'We won against the best rider of this moment' – Team boss Richard Plugge says Wout van Aert beating Tadej Pogačar to Paris-Roubaix victory 'makes it even sweeter'

Managing Director/CEO of Team Visma | Lease a Bike - Richard Plugge and the race winner Wout van Aert at Paris-Roubaix (Photo by Etienne Garnier - Pool/Getty Images).

In Roubaix's Vélodrome André-Pétrieux on Sunday afternoon, Visma-Lease a Bike boss Richard Plugge was understandably feeling all the emotions.

There's no doubt that Marianne Vos' agonisingly narrow sprint defeat to Franziska Koch (FDJ United-SUEZ), after the Dutchwoman and teammate Pauline Ferrand-Prévot had arrived in the velodrome with the German rider, left a sour taste in the Dutch team CEO's mouth. However, an hour earlier, Wout van Aert's long-awaited Paris-Roubaix victory left the team boss unable to contain his emotions, as he embraced the Belgian, his teammates, and any member of staff who came in his direction.