Paris-Roubaix Men: Wout van Aert edges out Tadej Pogačar to claim his first cobbled Monument victory in thrilling finale after both riders deal with punctures and bike changes

Belgian Wout van Aert of Team Visma-Lease a Bike celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the men's Paris-Roubaix — Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) outsprints Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) to win Paris-Roubaix (Image credit: Getty Images)

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Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) recorded an emotional and unforgettable victory at one of the most pulsating, unpredictable and gripping editions of Paris-Roubaix in recent memory. The Belgian survived a dramatic Sunday in Hell to beat Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) in a two-up sprint, after an eventful race that saw punctures for all of the pre-race favourites.

Van Aert attacked in sector 12 and moved clear with Pogačar, and the pair were never reeled back, heading into the Roubaix Velodrome with nothing to separate them. Pogačar had bounced back from two punctures and was aiming to accomplish an historic series of five consecutive Monument victories, but Van Aert proved his equal, coming back from a puncture of his own to launch the race-defining attack, and never allowing the World Champion to distance him.

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Luck was not with the race favourites, three-time winner Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) puncturing on the Trouée d’Arenberg, and the ensuing drama as he tried to change bikes made for a compelling viewing experience, with a monumental chase from the Dutch superstar keeping the race outcome hanging in the balance all the way to the finish. Jasper Stuyven (Soudal-QuickStep) won the race for the podium from the chasing group, finishing in third.

Speaking immediately after his stunning victory, an emotional Van Aert said, "It means everything to me. It’s been a goal since 2018, when I first did this race, and it’s now eight years ago, and in that race I lost a teammate, Michael Goolaerts, and ever since then it’s been my goal to come here and point my finger to the sky. This victory is for Michael, but especially for his family, for all my friends and teammates in my previous team. It was a really tough day, and ever since then, in some kind of way, I was so many times unlucky in this race, but it brought me also experience, so even today, when luck was not on my side, I kept believing in it, and finally the reward is there."

Of his experience facing for the victory against Pogačar, Van Aert added, "I did stop believing a lot of times, but the next day I always woke up and fought for it again, and honestly there’s no more beautiful way than going to the line with the World Champion, the World [Champion] says itself but he’s a true champion and he gave me such a hard time, beating him in a sprint mano-a-mano is something really special for me.

There were multiple attempts to form an early breakaway, but after 100 kilometres, no lead group had been established, and heading into the first cobbled sector of the day, the peloton was complete, with Josh Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers) the first rider to hit the hallowed pave at Troisvilles à Inchy. From there, the difficulties began, with Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) one of a number of riders to suffer an early mechanical.

Five kilometres later, he was able to exchange for a replacement bike, and with a minute to make up on the lead group, and Visma-Lease a Bike and Alpecin-Premier Tech pacing at the front of the race, UAE had to throw their considerable power into the chase. They burned through three riders before the World Champion was left to sew up the gap himself ahead of the first five-star sector of the race, the Trouée d’Arenberg.

