With just under 60 km to go, the World Champ is all alone! 🌈#ParisRobaix pic.twitter.com/cwYP8tzkEo

— Eurosport (@eurosport) April 7, 2024

With 60 kilometers to go, Mathieu van der Poel takes a decisive lead.

“It wasn’t part of my plan to pull away so early. I actually just wanted to make the race difficult and knew that we would have a tailwind to the finish,” said van der Poel, who literally flew over the cobblestones and thus quickly caught up with the competition created a big gap.

The pursuers soon gave up. In the end, the lead was exactly three minutes over his Belgian teammate Jasper Philipsen. It was basically a hussar’s play à la Eddy Merckx, the Belgian known as the “cannibal” who often triumphed with similar margins 50 years ago. “Mathieu was unbeatable today,” said third-placed Dane Mads Pedersen on behalf of all drivers. Van der Poel also set a new record with an average speed of 47.8 km/h.

Küng had lost touch with the trio of Philipsen, Pedersen and the German Nils Pollit on the last, demanding pavé section. At least the 30-year-old from Thurgau was able to hold his own in front of his closest pursuers, securing his third top-5 place in a row in Roubaix after 2022 (third) and 2023 (fifth).

To achieve the Flanders/Roubaix double in the same year was a “dream, I have no words,” said Mathieu van der Poel. The grandson of the French cycling legend Raymond Poulidor succeeded in this undertaking, which the Bernese Cancellara had last accomplished eleven years ago, wearing the world champion’s rainbow jersey. And he became the first rider since Belgian Tom Boonen (2008 and 2009) to win Paris-Roubaix in back-to-back events.

The summary of the race.Video: SRF

Meanwhile, MVDP enjoyed his ride in the last few kilometers and also had enough time to smile at the TV camera and pat his bike. The Dutchman triumphed in Roubaix as the first rider in the world championship jersey since Peter Sagan in 2018. At the same time, Van der Poel, who won 13 of 14 cross-country races in the winter, also achieved the first double from Flanders/Roubaix since Fabian Cancellara. The Bernese was the only non-Belgian to have won the two cycling monuments in 2013. To achieve this is a “dream, I have no words,” said Mathieu van der Poel.

Stefan Bissegger (26th) and Johan Jacobs (38th) were among the Swiss riders who had been strong for a long time in the Hell of the North, as the one-day race, which was held for the 121st time, is often called.

Contrary to fears, there were no major falls on the route from the capital to the north of France. Also the narrow chicane that is… had caused discussions beforehand, was crossed by most drivers without any major problems. Laurenz Rex caused a spectacular fall on a traffic island. (nih/sda)

Laurenz Rex flies off the bike with a somersault.Video: SRF

Rainbow Parade: The road world champions since 1998

1 / 23

Rainbow Parade: The road world champions since 1998

1998: Oscar Camenzind (Switzerland).

those: keystone / michele limna

YouTuber builds bike with square wheels and it moves – but not how you think

Video: watson

This might also interest you:

FC Luzern’s season seems to be over on Easter Monday. The Central Swiss are 0-1 behind their direct rivals in St.Gallen. Not only is there the much-quoted “dash mark” that divides the teams into the championship and relegation rounds after 33 rounds, but there are also six points between the teams at this point.