Mathieu van der Poel added another Monument to his palmares at Sunday’s 120th running of the Hell of the North, Paris-Roubaix. Van der Poel and Van Aert dashed away on the Carrefour de l’Arbre sector of cobbles but Van Aert punctured, scuppering his chances; he could only place third. The Dutchman has won two Monuments this season: Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix. He has also claimed two editions of the Ronde van Vlaanderen in his career. Guillaume Boivin was top Canadian in 45th.
Introduction and course
The reigning champ Dylan van Baarle was on the start line, but after winning Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in February, crash injuries have hampered his season. His Jumbo-Visma teammates Van Aert and Christophe Laporte were more likely lads, although Van Aert was playing down his chances, saying he was still not quite right after his Ronde van Vlaanderen crash. Van der Poel was on good form, as was Mads Pedersen. Some thought Filippo Ganna could excel in this edition.
The Canadian contingent was Q36.5’s Nick Zukowsky and Israel-Premier Tech’s Derek Gee and Guillaume Boivin, the former making his Hell of the North debut and the latter ninth in 2021.
Over 256.6 km, the 120th Paris-Roubaix featured 54.5 km of cobbled roads spread out over 29 sectors. The five-star sectors were infamous: number 19 Trouée d’Arenberg, 2.3 km; number 11 Mons-en-Pévèle, 3 km; and number 4 Carrefour de l’Arbre, 2.1 km.
Early Action
Derek Gee tried to get into an early breakaway, but the peloton wasn’t having any of it. In the first hour of the race the riders covered 51.5 km. The crashes began after that, coinciding with Gee finally breaking free with three others after 80 km of racing, the first sector of cobbles only 10 km away. Peter Sagan, the 2018 champion, and a couple of Ineos riders at the front of the peloton were among the many crashers in or between the early sectors.
🏁 150km
💥 Another crash at the front of the peloton!
💥 Nouvelle chute en tête de peloton ! #ParisNice pic.twitter.com/ASGdgAuX6a
— Paris-Roubaix (@parisroubaix) April 9, 2023
Ineos, Jumbo-Visma and Alpecin-Deceuninck were among the teams who led the peloton while mechanicals pestered the riders.
Trouée d’Arenberg
Before the first five-star sector, Van Aert, Laporte, van der Poel and three others flared off from the peloton in pursuit.
Before the Van Aert group moved through the breakaway, the stones Arenberg destroyed poor Gee’s front wheel in spectacular fashion….
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Canadian Cycling Magazine…