There were mixed emotions for the men who finished third to eighth in the Paris-Roubaix velodrome on Sunday afternoon. At the end of a long day in Hell, six riders were left to battle it out for essentially minor placings after Wout van Aert and Tadej Pogačar contested the win, and some were happier about this than others.
Thanks to work primarily from Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech), the six-rider chase group came extremely close to catching the eventual winning pair – finishing less than 20 seconds behind, in the end – but ultimately only the final podium spot was up for grabs, and the rest left empty-handed.
It was Jasper Stuyven (Soudal-QuickStep) who broke away in the finale to grab that third spot, and unsurprisingly, he was happiest at the finish.
"It’s a result that gives me a lot of pride, especially as I’ve been close to the top three here in the past," Stuyven, capping off his first Classics campaign for his new team, said.
"I’m really happy I could achieve it today with this team, from such a strong field, especially after some unlucky past editions."
Now back racing as a leader after often starting these Classics in support of Mads Pedersen when he was at Lidl-Trek, it was a moment of mental clarity as much as strength that earned him third with a well-timed move.
"The race was so hard, and in the last 60 kilometers I was on the limit and had no idea how I could make it to the line," Stuyven explained. "But I soon realised that everyone in the group was getting tired, and at the same time, I got encouraged from the team car, which was of great help, as I kept pushing and believing. The pain was in the legs, but I remained strong mentally and just gave my best."
Perhaps surprisingly, it was the rider who finished last from the chasers who shared some of Stuyven's happiness. Although he was seventh here last year, Stefan Bissegger (Decathlon CMA CGM) was probably the least-expected member of the chase group, and even though he was dropped in the final sprint to finish eighth this year, the Swiss rider probably had the fewest complaints of all.
Team DS Luke Rowe said post-race that Bissegger's instruction was to "risk everything for the podium" with a late attack, and in the end, he risked it all and lost it all, but saw the positives in his ride.
"I took a chance in the final stretch; I went all out to try to surprise them," Bissegger explained. "I knew I couldn’t keep up with Van der Poel because he was faster and stronger, so I had to play it a bit tactically within the group, but we worked well together. I think I gave it my all; I can be proud because it’s still a good result."
If the two riders who book-ended the results of that chasing group were pleased, it's the rider in between them – and indeed one big name who crashed before the finish – who were most disappointed.
Despite coming back strong from a crash in February that threatened to wipe him out of the Classics entirely, Mads Pedersen did not give himself much grace at the finish, settling for seventh after an uncharacteristically poor sprint.
"No," was his clear, one-word response when asked by Eurosport whether he could be proud of his ride. "We came to win, we came to do a top result, and we didn't, so no."
A winner of many big Classics and third here the past two years, even the podium would not move the needle dramatically for Pedersen, and it was clear that anything less than that was solely disappointing for the Dane.
"I'd rather try to be third and end up with nothing than fight for fourth," he said of the finale, after saying he had the feeling the other chasers did not want to sprint against him. "So I tried, it didn't work out today, it is what it is."
The most abject disappointment of all, however, probably belonged to Filippo Ganna, who did not even get the chance to fight for a minor place. Having worked with Van der Poel to try and reach the leaders, he punctured once again and then crashed to drop out of the chasing group altogether. He came home in 25th despite once again looking one of the strongest riders.
For Mathieu van der Poel, the three-time defending champion, his emotions had levelled by the time he arrived in the velodrome. A badly-timed double puncture in the Trouée d'Arenberg had already derailed his race, and after his mammoth efforts to bring the group almost back into contention, fourth seemed neither positive nor disappointing.
"To be honest, I had to spend so much energy to get back to the group, so it's actually a bit unbelievable that I still managed to be in the sprint for the podium," he said.
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