There’s not an excessive amount of to say. Paris-Roubaix was an Alpecin-Deceuninck present from begin to end. Mathieu van der Poel was the massive favorite, and he did what everyone thought he would do, however his staff was additionally utterly in command all the best way from Compiègne to the velodrome in Roubaix.
Ultimately, there was no likelihood for the remainder towards Alpecin-Deceuninck. Ending first and second with Van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen was solely a part of the story – they have been in management all day lengthy. In a race like Paris-Roubaix, there are at all times a lot of doable situations, relying on the climate situations, ways and so forth, but it surely felt like they might have dealt with any state of affairs that emerged on Sunday.
There was solely second the place I briefly thought they have been in peril of shedding management. After Philipsen punctured, Gianni Vermeersch went off the entrance with two harmful guys, Nils Politt and Stefan Küng. It didn’t look like the best state of affairs, as a result of I presume Alpecin would have most well-liked to have had Philipsen up there as a substitute. However ultimately, it didn’t actually matter.
Like final week on the Tour of Flanders, Vermeersch was spectacular once more, and so was the entire staff. All of it labored out positively for them. When it got here again collectively, Van der Poel made his successful transfer and that was that. Like final yr, they capped all of it off with Philipsen taking second place once more. What extra might you need than that?
Alpecin are an fascinating staff, as a result of they’ve moved up step by step from Continental degree to the WorldTour. The entire staff was constructed round Mathieu from the beginning, they usually grew with him, after which signing Philipsen in 2021 was one other massive step ahead. Mathieu and Jasper lifted the staff with their sporting performances, however greater than something, I feel they’ve lifted the staff with their mentality. Once you win in that means with riders of that high quality, it lifts the entire organisation. Everyone does their job a bit of bit higher.
Van der Poel was by far the strongest rider on the cobbles this Spring and he was additionally backed by the strongest staff. There isn’t any debate about that, but it surely’s solely pure to marvel what may need occurred if Van der Poel and Alpecin’s rivals had been at full energy in the previous couple of weeks.
Wout van Aert was the massive absentee after his crash at Dwars door Vlaanderen, and Visma-Lease A Bike had unhealthy luck all Spring, with sickness and damage affecting guys like Dylan van Baarle, Tiesj Benoot and Matteo Jorgenson at completely different occasions. Lidl-Trek misplaced Jasper Stuyven and Alex Kirsch in the identical crash as Van Aert, and Mads Pedersen was injured there too.
If Visma had the entire gang and if Stuyven was round, then possibly we might have seen one thing else at Flanders and Roubaix. That’s the one query mark about this spring, the truth that numerous sturdy groups didn’t have their finest line-up for the largest races.
The one staff at all times at full energy was Alpecin. They have been the one staff with no points. For the Tour of Flanders, they even had the posh of leaving Philipsen out of the staff so he could possibly be recent for Scheldeprijs and Paris-Roubaix. However to be clear: I don’t doubt Mathieu, I don’t doubt Jasper and I don’t doubt Alpecin. how they’ve raced in the previous couple of weeks, they might have been very, very troublesome for anyone to beat.
Liège-Bastogne-Liège?
I’m curious to see what is going to occur subsequent as a result of I don’t suppose Van der Poel’s Spring is over simply but. He’s in unbelievable type, so he ought to take the chance to attempt to do one thing much more particular within the subsequent two weeks. He’s anticipated to experience Amstel Gold Race, however I feel he also needs to go and experience Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
It’s value making an attempt, contemplating the shape Mathieu is in. And now, with Remco Evenepoel positively lacking and probably Primož Roglič too, there’s a massive likelihood for Van der Poel to place in a powerful efficiency at Liège and possibly even to win it. Tadej Pogačar will likely be there, after all, however that could possibly be an amazing battle.
And don’t overlook that Mathieu was already excellent at Liège-Bastogne-Liège again in 2020, the one time he raced it. He completed sixth, taking the dash simply behind the successful group. The race shouldn’t be outdoors his vary. I do know he has a giant yr with the Olympics to return as effectively, however it is a uncommon likelihood.
In any case, Van der Poel has now gained six Monuments and I feel there are extra to return. I can see him successful a fourth Ronde and a 3rd Roubaix. It’s only a matter of time, however it’s going to even be about his personal motivation. In the meanwhile, it’s all satisfying, however let’s see if it’s nonetheless the identical in just a few years.
As of late, the bodily and psychological funding in biking is gigantic. The quantity of dedication and motivation you set into the smallest particulars is loopy, and I’m curious to see how lengthy anyone can maintain that. After a time, it will solely be regular to lose a bit of little bit of motivation to maintain pushing to get probably the most out of your self. It actually doesn’t get any simpler.
When any individual wins the best way Mathieu has been successful over the previous couple of weeks, it’s tempting to make comparisons with the previous, but it surely’s not crucial. He’s not the brand new Eddy Merckx. Eddy is Eddy, and Mathieu is Mathieu. In the identical means, Tom Boonen was his personal man, and I used to be my very own man. Let’s simply benefit from the second and luxuriate in Mathieu for what he’s proper now – the principle man of this era within the Classics.
The Arenberg chicane and a blistering velocity
Whereas Van der Poel lived as much as all expectations, the well-known chicane earlier than the Arenberg didn’t play as vital a task as many individuals had feared. The wind and the early velocity made certain of that. The race broke up actually early, so we solely had 30 or so riders coming to the Arenberg chicane collectively moderately than a peloton of greater than 100 riders. That made a giant distinction, and fortunately everyone got here via it safely.
The issue with the Arenberg was by no means the strategy. It was merely that everyone reaches the cobbles at 70kph and while you hit the bump within the highway after 200 metres, you’ve got crashes. As I stated earlier than the race, I might perceive why ASO needed to gradual the velocity on the strategy to the Arenberg. I help that concept, however possibly a unique resolution to the issue can now be discovered for subsequent yr.
After the race, in the meantime, there was numerous discuss concerning the new document common velocity for Paris-Roubaix of 47.8kph. I feel the wind situations clearly performed an element in that, however so does the tools choices that riders have today. Even in respect to my ultimate years as a rider, the bikes and clothes have moved onto a totally completely different degree, so I’m unsure if it’s solely related to match the velocity to earlier generations.
Driving Paris-Roubaix with 32mm tyres like they do at present makes an enormous distinction, and so do the aero bikes. At Saxo and Trek, I by no means rode Roubaix with an aero bike, and I’m fairly certain I by no means rode it in a skinsuit both. A few groups have been simply beginning to use skinsuits in Classics close to the tip of my profession, and, truthfully, again then we have been nearly laughing on the thought. Now just about everyone does it.
The tools has taken biking to a brand new degree when it comes to velocity, however a document like Sunday’s remains to be solely a statistic. The vital factor at Paris-Roubaix is the race itself and the reminiscences it offers us. We gained’t overlook Sunday in a rush.
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