Mathieu van der Poel claimed victory in Sunday's Paris-Roubaix, the third Monument of the cycling season. The Dutchman clinched the gruelling "Hell of the North" after pulling away from the peloton with 60km of the 259.7km still to go.
The reigning World Champion also won the gruelling race in 2023. His teammate Jasper Philipsen secured the second position, trailing three minutes behind – also as he did the previous year. Mads Pedersen, the Danish former World Champion riding for Lidl-Trek, completed the podium.
Van der Poel broke free in the cobblestone sector N.13, Orchies, still 60km away from the finish line. The 29-year-old has now earned 49 career victories, including three this season. Just last Sunday, he bagged the Tour of Flanders title for the third time.
MATHIEU VAN DER POEL WINS PARIS-ROUBAIX!!! 🙌
🌈 From The Hell of the North to cycling paradise, The world champion makes it back-to-back Monument wins! 🏆🏆#ParisRoubaix pic.twitter.com/NF509EIeVm — Eurosport (@eurosport) April 7, 2024
Remarkably, he is the first cyclist since Fabian Cancellara in 2013 to win both the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix in the same year. He’s also the first to win the Hell of the North consecutively since Tom Boonen accomplished the feat in 2008 and 2009.
Victorious in Milan-Sanremo last year, van der Poel now boasts the most Monuments (six) out of all active riders, ahead of Tadej Pogacar. Tallying Philipsen’s win at Sanremo this year, their team Alpecin-Deceuninck has claimed all three Monuments in 2024 and five out of the last eight to have been run.