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Pos	Rider	Time
1	Wout van Aert (Bel) Visma-Lease a Bike	5:16:52
2	Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates-XRG	00
3	Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Soudal-QuickStep	13
4	Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Premier Tech	15
5	Christophe Laporte (Fra) Visma-Lease a Bike	15
6	Tim van Dijke (Ned) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe	15
7	Mads Pedersen (Den) Lidl-Trek	15
8	Stefan Bissegger (Swi) Decathlon CMA CGM	20
9	Nils Politt (Ger) UAE Team Emirates-XRG	2:36
10	Mike Teunissen (Ned) XDS Astana	2:36
11	Maximilian Richard Walscheid (Ger) Lidl-Trek	3:46
12	Gianni Vermeersch (Bel) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe	3:46
13	Guillaume Boivin (Can) NSN Cycling Team	3:46
14	Anthony Turgis (Fra) Totalenergies	3:46
15	Daan Hoole (Ned) Decathlon CMA CGM	3:46
16	Alec Segaert (Bel) Bahrain Victorious	3:46
17	Jordi Meeus (Bel) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe	5:43
18	Stanisław Aniołkowski (Pol) Cofidis	5:43
19	Brent van Moer (Bel) Pinarello-Q36.5	5:43
20	Dries van Gestel (Bel) Soudal-QuickStep	5:43
21	Kim Alexander Heiduk (Ger) Ineos Grenadiers	5:43
22	Mathias Vacek (Cze) Lidl-Trek	5:51
23	Clément Russo (Fra) Groupama-FDJ United	7:20
24	Ivan Garcia Cortina (Spa) Movistar Team	7:29
25	Filippo Ganna (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers	7:32
26	Laurence Pithie (NZl) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe	7:32
27	Edward Theuns (Bel) Lidl-Trek	8:01
28	Kasper Asgreen (Den) EF Education-EasyPost	8:01
29	Aime de Gendt (Bel) Pinarello-Q36.5	8:01
30	Matyáš Kopecký (Cze) Unibet Rose Rockets	8:01
31	John Degenkolb (Ger) Picnic PostNL	8:01
32	Huub Artz (Ned) Lotto-Intermarché	8:01
33	Frits Biesterbos (Ned) Picnic PostNL	8:01
34	Bert van Lerberghe (Bel) Soudal-QuickStep	8:01
35	Robert Donaldson (GBr) Jayco-AlUla	8:01
36	Matys Grisel (Fra) Lotto-Intermarché	8:01
37	Stan Dewulf (Bel) Decathlon CMA CGM	8:01
38	Toon Aerts (Bel) Lotto-Intermarché	8:01
39	Oliver Naesen (Bel) Decathlon CMA CGM	8:01
40	Rasmus Tiller (Nor) Uno-X Mobility	8:01
41	Joshua Tarling (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers	8:01
42	Florian Dauphin (Fra) Totalenergies	8:01
43	Jonas Abrahamsen (Nor) Uno-X Mobility	8:01
44	Erik Nordsaeter Resell (Nor) Uno-X Mobility	8:01
45	Tim Merlier (Bel) Soudal-QuickStep	8:01
46	Axel Huens (Fra) Groupama-FDJ United	8:01
47	Ben Oliver (NZl) Modern Adventure	8:01
48	Sander de Pestel (Bel) Decathlon CMA CGM	8:01
49	Frederik Frison (Bel) Pinarello-Q36.5	8:01
50	Jonas Rutsch (Ger) Lotto-Intermarché	8:01
51	Dylan Teuns (Bel) Cofidis	8:01
52	Thomas Gachignard (Fra) Totalenergies	8:01
53	Davide Ballerini (Ita) XDS Astana	8:01
54	Filip Maciejuk (Pol) Movistar Team	8:01
55	Dries de Bondt (Bel) Jayco-AlUla	8:14
56	Per Strand Hagenes (Nor) Visma-Lease a Bike	8:14
57	Clement Izquierdo (Fra) Cofidis	8:22
58	Žak Eržen (Slo) Bahrain Victorious	8:22
59	Samuel Leroux (Fra) Totalenergies	8:34
60	Johan Jacobs (Swi) Groupama-FDJ United	8:34
61	Tomas Kopecký (Cze) Unibet Rose Rockets	8:38
62	Arne Marit (Bel) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe	9:18
63	Jon Barrenetxea Golzarri (Spa) Movistar Team	9:18
64	Jonathan Milan (Ita) Lidl-Trek	9:18
65	Brem Deman (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	9:18
