Take a moment to appreciate the bonkers bike handling skills of Mathieu van der Poel

Mathieu van der Poel took an incredible win on Sunday at Paris-Roubaix, and his bike handling was astonishing to watch.

From jumping off and on the cobbles, cornering so hard he went into the grass, he always looked in control.

He and Wout van Aert were the strongest of the race and it seemed like it would be a battle royale in the velodrome. Unfortunately for the Belgian, a puncture at the wrong time changed that. When MvdP was solo, he took every corner at top speed as he gunned for the finish.

On many of the cobbled sectors there were yellow bollards lining the sidewalk or smoother sections beside the rough stuff. Those are to prevent the riders from getting an easier ride, instead forcing them onto the pavé. On one of the final right-hand corners, the Dutch rider was in full flight when he went outside to inside..and narrowly missed one of the yellow barricades. It was an astonishing display of skill as he then accelerated out of it and rode to the win.

Just like Tom Pidcock, who wowed fans on some of his amazing descents, it seems the off-road riding has certainly upped the game at the WorldTour road races.

Here’s Tom Pidcock descending like an absolute god in L.A.

Take a look at the impressive display below.

? 7km

? ??@mathieuvdpoel gives it all in the last kilometres!

? ??@mathieuvdpoel prend tous les risques dans les derniers kilomètres !#ParisRoubaix pic.twitter.com/RuxSErS5n9

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