ROUBAIX, France — Dutch rider Mathieu van der Poel benefited from Tadej Pogačar’s late crash on Sunday to win Paris-Roubaix for the third straight year.
Pogačar’s debut appearance at the one-day classic saw him seeking to become the first Tour de France champion to win it since Bernard Hinault in 1981.
The 259.2-kilometer (161-mile) race is called “The Hell of the North” because of its numerous cobblestone sections and reputation for crashes.
Pogačar found that out with 38 kilometers to go.
The 26-year-old Slovenian was neck-and-neck with Van der Poel when he misjudged a turn on a cobblestone section and went into the crash barriers.
Although he was unhurt, his chain came off and he had to change bikes, losing crucial time. Then, when he picked up a puncture with 20 kilometers to go, his victory chances were gone.
The grueling race is one of the five “monuments” in one-day cycling along with Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the Tour of Lombardy, Milan-San Remo and the Tour of Flanders.
Van der Poel, who raised his bike in the air in celebration, and Pogačar have won eight monuments each.
“It means a lot. It’s such a hard race, I was suffering. I just had to go for it,” Van der Poel said. “I’m just happy I found my good legs again. We know what an incredible champion Tadej is.”
Although Van der Poel had a puncture with 16 kilometers left, he changed bikes without losing much time and entered the Roubaix velodrome all alone.
He bowed his head and then raised three fingers when he crossed the finish line in 5 hours, 31 minutes, 27 seconds.
Pogačar got a loud ovation and waved to the crowd when he finished second, 1 minute, 18 seconds behind. Danish rider Mads Pedersen took third place after a three-way sprint to the line, finishing 2:11 behind Van der Poel.
The 30-year-old Van der Poel added another prestigious win to his glittering career and got the better of Pogačar again after beating him last month at the prestigious Milan-San Remo, which Pogačar has never won.
On Saturday, Pauline Ferrand-Prévôt overcame sickness and a crash to win the Paris-Roubaix women’s race for the first time after a well-timed solo breakaway. The 148.5-kilometer women’s race featured 29.2 km of cobbles.
Sunday’s race had been billed as a showdown between two of the greatest cyclists of the modern era: the versatile and tactically shrewd Pogačar versus the super-fast and powerful Van der Poel.
Van der Poel outsmarted him at San-Remo, but Pogačar bounced back with a victory last Sunday with a trademark solo attack at Flanders.
When Pogačar launched an attack with 71 kilometers left, Van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen were soon on his wheel.
Philipsen was then dropped as the pace increased, but Pogačar’s inexperience on the cobbles showed when he entered a turn too fast and ultimately lost the race.
“The speed was super-high and he missed the turn a bit,” Van der Poel said. “It was the two of us going into the Velodrome if he didn’t make the mistake. I think it would have been very difficult to drop him.”
Pogačar has won three Tour de France titles and one Giro d’Italia and is notoriously hard to beat.
Last month, he won the Strade Bianche race in Italy for the third time despite falling.
But this time he could not overcome his setback.
