ROUBAIX, France (AP) — Belgian rider Wout van Aert beat cycling great Tadej Pogačar in a dramatic sprint to the line to win the prestigious Paris-Roubaix one-day classic for the first time on Sunday.
They were neck and neck entering the finish at the vélodrome in Roubaix after more than five hours of grueling racing. Van Aert had the better sprint credentials and timed his attack perfectly to surge past Pogačar on the right and hold him off.
“Beating him mano a mano in a sprint is really special to me,” Van Aert said.
Van Aert raised his right finger and pointed to the sky as he crossed the line and then got off his bike and lay on his back, thoroughly exhausted.
He dedicated the victory to his former teammate Michael Goolaerts, who died at the age of 23 after collapsing during the 2018 race.
“It means everything to me. It’s been a goal since 2018, when I first did this race, and in that race I lost a teammate, Michael Goolaerts,” Van Aert said. “Ever since then, it has been my goal to come here and point my finger to the sky. This victory is for Michael.”
It was a rare defeat for four-time Tour de France champion Pogačar, looking to become the first Tour champion to win Roubaix since Bernard Hinault in 1981. He was also second last year.
Last month, Pogačar won Milan-San Remo, leaving only Roubaix to complete the set of five monuments in one-day cycling along with the Tour of Flanders, Liège–Bastogne–Liège and the Tour of Lombardy.
The 31-year-old Van Aert is a three-time cyclocross world champion. He won Milan San-Remo in 2020, the Tour de France best sprinters’ green jersey in 2022, and finished third at Milan-San Remo last month.
The 258.3-kilometer (160.1-mile) Paris-Roubaix race is called “The Hell of the North” because of its multiple cobblestone sections — totaling about 55 kilometers — and reputation for crashes and punctures.
Pogačar and Dutch three-time defending champion Mathieu van der Poel both punctured.
Pogačar punctured with about 120 kilometers left and, with his team car behind, he took a neutral service bike from a nearby repairs car. Visibly annoyed, he had to wait several minutes for his team car to give him one of his race bikes.
Van Aert was on Pogačar’s wheel entering one of the notorious cobblestone section called Carrefour de l’Arbre, a 2-kilometer stretch near the end where a number of riders have fallen. Pogačar almost fell when his front wheel slipped.
It was a straight sprint heading into the André-Pétrieux vélodrome, but Pogačar felt out of gas.
“I was already cooked and there was not much freshness in the legs to really maybe have a chance,” Pogačar said. “I saw quite fast that it would be mission impossible.”
Belgian rider Jasper Stuyven finished third ahead of Van der Poel, who hugged Van Aert, his former cyclocross archrival.
Franziska Koch wins women’s race
It was another thrilling finish in the women’s race as the German rider held off cycling great Marianne Vos of the Netherlands by about a wheel’s length in a thrilling three-way sprint to the line.
“It’s kind of hard to believe,” the 25-year-old Koch said after the biggest win of her career. “I’ve been dreaming of this.”
Defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot of France was third.
The 143.1-kilometer (88.7 mile) race was the same day as the men’s for the first time, albeit with a different starting point and a slightly shorter route than last year.
___
AP cycling: https://apnews.com/hub/cycling
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
