'Unless I'm in an ambulance, I'm finishing this race' – Cyrus Monk, the last man home at Paris-Roubaix

It may be often repeated, if only because it's true, but Paris-Roubaix is a race unlike any other, one where everyone in the peloton has their own story to tell.

The same can be said whether a rider is gliding to a perfect solo victory as Mathieu van der Poel did or whether they are battling on, duty-bound to the sense of achievement in reaching the Vélodrome André-Pétrieux, even if the time cut has long since ticked away.

A world removed from the Alpecin-Deceuninck's peerless ride at the front of Sunday's race, Cyrus Monk's day on the bike, his debut at the Hell of the North, encapsulated the latter. The Australian, who would end up facing the majority of the race's 29 cobbled sectors – some 56km – on his own, raced into Roubaix almost an hour down on newly crowned two-time winner Van der Poel. 

Monk, representing wildcard team Q36.5 Pro Cycling at the end of his first full cobbled Classics campaign, suffered through three punctures during the 260km epic, two of which came on the most challenging and revered cobbled sector of them all.

He'd plough a lone furrow for kilometre after kilometre as others around him threw in the towel, eventually arriving at the storied velodrome timed at 48:18 behind the winner, just over 22 minutes outside the time cut.

Few races on the calendar provoke such interest in those who don't officially make up the final classification, but of course, Paris-Roubaix is different. So, Cyclingnews caught up with Monk following a few rest days after the brutal Monument, to hear his Paris-Roubaix story.

"For me, it was really unexpected to be doing these races in the first place. I'm kind of a rider who gets thrown around to a lot of different races because I can do a lot of different jobs on the team. It was just the fact that our best Classics guys were all taken out by injury or illness that I ended up here," Monk said, setting the scene for one last battle after a long spring taking on 12 previous skirmishes across Belgium and Northern France.

"I was always going to be doing two, three, four Classics while rotating through some other programmes. Instead, it ended up being every single classic, basically, from Opening Weekend. It was a lot more than I had expected, though it was an amazing experience to do them."

Even before completing the pre-race duties in the quiet riverside town of Compiègne (including, but not limited to, a team meeting, the on-stage presentation, final bike checks, and a pass through the media interview zone) Monk, who was one of those riders unexpectedly thrown into the madness of Paris-Roubaix, was of many among the 172-strong peloton who were beginning the day feeling the fatigue at the end of a full cobbled classics campaign.

The focus of his spring was set to be the Ardennes Classics later in April. However, with his Q36.5 team having been depleted, like many others, by illness and injuries, he had been called into action for a full complement of cobbled Classics.

His road to a Sunday in hell began with Opening Weekend and ran through lower-ranked races such as Le Samyn, Nokere Koerse and the GP Denain before the big six cobbled meets of the WorldTour – from the Classic Brugge-De Panne to the Tour of Flanders, and, finally, the big one.

"Even on the start line, everyone has some kind of niggling injury or is just absolutely tired from getting through all the races. Some guys have just come off a break and been thrown in at the last minute," Monk said. 

"It's a funny one in that it's the biggest one-day race in the world yet not many people get the pleasure of showing up to it with the best condition.

"But during the Classics, I felt like I was going well and able to make a difference until around E3 when I crashed pretty hard at the start. From then on, it was really a struggle just getting through with the wounds I was nursing.

"Two days after E3 I was in the break at Gent-Wevelgem and I think everyone in the team thought I was feeling a lot better than I actually was because I was able to get out there and race really well despite all the pain. Then I was really just in pain for the rest of the Classics campaign but battling through like I think a lot of people are."

Notwithstanding all the fatigue and the aches, the start of the race, held since 1977 in Compiègne, some 80km north of the capital city the race is named for, still held a sense of wonder for Monk, as well as a general sense of nerves around the peloton.

"The start was pretty, pretty special," he recalled. "It was definitely a vibe that I've never experienced, in that our team was more nervous than I'd ever noticed before, but we did have five debutants, so I just thought 'OK, maybe this is unusual.'

"But then, even amongst the other teams on the start line, you notice there's a difference in that everyone is really nervous. It's not just about the performance aspect, but that they're nervous about whether they'll make it to the finish line almost because there could be carnage at any point.

"So much at this race is out of your control and I think people were more nervous about the uncontrollables than the controllables. So that was really interesting."

One cobbled sector, one puncture

Monk and his Q36.5 teammates, including Polish racer Kamil Małecki, who would go on to make the front of the race and score a top-20 result, were among the riders venturing out into attacks during the opening two hours of the day, a flat, tarmacked run north run at an astonishingly quick 52kph.

