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.
Van Aert's triumph in Roubaix, one that the pair had targeted since the 31-year-old signed his first contract with the team in 2019, was made all the more fairytale-esque by the nature in which he claimed victory, and, of course, who he was up against, said Plugge.
Having bounced back from a puncture, the Belgian launched a bunch-splintering attack on sector 12 of the French Monument's treacherous pavé, before hanging onto all of Pogačar's accelerations and powering past the World Champion on the final curve to finally put to bed the seemingly never-ending Paris-Roubaix question that loomed over him each spring.
"As the leader, I'm super proud of the whole team. I mean, Wout finished it off with an incredible sprint, but also a smart ride in the end. The whole team really worked hard to bring him back after his first flat and then the second flat; he had to do it himself," recounted the Dutch team's CEO.
"Christophe [Laporte] played a big role, and I think the whole team did a great job with the tactics. So this is for everyone else along the road, with all the wheels and everything."
Van Aert was by no means the favourite heading into Sunday's Hell of the North, with much of the focus centred around the potential duel between Pogačar and Mathieu van der Poel. Yet he wasn't just present in the lead group as the race opened up, but was initiating attacks and forcing the Slovenian to react.
That the Belgian's victory came against arguably the best rider of this generation was the icing on the cake for Plugge.
"That makes it even sweeter, indeed, that we won against the best rider of this moment," he said.
Reflecting on the journey that Van Aert has been on in recent years, and since his last Monument victory at Milan-San Remo in 2020 – during which time many began to doubt whether he could return to the top step of one of cycling's five major one-day races – Plugge never doubted his star rider's ability, even if his confidence had been battered and bruised thanks to crashes and injuries often shaping how his season went.
"We knew from his numbers [at the Tour of Flanders] last week, he did one of his best performances. Today is the race that suits him best, and we have known that already for years. He was close already a couple of times, and now he took it," Plugge explained.
Asked what might have changed in the years since his first Monument triumph and the Paris-Roubaix disappointments, to help him claim top spot in 2026, Plugge again came to the defence of his rider, insisting his power had never weakened, even when misfortune and blows to his confidence arose.
"He was always good at positioning [at Paris-Roubaix]. Indeed, after his big crash a couple of years ago, in the beginning, he had a little bit of doubt. But last week's [performance at Flanders] and last year also on the wet cobbles [on stage 21 of the Tour de France], the positioning and the skills were still there. He knew that, so there was a lot of confidence from him."
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