Paris-Roubaix: Van der Poel triumphs - bad luck for Degenkolb

By Tom Bachmann, dpa

John Degenkolb (Team DSM) crashes at the decisive moment, Mathieu van der Poel celebrates after his arch-rival Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) in the legendary Roubaix velodrome.

Paris-Roubaix 2023: Van der Poel wins as a soloist

In a dramatic finale, the Dutchman celebrated his first victory in the Hell of the North and won the classic Paris-Roubaix on Easter Sunday. After 257 kilometres - 54.5 of which were over brutal cobblestones - the cyclo-cross world champion prevailed as a soloist and triumphed three weeks after Milan-San Remo in his second cycling monument of the year.

Belgian Jasper Philipsen (also Alpecin-Deceuninck) secured second place ahead of his compatriot van Aert. The brilliantly fighting Degenkolb finished seventh after a crash in the decisive phase and thus missed out on his second triumph in Roubaix after 2015. Despite the misfortune, the 34-year-old showed a strong performance that was hardly thought possible. Max Walscheid rounded off the strong performance of the German professional cyclists in eighth place.

"It doesn't get any better"

"It's incredible how we drove as a team. Jasper finishes second. It doesn't get any better than that. I had one of the best days on the bike. I attacked again and again, but I couldn't get away from the others. When Wout had a defect, I rode as fast as I could. Of course it's bad luck, but that's part of the race," said van der Poel.

The decision was once again made in the Carrefour de l'Arbre sector around 18 kilometres before the finish. Firstly, Degenkolb crashed after a collision with van der Poel, whereupon van Aert attacked. The Belgian broke away with van der Poel, but shortly before the end of the 2.3 kilometre long section he suffered a rear wheel defect. Van der Poel capitalised on his arch-rival's misfortune and rode to his first Roubaix victory.

The peloton had solid pressure on the pedals right from the start at Paris-Roubaix 2023, with an average speed of over 50 kilometres per hour in the first two hours of the race alone. Memories of last year's high-speed race came flooding back, when the fastest Roubaix in history was recorded at 45.792 kilometres per hour. Back then, experienced rider Degenkolb complained that he didn't even have time for a pee break.

Two Germans in the top group

It was only after 85 kilometres that a leading group of four, including Jonas Koch (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Juri Hollmann (Movistar). However, the lead was not too big and 100 kilometres before the finish, top favourite Van Aert triggered the first panic attack among the competition. The Belgian started with team-mate Christophe Laporte, with only van der Poel and Degenkolb following at first.

The small group crossed the dreaded Arenberg forest without the usual hectic pace. After the 2.3 kilometre long sector, which forced defending champion Dylan van Baarle (Jumbo-Visma) to abandon due to a crash, the group expanded to include the breakaway riders who had caught up. In addition, time trial world champion Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) and Maximilian Walscheid (Cofidis) from behind.

Paris-Roubaix 2023: Decision in the Carrefour de l'Arbre

A good 50 kilometres before the finish of Paris-Roubaix 2023, van der Poel emphatically announced his presence. Initially, only Degenkolb followed his first attack before van Aert caught up again. The Dutchman pushed again in the five-star Mons-en-Pevele sector, which was too much for Walscheid.

In the feed after the section, van der Poel started again, and for the first time only the favourite duo with him and van Aert were at the front. However, as van Aert refused to take the lead, they were unable to pull away from the other five riders. The favourites worked together until the breathtaking finale in the Carrefour de l'Arbre.

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