However, once the race hit the first cobblestone sector at Troisvilles à Inchy, everything changed for the 27-year-old. There, Monk got his first taste of the infamous Roubaix luck, puncturing on the cobbles and dropping away from the front of the race.

"I was in a few little moves that didn't quite get away and I think almost everyone in our team was until Kamil made the main move which worked out well for us because he's been our strongest rider in the last few races. It was good to have him already up the road and out of trouble because from then on, we just had a lot of bad luck behind with punctures and one or two guys crashing," Monk said, before recalling his fateful first flat.

"That was pretty unfortunate that I couldn't do anything after the first sector. By the time I got to someone with a wheel it was already a long time riding on the rim and our team car was stuck behind endless crashes.

"Then, when I got to that station, the mechanic was already changing one of my teammate's wheels, so my wheel change was actually done by the team nutritionist, who – while he tried as hard as he could, isn't an expert in that field. He's very good at nutrition, but the wheel change wasn't the quickest one I've had, that's for sure.

"The race was already at full gas and there's just no chance of getting back to the front. It was super disappointing, but I knew that all I could do was keep riding until I found a group just before the Arenberg."

The long solo ride to the finish, happily for Monk, hadn't yet begun, though he wouldn't have to wait long to start that unwanted adventure. After around 60km of chasing and trying to find a good group to race with, he finally came across one just 2km before sector 19's infamous chicane and treacherous forest road.

However, more bad luck would befall him there, on the toughest stretch of flat road on the WorldTour calendar.

"I kept catching guys before it, but they'd just sit on and then pull out at the next sector," Monk said. "I kept saying 'Come on, let's go to the finish', and they said 'No, it's too far'. I just kept riding and then caught a group of eight guys, and I thought 'OK, sweet. They're committed and rolling through. I can get to the finish with them.'

"But then I had a double flat. One was right at the start when the front flatted, and then when you're going so slowly, the impact on the edge of the cobbles is obviously much worse, so then the rear one came pretty soon after.

"By that stage, I was in front of the broom wagon but then it passed me during the Arenberg because I was going so slowly. I haven't looked on Strava because I didn't want to look yet, but I think it's probably up there with the slowest times on the Arenberg ever!"

For the record [look away, Cyrus! – Ed.], Monk, who titled his Strava file 'Paris-Roubaix. Dead Fucking Last', averaged 16.6kph for his 8:10 ride across the sector. By contrast, up at the front of the race, Alpecin-Deceuninck's Gianni Vermeersch, who finished the day in sixth place, sped through five minutes quicker in 3:12 at an average speed of 42.3kph.

A pair of new wheels would eventually appear, a welcome saviour after somehow managing to ride through the Arenberg's 2.3km almost entirely on two flat tyres. Monk was, however, forced to turn to Shimano neutral service after the rest of the race had packed up and moved on further north.

"By the time I got through, all the soigneurs and mechanics had gone to the next sector because we still had riders racing really well in the front," Monk said. "It was a long ride to a neutral, service and they were just about to pack up for the day. They gave me some wheels which were rubbing pretty horrendously.

"The fact that they were slowing me down was obviously frustrating, but the noise was worse because that just reminded me of how much it was slowing me down for the rest of the day. But I didn't have a choice at that stage other than riding those wheels the rest of the way to the finish.

"It took so long to get out of Arenberg and so long riding on rims until I could get some wheels. Then the roads opened and there was no chance of catching anyone. I think I would've done around 150km of the race alone."

'Dad would've loved to be there, so a lot of finishing the race was for him'

Monk's remaining solo ride to Roubaix took in all the planned-for obstacles that filled the roadbook – a further 30km of cobbles including four more four-star sectors plus another 5km of five-star madness on Mons-en-Pévèle and Carrefour de l'Arbre.

However, his race would include further difficulties, in addition to those laid on by organisers ASO.

"By that stage, all the sectors had turned into a party, so the atmosphere was amazing, but at the same time I couldn't carry any speed through the sectors because there were people all over the cobbles dancing and drinking," Monk said.

"I didn't feel alone because there were still crowds everywhere and so many people cheering from the side of the road, so that was pretty special. I was more worried about hitting someone who wasn't even aware that any other riders were coming through.

"I also had to be so careful because if I punctured again, there was almost no chance of getting a wheel, and then I would have gone all that way for nothing only to not be able to finish.

