Rivalry without end - Van der Poel and Van Aert's duel sets tone for cobbled Classics

Jumbo-Visma team's Belgian rider Wout Van Aert (R) and Alpecin-Deceuninck team's Dutch rider Mathieu Van Der Poel (C) cycle with a pack of riders over the Trouee d'Arenberg cobblestone sector during the 120th edition of the Paris-Roubaix one-day classic cycling race, between Compiegne and Roubaix, northern France, on April 9, 2023. (Photo by François LO PRESTI / AFP) / "The erroneous mention[s] appearing in the metadata of this photo by Anne-Christine POUJOULAT has been modified in AFP systems in the following manner: BYLINE [Francois Lo Presti] instead of [Anne-Christine Poujoulat]. Please immediately remove the erroneous mention[s] from all your online services and delete it (them) from your servers. If you have been authorized by AFP to distribute it (them) to third parties, please ensure that the same actions are carried out by them. Failure to promptly comply with these instructions will entail liability on your part for any continued or post notification usage. Therefore we thank you very much for all your attention and prompt action. We are sorry for the inconvenience this notification may cause and remain at your disposal for any further information you may require." (Photo by FRANCOIS LO PRESTI/AFP via Getty Images).

For the past two years, Tadej Pogačar was the great disruptor at the men's cobbled Classics, parachuting in to play the specialists at their own game, and beat them too. This time out, with the Slovenian focused on his build-up to the Giro d’Italia, the top billing is reserved for the familiar pairing of Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert.

Perhaps not since the days of Moser and Saronni has cycling been marked by such an enduring, all-encompassing duel. In all seasons, on (almost) every terrain, Van Aert and Van der Poel appeared to be locked in a seemingly never-ending contest for supremacy. Like Messi and Ronaldo, praise for one almost inevitably carries a tacit admonishment of the other.