World Champion dominates in fastest-ever Hell of the North, 1-2 for Alpecin-Deceuninck as Jasper Philipsen wins chase-group sprint for second and Mads Pedersen third
Second place in the historic Roubaix velodrome was Jasper Philipsen, for a 1-2 for Alpecin-Deceuninck, outsprinting Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) in third and Nils Politt (UAE Team Emirates) fourth.
“It’s hard to believe, actually. Again, with the team, maybe even stronger than last year. I’m super proud of the boys and very happy to finish it off,” Van der Poel said at the finish line.
Asked if it was planned to attack from so far out, Van der Poel said, “No, not really; I wanted to make the race hard from there on because I know that’s my strength. I felt super good today, and when I had the gap, I knew with a tailwind to the finish line for the most part, but I had a really good day today.
“Of course, you always know in Roubaix that there’s the possibility of a puncture, but I had the team car with me, and I was quite confident. I could really enjoy the moment more than last week [in Flanders] because then I was on my limit. This time, I could really enjoy the last part.”
After iron control from Alpecin-Deceuninck left the race in Van der Poel’s grip very early on, the Dutchman attacked with 60 kilometres to go. At 20 kilometres further on, his advantage had risen to over two minutes, and barring disaster, the race was all but over.
Van der Poel has thereby claimed his sixth Monument of his career and, after his third Tour of Flanders, his second of 2023.
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World Champion dominates in fastest-ever Hell of the North, 1-2 for Alpecin-Deceuninck as Jasper Philipsen wins chase-group sprint for second and Mads Pedersen third
Reigning World Champion[ Mathieu van der Poel](https://www.cyclingnews.com/riders/mathieu-van-der-poel/) (Alpecin-Deceuninck) scorched home solo to a second successive victory in the fastest-ever edition of [Paris-Roubaix](https://www.cyclingnews.com/paris-roubaix/), simultaneously becoming the first rider in 11 years to clinch the Tour of Flanders-Roubaix double.
Second place in the historic Roubaix velodrome was Jasper Philipsen, for a 1-2 for Alpecin-Deceuninck, outsprinting Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) in third and Nils Politt (UAE Team Emirates) fourth.
“It’s hard to believe, actually. Again, with the team, maybe even stronger than last year. I’m super proud of the boys and very happy to finish it off,” Van der Poel said at the finish line.
Asked if it was planned to attack from so far out, Van der Poel said, “No, not really; I wanted to make the race hard from there on because I know that’s my strength. I felt super good today, and when I had the gap, I knew with a tailwind to the finish line for the most part, but I had a really good day today.
“Of course, you always know in Roubaix that there’s the possibility of a puncture, but I had the team car with me, and I was quite confident. I could really enjoy the moment more than last week [in Flanders] because then I was on my limit. This time, I could really enjoy the last part.”
After iron control from Alpecin-Deceuninck left the race in Van der Poel’s grip very early on, the Dutchman attacked with 60 kilometres to go. At 20 kilometres further on, his advantage had risen to over two minutes, and barring disaster, the race was all but over.
Van der Poel has thereby claimed his sixth Monument of his career and, after his third Tour of Flanders, his second of 2023.
Van der Poel has also [become the second World Champion after Lotte Kopecky](https://www.cyclingnews.com/races/paris-roubaix-femmes-2024/elite-women/results/) (SD Worx-Protime) to claim Paris-Roubaix in as many days and the first in the men’s race since Peter Sagan in 2018.