66	Mathias Norsgaard (Den) Lidl-Trek	9:18
67	Bastien Tronchon (Fra) Groupama-FDJ United	9:18
68	Luca Mozzato (Ita) Tudor Pro Cycling	9:18
69	Dillon Corkery (Irl) Picnic PostNL	9:23
70	Alessandro Borgo (Ita) Bahrain Victorious	9:25
71	Martijn Rasenberg (Ned) Unibet Rose Rockets	9:37
72	Yves Lampaert (Bel) Soudal-QuickStep	9:59
73	Cyril Barthe (Fra) Groupama-FDJ United	9:59
74	Colby Simmons (USA) EF Education-EasyPost	10:42
75	Jakob Söderqvist (Swe) Lidl-Trek	10:45
76	Cedric Beullens (Bel) Lotto-Intermarché	10:45
77	Aivaras Mikutis (Ltu) Tudor Pro Cycling	10:45
78	Arjen Livyns (Bel) XDS Astana	10:45
79	Thibaud Gruel (Fra) Groupama-FDJ United	10:45
80	Madis Mihkels (Est) EF Education-EasyPost	10:45
81	Dylan van Baarle (Ned) Soudal-QuickStep	12:00
82	Alessandro Romele (Ita) XDS Astana	12:00
83	Ferre Geeraerts (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	12:39
84	Ben Turner (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers	13:00
85	Lukáš Kubiš (Svk) Unibet Rose Rockets	13:03
86	Tom van Asbroeck (Bel) NSN Cycling Team	13:50
87	Luke Lamperti (USA) EF Education-EasyPost	13:57
88	Emils Liepins (Lat) Pinarello-Q36.5	14:46
89	Camille Charret (Fra) Cofidis	14:49
90	Sam Welsford (Aus) Ineos Grenadiers	14:49
91	Leander van Hautegem (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	14:49
92	Rayan Boulahoite (Fra) Totalenergies	15:20
93	Jules Hesters (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	15:20
94	Aaron Gate (NZl) XDS Astana	15:20
95	Matis Louvel (Fra) NSN Cycling Team	15:20
96	Henri François Renard Haquin (Fra) Picnic PostNL	15:20
97	Rasmus Pedersen (Den) Decathlon CMA CGM	15:20
98	Albert Torres Barcelo (Spa) Movistar Team	15:20
99	Callum Thornley (GBr) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe	15:20
100	Yevgeniy Fedorov (Kaz) XDS Astana	15:20
101	Michiel Lambrecht (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	15:20
102	Storm Ingebrigtsen (Nor) Uno-X Mobility	15:20
103	Luke Durbridge (Aus) Jayco-AlUla	15:20
104	Victor Vercouillie (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	15:26
105	Gonzalo Serrano Rodriguez (Spa) Movistar Team	15:26
106	Connor Swift (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers	15:31
107	Cole Kessler (USA) Modern Adventure	15:31
108	Sandy Dujardin (Fra) Totalenergies	15:31
109	Alexis Renard (Fra) Cofidis	15:31
110	Hugo Page (Fra) Cofidis	15:31
111	Artem Shmidt (USA) Ineos Grenadiers	15:31
112	Mark Stewart (GBr) Modern Adventure	15:31
113	Robin Carpenter (USA) Modern Adventure	15:31
114	Sebastian Kolze Changizi (Den) Tudor Pro Cycling	15:35
115	Fabian Lienhard (Swi) Tudor Pro Cycling	15:35
116	António Tomas Morgado (Por) UAE Team Emirates-XRG	15:35
117	Edward Planckaert (Bel) Alpecin-Premier Tech	15:42
118	Jonas Rickaert (Bel) Alpecin-Premier Tech	15:42
119	Ezra Caudell (USA) Modern Adventure	17:22
120	Matthew Brennan (GBr) Visma-Lease a Bike	17:22
121	Cees Bol (Ned) Decathlon CMA CGM	17:22
122	Ryan Mullen (Irl) NSN Cycling Team	17:22
123	Niklas Larsen (Den) Unibet Rose Rockets	18:54
124	Mikkel Norsgaard Bjerg (Den) UAE Team Emirates-XRG	19:02
125	Jasha Sütterlin (Ger) Jayco-AlUla	19:02
126	Hamish Mckenzie (Aus) Jayco-AlUla	19:02
127	Rui Filipe Alves Oliveira (Por) UAE Team Emirates-XRG	19:02
128	Kelland O’Brien (Aus) Jayco-AlUla	19:02
129	Joshua Giddings (GBr) Lotto-Intermarché	19:28
130	Ronan Auge (Fra) Unibet Rose Rockets	19:28
