Mathieu van der Poel seized victory at the Paris Roubaix for the second time, following a remarkable solo effort 60km prior to the end line. This win marks his second Monument of the current year, adding to his recent triumph at Ronde van Vlaanderen the previous weekend. In the tough 260km ‘Hell of the North’ track, which features 29 cobbled sections, Van der Poel’s winning lead of three minutes stood as one of the most substantial in recent history. Celebrating his unprecedented sixth Monuments victory, Van der Poel crossed the finish line, arms aloft in victory.
He stands as only the tenth cyclist in history to clinch both cobbled Monuments – the Tour of Flanders and Paris Roubaix – in a single season. He is only the second to do so wearing the coveted rainbow jersey, following in the tyre marks of Rik van Looy in 1962.
Further back in the track, a fierce competition unfolded between Mads Pedersen, Jasper Philipsen and Nils Politt for the remaining two spots on the podium. Despite Politt making an early bid for victory, it was Philipsen who clinched the second spot to complete an Alpecin-Deceuninck double, as Pedersen secured the third spot.
In the women’s race, World champion Lotte Kopecky stormed to victory at the Paris-Roubaix Femmes in a nail-biting conclusion on Saturday. The Belgian rider, representing SD Worx-Protime, was part of a six-rider lead group as the 148.5km race concluded at the renowned Roubaix velodrome, where she edged ahead of her competitors. Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) came in second, while Pfeiffer Georgi (DSM-Firmenich PostNL) narrowly beat Marianne Vos (Team Visma-Lease a Bike) to capture third place.