Cycling: Van der Poel wins Paris-Roubaix – Politt fourth | EUROtoday

Mathieu van der Poel unfold his arms on the concrete observe within the venerable Velodrome of Roubaix on the finish of his triumphant trip and at last topped himself the cobblestone king within the hell of the north.

The Dutch world champion stormed to his second triumph within the feared spring basic Paris-Roubaix in a powerful method and, as along with his coup on the Tour of Flanders per week in the past, didn't give the competitors for Nils Politt from Cologne the slightest probability.

After 259.7 kilometers, together with 55.7 kilometers over the exhausting pavés from the instances of Napoleon, van der Poel got here out on high with an extended solo trip forward of his group colleague Jasper Philipsen and the Dane Mads Pedersen. “I felt really good today,” mentioned van der Poel. “I couldn’t have dreamed of that as a child.” He additionally praised the efficiency of his group, which did even higher than final yr.

The finest German was the robust Politt in fourth place in an unprecedented high-speed race. The 30-year-old, who had already completed second in Roubaix in 2019, had even been in a position to dream of a extremely massive coup in a three-man main group. Veteran John Degenkolb, the 2015 winner, was additionally within the entrance discipline for a very long time regardless of a tire defect on the incorrect time. “My legs were really good,” mentioned Politt. But it was very exhausting for him on this “incredibly fast” 121st version of the race. “I can be happy,” mentioned the Cologne resident.

Van der Poel on the path of Cancellara

But van der Poel was – as soon as once more – in a league of his personal. «Mathieu van der Poel hovers a bit above everybody else. He is the one one who can beat himself,” Degenkolb informed the dpa and he was proper. With 59.7 kilometers to go, MvP pulled away from his rivals with a robust assault on the dusty dust street in Orchies. The competitors had no reply. Van der Poel is the primary rider since Swiss classics specialist Fabian Cancellara in 2013 to realize the uncommon double of the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.

The feared rain didn’t materialize in northern France on the weekend, so the observe was solely damp in a number of locations. Accordingly, the variety of falls was restricted. After the horrible fall scenes of the previous few days, this was relieving information for the trade. Just on Thursday, Danish Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard and time trial world champion Remco Evenepoel from Belgium suffered quite a few damaged bones after a violent crash. The two stars, like all-rounder Wout van Aert (Belgium), who was caught in Across Flanders, shall be out for weeks.

Chicane defuses Arenberg passage

Even within the notorious Arenberg forest there was no “Russian roulette” this time, as race director Thierry Gouvenou had put it just about earlier dramas. The organizers had defused the cobblestone part with a chicane simply earlier than the doorway to the forest to forestall speeds of as much as 70 km/h. But the impediment didn’t cease van der Poel from initiating a primary take a look at of power. The world champion elevated the tempo a lot that solely three riders might comply with.

The indisputable fact that the beautiful group – former world champion Mads Pedersen was additionally there – didn’t draw back alone 95 kilometers from the end was on account of a defect by van der Poel's teammate Jasper Philipsen from the Alpecin-Deceuninck racing group. The high favourite didn't wish to lose the winner of Milan-Sanremo at his facet so early within the race. This additionally gave Degenkolb an opportunity to catch up once more after his defect on the finish of the Arenberg Forest.

Then it was Politt, who, along with the Swiss Stefan Küng and the Belgian Gianni Vermeersch, escaped with a lead of half a minute. The 30-year-old from Cologne is in robust kind this spring. He had already sprinted to 3rd place in Flanders – albeit far behind winner van der Poel.

© dpa-infocom, dpa:240407-99-591712/4