Hell of the North: Outduelling the World Champion & Koch to the line

 

Wout van Aert outduelled the world champion, Tadej Pogacar to win Paris-Roubaix. This edition delivered one of the most dramatic races in recent history, with the favorites; Van Aert, Pogacar and Van der Poel experiencing mechanicals and each making their own comeback, and Van Aert beating Pogacar to the line in the Roubaix velodrome. 

This is Van Aert’s second title in one of the five Monument classics after his Milan Sanremo victory in 2020. And, this 2026 edition is the fastest in Roubaix history. Wout van Aert posted an average of 48.910 km/hr over 258.3 km of racing including 30 cobbled sectors.

After winning the Tour of Flanders by Demi Vollering, FDJ United Suez has won Paris-Roubaix Femmes with a stellar performance from Franziska Koch. The German national champion outmaneuver the two-prong attack by Visma’s Marianne Vos and Pauline Ferrand-Prevot.

“I think we did a really good race with the team, we knew our positioning in the beginning is really key. It’s just like a war basically going into the cobbled sections and we were fully committed to already invest early in the race. 

Having two riders of the same team is on one hand a challenge on the other hand a benefit a little bit, because the work is not necessarily on you. I tried to get rid of them a little bit, but in the end I had to gamble in a sprint and it worked out.”

-Franziska Koch