Cycling-Van der Poel retains Paris Roubaix crown with stunning 60km solo attack (updated)

Deceuninck NV

07/04/2024 16:53

(Adds details and quotes)
       PARIS, April 7 (Reuters) - Mathieu van der Poel stormed
to a second victory in the Paris Roubaix on Sunday after the
Dutchman launched a stunning solo attack 60 km from the finish
line to win his second Monument of the year following his Tour
of Flanders victory last weekend.
    On the 260-km "Hell of the North" route which had 29
cobblestone sectors, Van der Poel's victory by three minutes was
the largest winning margin in 22 years as he rode to his sixth
Monuments victory.
        As he crossed the line with his arms outstretched,
soaking in the crowd's applause, his time of five hours, 25
minutes and 58 seconds was recorded as the quickest Paris
Roubaix in history.
    Van der Poel became only the 10th rider to win both cobbled
Monuments -- the Tour of Flanders and Paris Roubaix -- in the
same season and only the second rider to do it with the rainbow
jersey after Rik van Looy in 1962.
        "I wanted to make the race hard from there (60 km out)
on because I know that's my strength. I felt super good today
and when I had the gap, I knew (I could win) with a tailwind to
the finish line for the most part," Van der Poel said.
  
        "Of course, you always know in Roubaix that there's the
possibility of a puncture. But I had the team car with me and I
was quite confident.
  
        "I could really enjoy the moment more than last week (at
Flanders) because then I was on my limit. This time, I could
really enjoy the last part."
  
        Van der Poel launched his solo attack on sector 13 and
quickly built up a huge gap.
  
        Mads Pedersen and Jasper Philipsen were among those who
gave pursuit but the pack failed to organise quickly, looking to
each other to seize the initiative as Van der Poel disappeared
into the distance.
  
        Van der Poel also had his Alpecin-Deceuninck team mates
behind him to thank as they disrupted the chasing pack and
looked to deny riders any breakaway attempts.
  
        As Van der Poel rode towards victory, Philipsen decided
to accelerate with 14 km to go to seal second place while
Pedersen and Nils Politt joined him in a three-way battle for
the last two podium spots.
  
        When they entered the Roubaix Velodrome, UAE Team
Emirates' Politt went for it early but it was Philipsen who
finished second for an Alpecin-Deceuninck one-two while Pedersen
was third for Lidl-Trek.
  

 (Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; editing by Clare
Fallon)
 ((Rohith.Nair@thomsonreuters.com | Twitter: @RohithNair;))