Paris-Roubaix goes to Belgium's Van Aert: the eternal placer beats Pogacar

It is a nice surprise especially for those who are on the side of the eternal losers, the seconds who, for once, manage to be first. As if a black cloud accompanied them, preventing them from achieving the goals they deserve.

But this time, on the roads of the 123rd Paris-Roubaix, Fantozzi's cloud finally released the Belgian Wout Van Aert from his chains, allowing him to crown a double dream: to win the race he loves most by overtaking the World Champion Tadej Pogacar, the new Cannibal of world cycling, for once less Martian than usual.

Arriving together after a breakaway of over 50 kilometres at the Roubaix Velodrome, Van Aert at the three hundred metre mark burnt him with a perfect sprint. Cold and dry. The kind that leaves no escape. And in fact the Slovenian, who perhaps arrived more exhausted, was unable to react. And to say that he cared about this Roubaix: winning it would have completed a magic circle, that of those who have conquered all the monumental classics. An elite club that speaks only Flemish (Van Loy, Merckx and De Vlaeminck) in which Pogacar wanted to fit in with all his might. It was the second consecutive time that the Slovenian finished second in the stone race. He will have time to make up for it, but in the meantime he must take note that it is always possible to win. He had not been beaten since the World Cup in Rwanda in 2025.

Getting in his way was thought to be Mathieu Van der Poel the Flying Dutchman, who won the last three Roubaix. The Dutchman, however, was unlucky. This time Fantozzi's little cloud landed right next to him in the Aremberg forest, one of the decisive points of the race of stones with around 90 kilometres to go. Van der Poel even punctured twice, losing more than two minutes due to a botched bike change, which then forced him into a frantic chase. A formidable but costly pursuit that brought him up to 19 seconds behind Pogacar and Van Aert. At that point, however, the breakaway pair gave another gasp and for the Dutchman, who then placed fourth, there was nothing more to do. Unlucky also our Filippo Ganna, who was also penalised by a combination of punctures and crashes that made him lose the breakaway train.

The real surprise, however, came from Van Aert, 31 years old, a great talent that has, however, remained partially untapped due to a series of negative episodes that have punctuated his long career and also risked driving him away from racing. A cyclo-cross specialist (he won three consecutive world titles), also gifted in bunch sprints, the Belgian has distinguished himself in time trials and (despite his powerful size) also in the mountain stages of the Grand Tours, boasting ten Tour seals, three Vuelt seals and one at the Giro d'Italia.