Cycling: Mathieu van der Poel won the Monument Paris – Roubaix. The Dutch world champion decided the "Hell of the North" confidently for himself, successfully defending his victory from last year and celebrating his sixth victory overall at a monument. Nils Politt was once again strong, narrowly missing out on the podium.
Van der Poel effortlessly defends his victory from last year
The competition has no chance of admitting that Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin – Deceuninck) cannot currently be beaten. The world champion also wins Paris – Roubaix after the Ronde van Vlaanderen. At the 121st edition of the "Mother of all classics" The Dutchman is back at the top of the podium after 259,7 kilometers. With a solo over 60 kilometers, he confidently won what was probably the most prestigious one-day race in road cycling, just like last year. It wasn't until almost three minutes later that his teammate completed the score Jasper Phillipsen (Alpecin – Deceuninck) and Mads pedersen (Lidl – Trek) the podium in the Roubaix cycle track. Just missed the top 3 Nils Politt (UAE). After his top result at the Ronde, the German can now also look forward to a strong race at Paris – Roubaix.
No falls in the Arenberg forest
The first major selection of the 121st edition of Paris – Roubaix occurred in the first half of the race when the peloton split into several parts. This constellation was perfect for the tricky Pavé sector, the Arenberg forest. Because only a small field of drivers drove together into the artificially created chicane. This time, the most famous cobblestone passage was completely accident-free. Suffered, among other things John Degenkolb (dsm-company PostNL), Mads pedersen (Lidl – Trek) and Jasper Phillipsen (Alpecin – Deceuninck) subsequently suffered a defect, but were able to restore connection, so that a decision was postponed around 90 kilometers from the finish.
German-Swiss cooperation
With Nils Politt (UAE), Stefan Kung (Groupama – FDJ) and Gianni Vermeersch (Alpecin – Deceuninck), around 85 kilometers from the finish, three very dangerous riders were able to break away from the remaining peloton. While the German and the Swiss harmonized well together, the Belgian held back completely from the work. The hierarchy in the Belgian team was clearly visible: the captain is called Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin – Deceuninck). At the same time, you didn't have to keep up with the chasing group either. There Lidl-Trek took over command. The trio was caught up again about 20 kilometers later after the Tilloy à Sars-et-Rosières pavé sector.
The competition drives for van der Poel
The race went perfectly for Alpecin – Deceuninck. From the middle of the race onwards, the Belgian team hardly had to work anymore, as the main rivals from Mathieu van der Poel willingly took on this task. The Dutchman, like his Belgian teammate, was able to do so Jasper Phillipsen withdraw a little and save energy. When the Orchies sector was entered with 60 kilometers to go, the current world champion turned on the turbo. Van der Poel broke off as a soloist. Nobody could follow him. His opponents were defeated. Initially, the pursuers still sought cooperation. Ultimately, however, they had to realize that today it was only about second place. The challengers of the Alpecin - Deceuninck team have to critically question themselves as to whether they have really developed a sensible plan for this year's Paris - Roubaix or whether they have ultimately played right into the hands of the favorite team.
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