Mathieu van der Poel battled through attacks from Tadej Pogačar, a bidon flung by a spectator at the roadside, and several instances of bad luck of his own to prevail and emerge victorious at the 2025 edition of Paris-Roubaix, eventually lifting the famous cobblestone trophy above his head for a third year in a row.
Following solos of 15km and 60km in the past two years, the Dutchman added a 39km ride into the Vélodrome André-Pétrieux to his palmarès, leaving behind a stricken Pogačar after the World Champion crashed on the Pont-Thibault à Ennevelin sector of cobblestones.
Speaking after the race, Van der Poel – who now joins a select group of just three riders who have won three editions in a row – had nothing but praise for his spring rival, drawing a comparison to the greatest of all-time, Eddy Merckx.
"It's not a big surprise that he's there in front. He's one of the best riders of the moment and probably one of the best ever," Van der Poel told the throng of journalists assembled for the post-race press conference almost two hours after he crossed the line.
"It's quite exceptional what he does, and for sure, he'll be back to try and win this race.
"If you see what he's doing, I think he's also the only rider who can pull this off. I said it after San Remo as well – that he's also the only rider who can make the actual difference on the Cipressa.
"He's 26, so there's so much more to come. I think when his career is finished, we'll look a bit like Merckx back at his career."
Of course, it's unlikely that even the 'modern-day Merckx' Pogačar will end up with a palmarès resembling that of the original version - a winner of 19 Monuments, 11 Grand Tours, and three world titles.
Van der Poel, though, has already managed to match the legendary Belgian in one respect.
Van der Poel lifts his third Paris-Roubaix cobblestone trophy following his solo victory (Image credit: Getty Images)
With his triumph on Sunday, Van der Poel took his third title at the Queen of the Classics, pulling himself equal with Merckx and six other riders, including Fabian Cancellara, Rik Van Looy, and Johan Museeuw.
His win – Monument number two for the season after Milan-San Remo – came with a margin of 1:18 over Pogačar following the World Champion's spill on sector 9.
"At first, I was waiting, but I also didn't know he also crashed. I just thought he missed the corner," Van der Poel said. "But the gap was so big, and at a certain point, you have to go for it.
"Errors are also part of Roubaix. You never know what can happen. I also had a flat tyre on the last cobbled sector, so that's part of the race."
Despite taking a bidon to the face from a spectator 33km from the finish, Van der Poel avoided hitting the deck himself. He also didn't fall victim to a race-altering mechanical, as rival Mads Pedersen did when the Lidl-Trek rider punctured out of the lead group 71km from the line, right in the middle of the four-star Tilloy à Sars-et-Rosières sector.
He did, however, have his own mechanical maladies to deal with, including a puncture on the final five-star test at Carrefour de l'Arbre and a malfunctioning radio and power meter. But, despite not knowing his time advantage when he punctured, Van der Poel kept a cool head and powered on to another famous Roubaix victory.
"It was difficult because I also had no power," he said. "My power meter was not working anymore, so it was a blind effort, and I also didn't know the time gap or what was happening behind me. It was quite difficult to manage it.
"Also, I couldn't tell it through the radio, so it was a bit of a difficult situation because I also didn't know how big the advantage was at this point. But in the end, it turned out well."
Van der Poel, who will now take a well-deserved racing break after moving up to sixth in the all-time Monument winners table with eight, said that this was a tougher victory than last year's, his favourite of the three.
He admitted that he was suffering in the headwind during the final sectors, noting that his 2024 solo win had seen him "fly over" the cobbles. But despite not quite matching that form and feeling, he still revelled in his achievement.
"Just winning two times is already super special," he said. "It's not something you expect when you start racing, so to do three years in a row in a race like Roubaix where you also need some luck. It's quite exceptional."
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Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor, later being hired full-time. Her favourite races include Strade Bianche, the Tour de France Femmes, Paris-Roubaix, and Tro-Bro Léon.
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