Mathieu van der Poel took a jubilant solo victory in the 2023 men’s edition of Paris-Roubaix, but had it not been for a puncture on the Carrefour de l’Arbre he may have had to battle Wout van Aert for the final sprint.
Van Aert punctured in the final kilometre of the infamous Carrefour de l’Arbre, just as he was making what he hoped could be a race-winning attack.
He was forced to stop just beyond the sector for a wheel change, allowing Van der Poel – the only riders able to follow his acceleration – to ride the last 15km to the finish solo.
In the post-race press conference, Van der Poel acknowledged the critical cost of Van Aert’s flat tyre. “If he didn’t have the flat tyre, I imagine we do go to the velodrome together,” the Dutch winner conceded.
Van Aert was similarly confident that the final situation in the race would have been different had the misfortune not occurred at such a critical point in the race.
“You never know how it turns out, but the moment I flatted I was just attacking,” Van Aert said following the race.
“I took the left hand around the Carrefour and then almost slid away because my rear tyre flatted. So yeah, the whole last kilometre of the sector was already on a flat tyre.
“I was actually myself and feeling really strong, and even on a flat rear tyre I finished the sector almost on his wheel. So I think that I had the legs to do more for sure.”
Van Aert mounted an aggressive chase into the Roubaix Velodrome despite the considerable margin established by the wheel change. He dropeed the likes of Filippo Ganna, Mads Pedersen, and Stefan Kung but was unable to shake off Van der Poel’s teammate Jasper Philipsen, who picked him off in the sprint for second place.
“It ain’t over until it’s over,” Van Aert said with a smile after the race. “I mean it’s not because I have a flat tyre on the Carrefour that the race is already over, and I try to keep my head cool and I fight all the way to the finish.
“Maybe I was also the only one in the group really still fighting for the win and not riding for second place, so I’m happy that I’m on the podium.
“It’s unfortunate it could have been a different final of course,” he added. “Imagine Mathieu has a flat tyre on the front and you’ve already given up after your own flat tyre. That would be a shame, and also doesn’t make sense to give up straight away because there’s still a nice result left. I think just how I am, I just want to leave it on the road and see the result…
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