Megan Jastrab could barely believe it. The tears immediately started to flow, and she looked up to scan the panorama of the Roubaix velodrome as if to check if this was really happening.
It was. Fifth place at Paris-Roubaix. One of the biggest results of the 24-year-old US rider's career so far, and finally an end to the suffering she'd simply come to expect from the Hell of the North.
"So everyone says they have a love-hate [relationship with Paris-Roubaix]. I’ve had hate in every edition, so finally I have a bit of love for this race," Jastrab told Cyclingnews and Cycling Weekly inside the velodrome on Sunday.
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"I’m ecstatic. I’m exhausted. But it was so cool, with the crowds. I know the live coverage wasn’t there, and there was a lot of complaining, but with the crowds it was really, really special to not hear yourself breathing, to not hear anything expect for the screams from the fans on the side.
"I tried to enjoy it today, and I tried not to think about the suffering and just enjoy the experience. And to come fifth in a Monument, it’s really special."
Jastrab’s expectations about what Roubaix might have in store for here were only lowered by the state of fitness in which she turned up at the start. Kitted out half in lycra and half in kinesiology tape, the UAE Team ADQ rider was still feeling the effects of a crash that nearly prevented her from riding the Tour of Flanders, as well as a long-term wrist injury she’s struggling to fix fully.
"I was in a lot of pain at the start even, so I said to myself that if I wasn’t in the front group I would just stop, because it’s only doing more damage. But I don’t know, today I was just in the right rhythm and yeah, it was special.
"I was always in the top positions going into the sectors, and out of them. And I think I was only caught behind one or two crashes. So I avoided mostly everything."
Jastrab was alive to the task when the race whittled down on the early sectors and then split to pieces on Mons-en-Pévèle. The winning move went soon after when Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, Marianne Vos, Franziska Koch, and Blanka Vas went clear over a small drag. Jastrab survived the further selections in the chase group and went clear in esteemed company after Camphin-en-Pévèle to ride the finale with former winner Lotte Kopecky.
"It split right in the crosswind, and I was there, but I needed a bottle, and they just went over the top of that little kicker. I grabbed a bottle, and they had a bike length, and then when you have riders that strong up the road, with a tail-crosswind most of the day, it's very hard to bring it back. Those things don't come back when you have strong, motivated, and experienced riders off the front.
"I feel so bad because she [Kopecky] was really like trying to get me to pull and I was like, 'I'm sorry! Like, you're so much stronger than me'. I was just suffering so much. Even with three and a half to go, on the drag, she was pulling full gas and I was about to get dropped, and I was like, 'Oh, this is gonna be so embarrassing'."
She hung on, though, and finished behind Kopecky for one of the biggest results of her career. The wins haven’t exactly flowed for Jastrab since the 2019 junior world champion took her early plunge into the pro ranks, with the 2023 Tour de Gatineau the sole victory on her palmarès. And while she has recorded podiums in major events such as Gent-Wevelgem and the Simac Ladies Tour, fifth in Paris-Roubaix is up there with the biggest moments in her career.
"It’s really exciting. I've been chasing a win for my entire career. I have a lot of top-fives now, which is nice that I can be consistent and I can show it. But, yeah, fifth in a monument is really special."
The only question now is where she goes from here. A return to Roubaix with higher hopes is surely on the agenda now.
"I always said I hate this race, but I guess I'll probably come back and try again," she concluded.
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