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Wout van Aert Wins Paris–Roubaix, Outsprints Pogacar in Velodrome Finish

The Belgian finally claimed the cobbled classic he had long targeted after years of close calls.

Overview

  • Van Aert, 31, sealed victory Sunday by beating world champion Tadej Pogacar in a two-up sprint on the Roubaix velodrome.
  • Pre‑race favorite Mathieu van der Poel suffered two punctures in the Arenberg forest sector, lost about two minutes, and battled back to finish fourth at 15 seconds.
  • The decisive move formed with just over 50km to go on a 258.3km route that included 54.8km of cobblestones across 30 sectors, as Van Aert shadowed repeated attacks before winning the final sprint.
  • The result denies Pogacar the only Monument missing from his career and ends his run of four straight Monument wins this past year.
  • Van Aert said the win “means everything” to him and dedicated it to former teammate Michael Goolaerts, who died during Paris–Roubaix in 2018.