Mathieu van der Poel’s double puncture in the Forest of Arenberg will be the mechanical catastrophe he remembers for the rest of his life.
It should have been a straightforward swap to his teammate Jasper Philipsen’s bike and a return to the front group, where he could fight for a record fourth consecutive Paris-Roubaix title.
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By the time he exited the Trench, he was almost two minutes behind Van Aert, Pogačar, et al.
Ultimately, he sprinted into 4th, just 15 seconds behind Van Aert and Pogačar, with Jasper Stuyven nabbing 3rd.
Why couldn’t he clip in?
The Alpecin-Premier Tech team are sponsored by Shimano, and all riders use Shimano’s Dura-Ace pedals, but the problem arose because Philipsen, along with Florian Sénéchal and Jonas Rickaert, were using a new prototype pedal. In the aftermath of the race, Alpecin-Premier…
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