A puncture forced Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) off and running along the decisive Trouée d'Arenberg with 94km to go, while his rivals Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) and World Champion Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) left him behind at Paris-Roubaix.
Van der Poel appeared to puncture along the gnarly cobblestone sector and quickly dismounted his bike at the side of the road. His teammate Jasper Philipsen offered his own bike, but Van der Poel couldn't seem to clip into the pedals.
Philipsen ran alongside Van der Poel, pushing his teammate while the Dutchman struggled to clip in, before he ultimately dismounted and handed the bike back to Philipsen.
Meanwhile, Tibor del Grosso, who was in a following group, pulled over to the side of the road and calmly swapped his front wheel into Van der Poel's now-abandoned bike.
In the process, with an air of composure, Van der Poel walked back against the flow of traffic to get to his own bike.
With a new front wheel, Van der Poel got going again, but had lost valuable time to the front group.
Luck not on his side for this Paris-Roubaix, Van der Poel was forced to stop a second time with 91km to go, still on the Arenberg, with another puncture. Now, over two minutes behind, it appeared his race was over.
Van der Poel ultimately got back up and running again and settled into a third group on the road, 2:11 behind the lead group led by Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG).
With Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) in the group with Van der Poel, the small chase group pushed on, and by the time they reached 55km to go, they were just 25 seconds behind Pogačar's and Van Aert's lead group, and back in the race.
The Dutchman later sprinted to 4th, just 15 seconds behind eventual winner Wout Van Aert, with Tadej Pogačar coming second and Jasper Stuyven 3rd.
Why couldn't he clip into Philipsen's pedals?
Alpecin Premier Tech are sponsored by Shimano, and both Van der Poel and Philipsen were using Shimano Dura-Ace pedals, so it should have been an easy - and fully compatible - transition. But as Cyclingnews' Tom Wieckowski broke earlier in the week, Philipsen's bike was actually fitted with prototype versions of what appears to be a new Dura-Ace pedal.
This suggests that the new pedals will use different cleats, and for the first time in over a decade, Shimano will be moving away from the Shimano SPD-SL pedals.
The cool, calm, composed walk
It will be seen as one of the moments of his career; Van der Poel walking calmly back down the Arenberg Forest from where he resigned to give Philipsen back his bike, and return to his own bike where Del Grosso was efficiently returning it to a rideable state.
If he ran, he'd have simply arrived at Del Grosso still working. If he flapped and panicked, his heart rate would be higher than it no doubt already was.
But whether it was complete calm or a mixture of something else is a truth only Van der Poel himself will know. On camera, he simply appeared calm, cool and composed. But maybe there was also a hint of resignation in the moment, maybe anger too. Perhaps even a moment of appreciation for the carnage this race can impose.
Did Mathieu van der Poel choose the wrong bike?
There will be questions.
In the days prior to the race, Canyon unveiled a brand new bike, the 'Endurace', with the single minded purpose of "getting to Roubaix fastest." It had wider tyre clearance, and was only a watt slower in aerodynamic terms. It will have been the culmination of years of research, testing and engineering work by the German brand.
Van der Poel ignored it, and instead rode his tried-and-trusted Aeroad aero bike. He had previously raced the new bike, and won aboard it, at the E3 Saxo Classic. But it was a race shrouded in doubt; his usually-dominant solo breakaway looked to crack, and he was almost caught with 1km to go.
The move back to the aero bike was undoubtedly one made by Van der Poel himself, and he's likely just been proven wrong.
In what was likely to be a PR nightmare for Canyon, this could be an 'out' for Canyon, but it still won't be pretty.
But would a wider tyre have saved him from the Arenberg's brutality? Probably not.
Get unlimited access to our unrivalled 2026 Spring Classics coverage with a Cyclingnews subscription. We'll bring you breaking news, reports, and analysis from some of the biggest races on the calendar, including Milan-San Remo, Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders. Find out more.
