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Mathieu Van der Poel stressed his status as one of the best classic riders of all time by winning the iconic Paris-Roubaix career for the third consecutive year.
However, he was furious after being beaten by a bottle of water that seemed to be deliberately thrown out of the crowd with 32 kilometers for the end.
The Dutch Van der Poel became the third man to win the Hell of the North three consecutive times after the Frenchman Octave Pazize (1909-1911) and the Italian Francesco Moser (1978-1980).
The former world champion alone to the victory at 38 km from his home after his great rival Tadej Pogačar escaped from the road in a cobbled sector.
The couple had moved away from the rest of the field after repeated accelerations of both men tear the main group of pieces to the pieces, with the teammates van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen the only riders in keeping the wheel of Pugačar with about 71 km for the end.
Mathieu van der Poel raised three fingers when he crossed the line (Getty Images: Dario Belingheri)
Philipsen dropped when the rhythm increased, but Pogačar’s inexperience in the cobblestones was shown when he entered a turn too fast and finally lost his race.
In another classic battle between two of the best cyclists of this or any other generation, that error showed the difference, although the amazing power and skill of Van der Poel on the cobblestones may have said in the end.
Pogačar, winner of the Flanders tour last week, rode Paris-Roubaix for the first time after making fun of fans for months during their participation.
He ended up bleeding from his wrist, perhaps as a result of his watch, and smiling in a grimace when he recognized how difficult this race is.
The Slovenian is considered one of the best cyclists of all time, the current world champion, as well as the last winner of the Tour of France and Tour of Italy.
Two of the best of their generation share a hug. (Getty Images: Pool/Jeff Pachoud )
Pugačar aimed to become the first champion of the Tour de France to win Paris-Roubaix from Bernard Hinault in 1981.
However, he could not match Van der Poel, a man who has made this infernal career about the brutal cobblestones of northern France.
The Dutchman is a seven-time world champion in Cyclo-Cross and the world gravel champion of 2024 to start, and used all those bicycle management skills to stay vertically.
However, Van der Poel’s victory was not exempt from problems, since he survived a bottle of water thrown in his face while driving, shortly after Pogačar accident.
“I hope you identify the person and the press charges,” Van der Poel told the Dutch News Agency, while his team criticized fans, publishing on social networks: “Shey objects to the riders that are giving everything, this has to stop immediately! Just enjoy the race!”
“They hit my face with a bottle at 50 kilometers per hour. That is enough to break a jaw,” Van der Poel continued.
“We can’t let that slide.”
He added in an additional interview with Sporza that the incident was similar to the “attempted homicide.”
At the press conference after the race, he described the incident as a stone hit his face.
“It does not destroy the fun I had, but it is not normal,” he said.
“It was a full bottle, maybe half a kilogram, and I’m riding 50 km / h. It really was like a stone hitting my face.
“It is not acceptable.
“When they throw beer, it is not acceptable either, but that is a different story. This is really something we have to take legal actions.”
Mathieu Van der Poel was also bathed in beer during the race. (Getty Images: Pool/Bernard Papon)
With his leadership in more than a minute, Van der Poel suffered a puncture in the Carrefour de L’Arebre sector, where photographers also captured a fan throwing liquid in the direction of Van der Poel.
However, neither that, nor the change of the bicycle, caused a murmur, since Van Der Poel quickly reassembled a new bicycle provided by his team.
The victory was his eighth in a classic of monuments, the same number as Pugačar.
Paris-Roubaix is one of the five monuments of these, including Liege-Bastogne-Liège, the Lombardy tour, Milan-San Remo and the Flanders tour.
The couple has become the dominant corridors in these races, despite their very different physicists and driving styles.
Van der Poel surpassed him in San Remo, but Pugačar recovered with a victory last Sunday with a solo attack only in Flanders.
The Danish rider Mads Pedersen, who drilled at an inopportune before a cobbled section, took third place after a three -way sprint to the line, ending 2:11 behind Van der Poel.
That assured that the podium in the two great cobbled classics consisted of the same three world or queen champions.
“The speed was super tall,” said Van der Poel.
“They were the two who entered the velodrome if I did not make the mistake. I think it would have been very difficult to drop it.”
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