Paris-Roubaix’s most unforgettable races of the modern era

In 2021, Paris-Roubaix was held on October 3, a week after the World Championships, due to the pandemic. The delay resulted in horrendous conditions, with mud turning the race into a survival test.

Pre-race attention focused heavily on cyclocross specialists like Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert. However, Van der Poel was not at his best due to a back injury, while Van Aert had gone slightly over the top in his preparation. As a result, the race became far more open than expected.

A very strong early breakaway formed quickly and played a decisive role in the race. It included big names such as Florian Vermeersch, Greg Van Avermaet, Nils Eekhoff, Jasper Philipsen, Gianni Moscon, Luke Rowe, Matteo Jorgenson, Marco Haller, Fred Wright, Stefan Küng, Stefan Bissegger and Max Walscheid, among others. Küng was one of the riders forced to abandon after crashing out of the break.

From that group, Vermeersch, Walscheid, Eekhoff and Rowe managed to go clear. However, both Rowe and Walscheid saw their chances disappear after crashes, leaving Vermeersch and Eekhoff to tackle the Trouée d’Arenberg together.

Behind them, Van der Poel impressed during a chaotic passage over the sector. At the exit, only Guillaume Boivin and Sonny Colbrelli were still with him. A chasing group led by Van Aert later made it back.

At the front, Vermeersch and Eekhoff were eventually caught by the remaining breakaway survivors, but the Belgian attacked again shortly after, this time with Moscon and Van Asbroeck. Behind them, Colbrelli attacked from the Van der Poel group, joined by Anthony Lecroq, Boivin and Baptiste Planckaert. Van der Poel had to bridge across alone, spending significant energy.

Moscon then dropped his breakaway companions and went solo. With around 30 kilometres to go, he held a lead of over a minute. His race unravelled, however, with a puncture followed by a crash, reducing his advantage dramatically.

With 16 kilometres remaining, Moscon was caught and dropped by the leading trio of Van der Poel, Colbrelli and Vermeersch. Despite spending most of the day in the break, Vermeersch still had the strength to attack in the final kilometre, but Colbrelli responded immediately.

The race came down to a sprint between the three. Vermeersch opened early, Van der Poel was unable to come around him, and Colbrelli surged past both to take victory.

In 2016, the breakaway took a long time to form, only going clear after almost two hours of racing. The group featured riders such as Mathew Hayman, Yves Lampaert, Jelle Wallays, Imanol Erviti and others.

Chaos struck in the approach to the Trouée d’Arenberg, where several favourites crashed, including Peter Sagan, Fabian Cancellara, Tom Boonen, Niki Terpstra and Alexander Kristoff. In response, Quick-Step set a fierce pace through Tony Martin, blowing the race apart.

After the Forest of Arenberg, the peloton was in pieces, and a reduced front group began to form. Riders like Ian Stannard and Edvald Boasson Hagen joined Boonen, while Sep Vanmarcke later returned to the group.

With 63 kilometres to go, the best of the peloton merged with the remnants of the breakaway. Vanmarcke attacked on Mons-en-Pévèle, reducing the group significantly. Later, Boonen attacked on a flat section, creating a leading group of five with Vanmarcke, Boasson Hagen, Hayman and Stannard.

On the Carrefour de l’Arbre, Vanmarcke attacked again but was quickly brought back. This led to a tense final phase with constant attacks. Eventually, Boonen and Hayman rode clear towards the velodrome, with Vanmarcke joining shortly after. Boasson Hagen and Stannard also managed to return.

In the sprint, Hayman launched early. Boonen initially found himself boxed in but managed to open up near the line. He could not come past Hayman, however, who secured a remarkable victory.

It was a bitter outcome for Boonen, who missed the chance to become the sole record holder with five wins. Hayman’s victory was all the more remarkable given he had broken his arm just six weeks earlier and prepared largely on the rollers.

From the moment the race hit the cobbles, Tom Boonen imposed himself on the race.