"But it was so cool to have that support and I was amazed by the number of people who knew who I was and were cheering my name. It really put a big smile on my face. You always dream of that happening when you're in front of the race, but of all the 150km solo rides I've done, that would – despite the bad luck – be one of the more enjoyable ones.

"I've had a lot of nice messages from different people just saying 'Yeah, we always wait for the last rider, and we were so happy to see you still going through.' I've heard stories from guys who have ridden it before that just no matter what, this is a race that you ride to the finish. So yeah, I wanted to honour the race.

"There was never a doubt about finishing. You hope for good luck and to get through unscathed, but I said, 'Unless I'm in an ambulance, I'm finishing this race'. Regardless of how far behind I was, I was always going finish the race."

Once Monk had made his way over the toughest of the cobblestone sectors, including that famously boisterous stretch at the Carrefour de l'Arbre, he knew that he was home and dry, certain to make the finish even if he'd missed the podium ceremony.

Racing into Roubaix for the first time in his life, Monk's thoughts turn to his father, a Paris-Roubaix superfan who tragically passed away a few years ago after suffering a heart attack while riding his bike.

"Honestly, I started getting emotional when I passed the Carrefour de l'Arbre because from then I knew I was safe," Monk said. "Then it was pretty emotional for me coming into the velodrome. It's a race I've always wanted to do, and I was thinking about a lot of fans of mine back home who would've been really proud to see me. I was also thinking about my dad, who was the biggest fan of this race.

"It's one he always watched with me, and he unfortunately passed away while he was riding his bike a few years ago from a heart attack completely out of the blue. So while it was amazing for me to finish the race, at that moment I was also really devastated that he wasn't able to witness that.

"He would've absolutely loved to be there, so a lot of finishing the race was for him. I don't think he would've thought that I'd be racing it, let alone finishing in the velodrome and also inspiring that many people with the story of the race.

"So yeah, it was really cool to be able to do it for him but also really, really sad for me that he wasn't able to witness it or see it."

Race done, but no time for a velodrome shower

Having reached the finish after 260km filled with incident, emotion, and pain, Monk could finally drink in the moment riding alone around the famous velodrome, much like Van der Poel had 48 minutes earlier.

Unlike the world champion, there would be no cobblestone trophy for Monk, but he could come away from the day knowing that he had honoured the Queen of the Classics and persevered through hardships that many others hadn't.

If there is to be a next time ("Honestly, I don't know yet whether I want to go back but if I do then I really hope for more luck next time around", Monk said), then maybe Monk will reach Roubaix with enough time in hand to add one further quintessential Paris-Roubaix experience to his racing memories.

"After the finish, the staff were pretty keen to get me to the bus because we wanted to do the debrief," he said. "We had riders going everywhere – to airports for other races or to fly home, so it wasn't the romantic Roubaix showers experience and then a beer with the whole team to celebrate the Classics season.

"It was very much like business keeps going and you can't stop and sit around too much. The experience of finishing in the velodrome was cool and maybe I'll have to go back one day again to try and use the showers after."

There was no chance to soak in the occasion beyond the run into Roubaix and the final lap-and-a-half around the velodrome, then. But now Monk has plenty of time to reflect on an epic six-plus hours in the saddle and on a Classics season well done for him and his Q36.5 team before getting back to action towards the end of the month.

"It's been really rewarding for the team in the last few races. We've been racing so well as a team for the whole Classics period, and we just didn't really have much luck early on," Monk concluded, while noting the team had suffered numerous crashes late on in those earlier Classics.

"It's nice to get a reward in the biggest two races at Flanders [where Małecki finished in 14th – Ed.] and here. Obviously, it's not a podium, but for us, a top 20 is a big step up from last year. I wasn't actually part of the Classics team then, but from what the guys said, they were basically having to follow and suffer just to get there a lot of the time.

"But this year, we were able to really ride well together as a team and ride on the front foot a lot. It was nice to get recognition from other racers and people seeing us taking it to the big teams early on in races and not being afraid to show our faces.

"That's whether we were in the breakaway or even on the front of the peloton at times when you might think 'Oh, what are these guys doing on the front so early?' and then it would pay off later in the day with some nice results."

Whether Monk will be back at Paris-Roubaix for more, chasing a result greater than 'Dead Fucking Last' and a chance to experience those famous showers, remains to be seen. But his big day out on April 7, 2024 will live long in the memory, just as much, if not more so, as any of those up at the front of the race.

Monk has been telling the story of his 2024 season via a series of Vlogs – 'Ride like a Monk' – on his Instagram page. Click below to watch his Paris-Roubaix recap.