131	Alfred Brockwell Wright (GBr) Pinarello-Q36.5	21:13
132	Alexys Brunel (Fra) Totalenergies	22:14
133	Silvan Dillier (Swi) Alpecin-Premier Tech	22:14
134	Owain Doull (GBr) Visma-Lease a Bike	22:14
135	Petr Kelemen (Cze) Tudor Pro Cycling	22:14
136	Tibor Del Grosso (Ned) Alpecin-Premier Tech	22:14
137	Nickolas Zukowsky (Can) Pinarello-Q36.5	23:33
138	Noah Vandenbranden (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	24:31
139	Benjamin Thomas (Fra) Cofidis	24:31
OTL	Alastair Mackellar (Aus) EF Education-EasyPost	Row 139 - Cell 2
DNF	Kamil Małecki (Pol) Pinarello-Q36.5	Row 140 - Cell 2
DNF	Lewis Askey (GBr) NSN Cycling Team	Row 141 - Cell 2
DNF	Gleb Syritsa (Rus) XDS Astana	Row 142 - Cell 2
DNF	Søren Wærenskjold (Nor) Uno-X Mobility	Row 143 - Cell 2
DNF	Matthias Schwarzbacher (Svk) EF Education-EasyPost	Row 144 - Cell 2
DNF	Max Walker (GBr) EF Education-EasyPost	Row 145 - Cell 2
DNF	Biniam Girmay (Eri) NSN Cycling Team	Row 146 - Cell 2
DNF	Riley Sheehan (USA) NSN Cycling Team	Row 147 - Cell 2
DNF	Dries de Pooter (Bel) Jayco-AlUla	Row 148 - Cell 2
DNF	William Levy (Den) Uno-X Mobility	Row 149 - Cell 2
DNF	Pavel Novák (Cze) Movistar Team	Row 150 - Cell 2
DNF	Matej Mohoric (Slo) Bahrain Victorious	Row 151 - Cell 2
DNF	Marco Haller (Aut) Tudor Pro Cycling	Row 152 - Cell 2
DNF	Marius Mayrhofer (Ger) Tudor Pro Cycling	Row 153 - Cell 2
DNF	Joren Bloem (Ned) Unibet Rose Rockets	Row 154 - Cell 2
DNF	Sean Christian (USA) Modern Adventure	Row 155 - Cell 2
DNF	Lorenzo Milesi (Ita) Movistar Team	Row 156 - Cell 2
DNF	Jonathan Vervenne (Bel) Soudal-QuickStep	Row 157 - Cell 2
DNF	Riley Pickrell (Can) Modern Adventure	Row 158 - Cell 2
DNF	Jasper Philipsen (Bel) Alpecin-Premier Tech	Row 159 - Cell 2
DNF	Florian Senechal (Fra) Alpecin-Premier Tech	Row 160 - Cell 2
DNF	Juan Sebastian Molano Benavides (Col) UAE Team Emirates-XRG	Row 161 - Cell 2
DNF	Florian Vermeersch (Bel) UAE Team Emirates-XRG	Row 162 - Cell 2
DNF	Edoardo Affini (Ita) Visma-Lease a Bike	Row 163 - Cell 2
DNF	Matevž Govekar (Slo) Bahrain Victorious	Row 164 - Cell 2
DNF	Arnaud de Lie (Bel) Lotto-Intermarché	Row 165 - Cell 2
DNF	Sven Erik Bystrøm (Nor) Uno-X Mobility	Row 166 - Cell 2
DNF	Pavel Bittner (Cze) Picnic PostNL	Row 167 - Cell 2
DNF	Niklas Märkl (Ger) Picnic PostNL	Row 168 - Cell 2
DNF	Julius van den Berg (Ned) Picnic PostNL	Row 169 - Cell 2
DNF	Mick van Dijke (Ned) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe	Row 170 - Cell 2
DNF	Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Bahrain Victorious	Row 171 - Cell 2
DNF	Kamil Gradek (Pol) Bahrain Victorious	Row 172 - Cell 2
DNF	Titouan Fontaine (Fra) Groupama-FDJ United	Row 173 - Cell 2
DNF	Pietro Mattio (Ita) Visma-Lease a Bike	Row 174 - Cell 2

Katy Madgwick is a freelance writer and broadcaster, covering multiple disciplines across both men's and women's pro cycling. Head of Creators at Domestique Cycling, Katy has written for a broad range of publications, and is a regular contributor to Cyclist Magazine, Cyclingnews, TNT Sports and The Roadbook Cycling Almanack.

On the broadcast side, she is a co-host of the On Yer Bike podcast, occasional contributor to BBC Radio, and features on CADE Media's Pro Show podcast for the first time in 2025.

She is a lover of all things French and a cyclo-cross obsessive, and probably ought to get on her actual bike more often.

How it unfolded

Results