He rode aggressively, repeatedly attacking from over 60 kilometres out, constantly putting pressure on the peloton. Although no elite group formed immediately, his efforts steadily wore down the competition.

With 46 kilometres to go, a decisive move finally went clear. The front group included Johan Vansummeren, Leif Hoste, Filippo Pozzato, Juan Antonio Flecha and Thor Hushovd.

Despite suffering a puncture, Boonen quickly returned to the front. On the Carrefour de l’Arbre, the race broke apart completely. Flecha crashed, taking Hoste with him, while Vansummeren could no longer follow.

Only Hushovd briefly remained with Boonen before he too crashed. That left Boonen alone at the front.

Pozzato attempted to close the gap, giving everything in the chase, but could not make the difference. Boonen rode solo into the Roubaix velodrome to claim one of the most dominant victories of his career.

The 2002 edition was another mud filled race that delivered both redemption and the emergence of a future star.

A young Tom Boonen featured in the early break alongside riders like Hans De Clercq and Nico Mattan. On the Trouée d’Arenberg, Boonen, De Clercq, Cassani and Schweda proved to be among the strongest.

With 40 kilometres remaining, Johan Museeuw attacked from a large group and went solo. His move carried significant emotional weight after his horrific crash in the 1998 edition, which had nearly cost him his leg.

Behind him, Boonen was riding strongly in his first professional season, initially working for George Hincapie. However, he proved so strong that he effectively rode his leader into exhaustion. Hincapie was later dropped and joined by Steffen Wesemann, who then bridged across to Boonen.

At the front, Museeuw continued to take risks on the wet cobbles but maintained his advantage. He entered the velodrome alone with a lead of over three minutes.

Behind him, Wesemann secured second place, while Boonen, finally showing signs of fatigue, finished third. Museeuw would later refer to him as his successor, a prediction that would prove accurate.

In contrast to several other editions on this list, the 2017 race was run in dry conditions, but that did not prevent it from becoming a chaotic and attritional day.

With around 150 kilometres to go, Oliver Naesen crashed heavily, the start of a day full of bad luck for the Belgian. It was a major disappointment, especially considering that just a week earlier he had also crashed in the Tour of Flanders on the final Oude Kwaremont while still in contention for the win. In that incident, Peter Sagan hit a jacket hanging over the barriers and went down, taking Naesen and Greg Van Avermaet with him.

Van Avermaet would also run into problems again in Paris-Roubaix. He was involved in another crash and then suffered a puncture with around 100 kilometres to go, just before the Trouée d’Arenberg. Visibly frustrated, he was seen shouting for a bike change.

That moment marked the beginning of a long and demanding chase. In the Trouée d’Arenberg, Zdeněk Štybar set the pace, with Sagan and Jasper Stuyven on his wheel. Despite losing time earlier, Van Avermaet managed to fight his way back to the front after a chase of more than 20 kilometres.

On Mons-en-Pévèle, Sagan increased the pace, and for the first time Tom Boonen showed signs of weakness in what would be his final Paris-Roubaix. The race split into an elite group that included Van Avermaet, Boonen, Gianni Moscon, Štybar, John Degenkolb, Stuyven, Daniel Oss, Dylan van Baarle and Sebastian Langeveld.

Shortly after, Oss went on the attack. With Van Avermaet as his teammate, this placed the Belgian in an ideal tactical position. A counter move followed from Štybar, Jurgen Roelandts, Langeveld and Sagan, but the world champion’s race was effectively ended by a puncture soon after.

The remaining riders joined forces and eventually caught Oss, forming a leading group of seven riders at the front of the race.

On the Carrefour de l’Arbre, Van Avermaet made his decisive move. He rode clear with Langeveld and Štybar, dropping the rest. Štybar attempted to attack again later, but Van Avermaet reacted immediately and stayed on his wheel.

The three riders entered the Roubaix velodrome together to decide the race. Štybar launched the sprint first and looked set to win, but Van Avermaet came around him in the final metres to take victory.

Langeveld completed the podium in third place, while Boonen finished 13th in his final appearance at Paris-Roubaix.