Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! Download the app.
Mathieu van der Poel completed an Alpecin-Deceninck masterclass with an imperious 60km solo escape at Paris-Roubaix.
Hot off the back of victory at the Tour of Flanders, the rainbow-striped supremo blazed away from a reduced group on the Orchies cobblestone sector and rampaged into Roubaix all alone to secure back-to-back wins at the “Hell of the North”.
The 29-year-old entered the historic Roubaix velodrome in splendid isolation and had plenty of time to relish another massive victory, shaking his head as he pedaled around the concrete oval.
“I never could have dreamed of this as a child,” Van der Poel said at the finish.
“I was super-motivated for this year. I wanted to show the jersey in a nice way. But it goes beyond expectations and I am a bit lost for words,” he said, dirt stained across his face. “I’ll really try to enjoy this moment.”
Alpecin-Deceuninck dominated the day Sunday, and its alpha sprinter Jasper Philipsen put the icing on the cobblestone cake by nipping Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) for second on the podium, three minutes back on MVDP.
The Belgian squad also pulled the Van der Poel-Philipsen 1-2 last season, making Sunday a rare re-run of history.
Alpecin-Deceuninck superdomestique Gianni Vermeersch made it three in the top-10 on Sunday with his sixth-place finish.
Van der Poel was spent at the finish and didn’t even have the energy to hoist his bike above his head in his usual style after what was the fastest Roubaix in history.
@mathieuvdpoel, you are a double #ParisRoubaix champion!
Oui @mathieuvdpoel, tu es double vainqueur de L’Enfer du Nord ! pic.twitter.com/owD7AKXTDn
— Paris-Roubaix (@parisroubaix) April 7, 2024
After he won Tour of Flanders last weekend with a 45km attack, Van der Poel added 33 percent to his move on Sunday.
“I wanted to make the race hard from there on because I know that is my strength,” he said of his attack down the Orchies cobbles.
“I felt super good actually today. When I had the gap I knew there was a tailwind to the finish line in most parts. I had a really good day today.”
Alpecin-Deceuninck sweeps the spring
Van der Poel’s Alpecin-Deceuninck team held the race in a vice grip from the very first cobblestone sector, and when the Dutchman attacked, there was a denim-clad anchor on any counter-attcking threat.
Philipsen and Van der Poel’s wins at Milan-San Remo, Tour of Flanders, and Paris-Roubaix have seen the Roodhooft brothers’ team become the undisputed top dogs this spring.
The Belgian squad rubber-stamped that accolade by making history as the first to sweep the spring’s first three monuments.
Van der Poel’s 60km solo raid made him the first rider since Fabian Cancellara in 2013 to win both Flanders and Roubaix in one season. Victory Sunday also makes the 29-year-old the first male world champion to win the “Hell of the North” since Peter Sagan pulled the feat in 2018.
Van der Poel now counts six monument victories and a world title on his enormous road classics palmarès.
“It’s hard to believe, actually,” Van der Poel said at the finish. “Again with the team maybe even stronger than last year. I am super proud of the boys and I am very happy to finish it off.”
Van der Poel returns to Amstel Gold Race next weekend, a race he eviscerated in sensational fashion in 2019.
Expect fireworks.
Race rips open from earliest sector
Alpecin-Deceuninck took control as soon as the peloton rumbled onto the first of the race’s 29 sectors.
Still 160km from the finish, the Troisvilles à Inchy was the start of 55.7km of cobblestone “hell” that MVDP’s team looked intent on ruling.
Mild, extra-windy conditions had dried out much of the pavé after a week of rain, though some deep puddles remained at the sides of the ancient roads.
Alpecin-Deceuninck bullied the front of the bunch for Van der Poel and Philipsen over the first few cobblestone strips.
The Alpecin-Deceuninck Express split the bunch into two in the space of just a few pavé sectors.
The speed on the front meant there were only around 40 riders left in contention with around 140km to go. All the big pre-race contenders made the split, but Van der Poel’s team packed by far the most numbers at the front.
The raging cross-tailwinds made the race beyond rapid.
The first three hours of racing averaged just north of 50kph.
Van der Poel lays down warning on the Arenberg
The Trouée d’Arenberg and its controversial chicane was first of the three 5-star sectors, arriving 100km from the velodrome.
A group of around 30 riders roared toward the race’s new hairpin bend / “chicane” and speeds hit 80kph as riders elbowed for the crucial front positions.
From the chicane into the Trouée d’Arenberg
These cobbles are BRUTAL! #ParisRoubaix pic.twitter.com/IKYRr1lYgR
— Eurosport (@eurosport) April 7, 2024
The speed-slowing measure worked as intended and the leaders hit the start of the gruesome sector after a near-dead stop after the group had squeezed through the 300-degree bend.
Pedersen was first to light it up down the trench before Van der Poel opened the burners in what seemed a warm-up for what was to come.
Only Pedersen, Philipsen, and Mick Van Dijk (Visma-Lease a Bike) could hold the raging Dutchman’s wheel, but the race came back together soon after the 5-star strip.
Van der Poel untouchable after Orchies assault
Alpecin-Deceinick seemed to have control of all scenarios.
When big rouleurs Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ) and Nils Politt (UAE Emirates) went away at 85km, Vermeersch was there to give Van der Poel an easy ride in the group of behind.
Lidl-Trek drove the chasing bunch of around 25 riders, which included all the race’s “bigs” beyond Politt and Küng.
The U.S. team pulled the race came back together again with 60km to go, and the pace slowed as the 25 remaining leaders braced for the grand finalé.
It was the Orchies, sector 13, that Van der Poel broke the calm with his raging race-winning move.
Van der Poel had been following his teammate’s wheels since his earlier burst down the Arenberg.
The world champion unleashed his rested legs with one of his trademark massive accelerations down the 3-star strip, and from there, the race was his.
Van der Poel rampaged down the Orchies cobbles at close to 60kph and kept the pace on over the tarmac as he targeted a 60km solo move.
‘ de @mathieuvdpoel #ParisRoubaix pic.twitter.com/gVeiUiuaT2
— Paris-Roubaix (@parisroubaix) April 7, 2024
Behind Van der Poel, his teammates Vermeersch and Philipsen took the pace out of the attacks. Pedersen, Politt, and Tim Wellens (UAE Emirates) all tried to go, but there was a denim-clad Deceuninck on their wheels every time.
Van der Poel only expanded his advantage after he broke the elastic on the group.
By the time he cleared the notorious Mons-en-Pévèle at 50km remaining he had more than 90 seconds over Pedersen, Politt, Küng, Laurence Pithie, and his marking teammate Philipsen.
The chase group lost Pithie to a crash but even with three riders still pulling, they were incapable of catching Van der Poel.
The Dutchman guided his wildly-bucking Canyon bike through the Carrefour de l’Arbre final 5-star sector with an advantage of more than three minutes in what was a display of raw power and pedaling panache.
Philipsen, Politt, and Pedersen followed Van der Poel into the velodrome.
Pedersen led the trio down the back straight and Politt tried to go long. The big German soon faded and the grand tour sprint ace Philipsen timed his move to perfection to kick past Pedersen to make it a 1-2 for Alpecin-Deceuninck.
Earlier in the race, Ineos Grenadiers time trial sensation and outside contender Josh Tarling was DQd by race officials for clinging on to a team car after he went back to his staffers for mechanical assistance.
