Four Monuments tallied: Mathieu van der Poel rules Paris-Roubaix

Mathieu van der Poel added another Monument to his palmares at Sunday’s 120th running of the Hell of the North, Paris-Roubaix. Van der Poel and Van Aert dashed away on the Carrefour de l’Arbre sector of cobbles but Van Aert punctured, scuppering his chances; he could only place third. The Dutchman has won two Monuments this season: Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix. He has also claimed two editions of the Ronde van Vlaanderen in his career. Guillaume Boivin was top Canadian in 45th.

Introduction and course

The reigning champ Dylan van Baarle was on the start line, but after winning Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in February, crash injuries have hampered his season. His Jumbo-Visma teammates Van Aert and Christophe Laporte were more likely lads, although Van Aert was playing down his chances, saying he was still not quite right after his Ronde van Vlaanderen crash. Van der Poel was on good form, as was Mads Pedersen. Some thought Filippo Ganna could excel in this edition.

The Canadian contingent was Q36.5’s Nick Zukowsky and Israel-Premier Tech’s Derek Gee and Guillaume Boivin, the former making his Hell of the North debut and the latter ninth in 2021.

Over 256.6 km, the 120th Paris-Roubaix featured 54.5 km of cobbled roads spread out over 29 sectors. The five-star sectors were infamous: number 19 Trouée d’Arenberg, 2.3 km; number 11 Mons-en-Pévèle, 3 km; and number 4 Carrefour de l’Arbre, 2.1 km.

Early Action

Derek Gee tried to get into an early breakaway, but the peloton wasn’t having any of it. In the first hour of the race the riders covered 51.5 km. The crashes began after that, coinciding with Gee finally breaking free with three others after 80 km of racing, the first sector of cobbles only 10 km away. Peter Sagan, the 2018 champion, and a couple of Ineos riders at the front of the peloton were among the many crashers in or between the early sectors.

? 150km

? Another crash at the front of the peloton!

? Nouvelle chute en tête de peloton ! #ParisNice pic.twitter.com/ASGdgAuX6a

— Paris-Roubaix (@parisroubaix) April 9, 2023

Ineos, Jumbo-Visma and Alpecin-Deceuninck were among the teams who led the peloton while mechanicals pestered the riders.

Trouée d’Arenberg

Before the first five-star sector, Van Aert, Laporte, van der Poel and three others flared off from the peloton in pursuit.

Before the Van Aert group moved through the breakaway, the stones Arenberg destroyed poor Gee’s front wheel in spectacular fashion. As soon as the peloton made it to the cobbles, there was a huge crash.

Laporte suffered a mechanical and was ejected from the Van Aert group in the following sectors, but the Van Aert group got reinforcements including Ganna and Pedersen. This new eleven bounced towards the Mons-en-Pévèle sector over a minute ahead of Laporte and teammate Nathan van Hooydonck in pursuit.

Mons-en-Pévèle

Just before the second five-star sector, van der Poel hit the gas but only temporarily whittled down the group. The Laporte chase was finding no purchase and the main field was still 2:00 behind. Van der Poel again accelerated and the leading gang was down to seven: van der Poel, Van Aert, 2015 champion John Degenkolb, van der Poel’s teammate Jasper Philipsen, Stefan Küng, Ganna and Pedersen. Van der Poel and his shadow Van Aert skipped clear when the cobbles ended, but the move was short lived. Forty-four kilometres and 10 sectors remained.

Carrefour de l’Arbre

The Laporte chase was no longer a factor as the race entered the final 25 km and the Big Septet hurtled towards Carrefour de l’Arbre.

Van Aert made the deep dig in the final five-star sector just after Degenkolb crashed. It was the deciding move. Van der Poel went with him, but in the final 500 metres, the Belgian suffered a puncture. The Dutchman was gone.

Van Aert led the chase in the final 15 kilometres, snapping off Ganna and Küng with his efforts. Van der Poel overcooked a corner but kept his machine upright. He would not be denied. Philipsen celebrated his teammate’s win and then dispatched Van Aert for second place.

2023 Paris-Roubaix
1) Mathieu van der Poel (The Netherlands/Alpecin-Deceuninck) 5:28:41
2) Jasper Philipsen (Belgium/Alpecin-Deceuninck) +0:46
3) Wout Van Aert (Belgium/Jumbo-Visma) s.t.
45) Guillaume Boivin (Canada/Israel-Premier Tech) +5:42
125) Nick Zukowsky (Canada/Q36.5) +22:44
135) Derek Gee (Canada/Israel-Premier Tech) +25:44