The big names could only tip their caps to the rider that everyone, rivals included, seemed pleased to see atop the podium.
Cor Vos
As the dust settled on the 123rd Paris-Roubaix, the big names had time to reflect on an unforgettable edition of the race. Over the course of 258.3 km, nearly every big name suffered at least one major mishap, and still the attacks and counterattacks flew on the iconic sectors until Wout van Aert and Tadej Pogačar were left to battle for the win in the velodrome.
With a longtime contender taking a long-awaited triumph on a day where two other pre-race favorites had been hoping to make history, there were plenty of storylines to ponder in the aftermath of a quintessentially Paris-Roubaix day of racing.
Here’s how the stars reacted after it was all said and done …
Wout van Aert
The winner did not hold back tears as he collapsed in the infield of the Roubaix velodrome. Van Aert’s post-race comments made it clear how emotional the moment was as he dedicated the win to Michael Goolaerts, who died after going into cardiac arrest during the 2018 edition of the race.
“When I first did this race, it’s now eight years ago, and in that race, I lost my teammate, Michael Goolaerts,” he said. “Ever since then it has been my goal to come here and point my finger to the sky. This victory is for Michael, especially for his family, Marianne, Christophe, and all my teammates in my previous team. It was a really tough day and ever since then I was in some kind of way so many times unlucky in this race, but it brought me also experience. Even today, when luck was not on my side, I kept believing in it. And finally, the reward was there.”
Van Aert touched on just how hard it has been over the years to keep the faith that he might some day win this race.
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