Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) recorded an emotional and unforgettable victory at one of the most pulsating, unpredictable and gripping editions of Paris-Roubaix in recent memory. The Belgian survived a dramatic Sunday in Hell to beat Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) in a two-up sprint, after an eventful race that saw punctures for all of the pre-race favourites.
Van Aert attacked in sector 12 and moved clear with Pogačar, and the pair were never reeled back, heading into the Roubaix Velodrome with nothing to separate them. Pogačar had bounced back from two punctures and was aiming to accomplish an historic series of five consecutive Monument victories, but Van Aert proved his equal, coming back from a puncture of his own to launch the race-defining attack, and never allowing the World Champion to distance him.
