Van der Poel's stirring Paris-Roubaix fightback falls short: 'My race was over in Arenberg'

Van der Poel was over two minutes down after his disastrous passage through the Arenberg and his race seemed run. Yet he delivered an astonishing display over the final 90km, picking his way through the field and closing to within 25 seconds of leaders Wout van Aert and Tadej Pogačar by the Carrefour de l’Arbre.

It wasn’t to be, however, and Van der Poel had to settle for fourth place in Roubaix, fifteen seconds down on his old rival Van Aert, who outsprinted Pogačar for the crown.

“I had two flat tyres, I was more than two minutes behind, so you know the race is over,” Van der Poel told Eurosport and Flobikes at the finish.

Both Van Aert and Pogačar also suffered two punctures apiece in this remarkable edition of Paris-Roubaix, run off at a record average speed of 48.91kph, but the timing of Van der Poel’s misfortune made all the difference.

Puncturing in the Trouée d’Arenberg meant a long wait for the Alpecin-Premier Tech team car, and Van der Poel’s first port of call was to swap bike with Jasper Philipsen. Their pedal systems weren’t compatible, however, and so Van der Poel dismounted metres later, instead accepting a front wheel from Tibor del Grosso.

But his Arenberg travails weren’t over yet. Another puncture just before the exit from the sector forced him off his bike again. By the time a spare was procured, Van Aert, Pogačar et al were more than two minutes up the road.

“It’s never the plan that I take Jasper’s bike, of course, but I think he didn’t feel good himself so he gave me the bike,” Van der Poel said, explaining that dire straits called for desperate measures.

“I tried to get out of Arenberg, but it was impossible. Tibor gave me a wheel, so I took my own bike back, but then I flatted again so I knew my race was over.”

That wasn’t obvious to the men in front of him. The winning attack from Van Aert and Pogačar with 54km to go came just as word reached them that Van der Poel had closed to within 40 seconds. He would stalk them all the way to Roubaix, though he confessed that he didn’t believe he could get back on terms.

“No, not really, to be honest,” Van der Poel said. “I had to spend so much energy just to get back to the group. It’s actually a bit unbelievable I still managed to be in the sprint for the podium.”

Jasper Stuyven (Soudal Quick-Step) stole away for third, but a podium spot would have been a mere consolation prize for Van der Poel, whose Classics campaign ends with wins at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and the E3 Saxo Classic, but with no Monument victory for the first time since 2021.

“My race was over in Arenberg. It’s a pity,” said Van der Poel.

On crossing the line, Van der Poel’s first act was to seek out Van Aert, his old sparring partner, who lay in tears on the grass in the centre of the velodrome.

“It’s normal,” Van der Poel said of the gesture. “After all the setbacks he had, of course, it’s nice for him to win.”