'Winning this race means basically everything to me' – Wout van Aert conquers bad luck to finally triumph at Paris-Roubaix

There were times when it felt like Wout van Aert would never win another Monument, especially not Paris-Roubaix, the one-day race which suits him the most.

Even as he approached the Roubaix Velodrome on Sunday, at the end of his seventh 'Hell of the North', together with Tadej Pogačar, who he would surely beat in a sprint, the doubts were still there; it would be very Van Aert to be presented this golden opportunity, only to be denied.

Luck never seemed on the Belgian's side. It was part of what made him charming. Just at Roubaix, there was second in 2022, winning the sprint after Dylan van Baarle escaped to victory, after he recovered from Covid; the puncture which took him out of contention in 2023, which stopped him from racing with Mathieu van der Poel to the end; in 2024 it was the turn of a crash at Dwaars door Vlaanderen to take him out of contention; last year he was on the comeback from another serious crash, this time at the Vuelta a España.

On Sunday, for once, luck was just about with him. There was the almost compulsory puncture, but it did not take him out of the race, while his rivals, especially Van der Poel, were beset by issues. Pogačar changed his bike twice, and was forced to chase on before the Arenberg, while Van der Poel's whole race went up in smoke in the trench, after two punctures. Van Aert was able to take the lead into the crucial sectors, including the Trouée d'Arenberg, and dictate the race. He won in the end, out-sprinting Pogačar in the velodrome to win.

"I’ve been pretty unlucky sometimes in this race, so it will be a nice story to say that I was feeling so much better in this edition, but the truth is other years I felt really good but circumstances were not on my side," he explained in his winner's press conference.

"In this race I had my own story, and my own bad luck at points, but I could fight back. All the experience from the other editions gave me the knowledge to pull it off today."

The crowd were also with the Belgian; rarely can there have ever been a non-French winner who received as much acclaim as Van Aert. Coming into the velodrome, it was clear who the fans wanted to win, despite the possibility of history being made.

No-one would ever choose to go into the final 500m of a race against the rider many consider to be the best ever, just one win away from completing a historic set of Monuments, but Pogačar was there to be beaten, and Van Aert took the opportunity with both hands.

"I’m obviously super proud," he said. "Winning this race means basically everything to me. We make so many sacrifices to get to this level, to always fight back, and every year our target is this race and Flanders. To finish it off in this way in a sprint with Tadej in his jersey, there’s no better way to do it. It’s a dream come true."

Van Aert and Pogačar were alone from around sector 12, around 50km to go, and while it was not a done deal, the former sensed this was his moment.

"From when I was on the road with Tadej I knew I had a fair chance," he explained. "I also knew it was a long way, a lot could happen. I truly believed after Carrefour de l’Arbre that I had the same chances as him when it comes to a sprint after a race like this, anything can happen. From then I really believed. When we were two I always really believed that I had a chance."

With around 40km to go of Paris-Roubaix, Pogačar launched his final all-or-nothing move, knowing that he could not take Van Aert to the finish with him. From then on, there would be fewer pulls by the Belgian, who sensed the way to win this race was from behind.

"That was the moment I would stick on his wheel on the cobbles in order to not get attacked from behind again," Van Aert explained. "He did a very good attack after the first corner of Mons-en-Pévèle. It was a good moment of realisation that this was the strongest guy in the whole peloton. That was a very good attack that I could just answer, but from then on I knew my main goal was to stick on his wheel."

Paris-Roubaix is special to Van Aert for reasons beyond its general stature as a big race, one that suits him. In 2018, on his first appearance, Van Aert finished 13th riding for Vérandas Willems-Crelan. Tragically, that same day, his teammate Michael Goolaerts died from a heart attack during the race, on the Briastre sector of cobbles, a sector which returned to the race route this year.

"It was immediately a sad day, losing a teammate in the race, it’s something brutal," Van Aert remembered. "Ever since then, personally, I did a good race, I felt it was something that really suited me. It was my goal to win this race, and to be able to point my finger to the sky for Michael. He’s a lot on my mind but especially in this period.

"This was the first edition we did [since] where we passed his sector, where he died. When we did the recon I had goosebumps. I like to believe he gave me a bit of extra power today. It’s a good thing, and a beautiful thing that I can dedicate this victory to his family."

This win was for the Belgian, but also for Goolaerts and his family, with a dedication in the celebration. It was a promise to himself finally realised.

It seemed apposite, that in this chaotic, engrossing, monumental edition of Paris-Roubaix, it was finally Van Aert's victory. A meme for something special, beautiful, is to 'hang it in the Louvre'. It would take more than even that vast museum's floor space to tell the tale of Van Aert's trials and tribulations, and then triumph at last, but it is a compelling story. Luck finally turned, fortune's wheel spun right for the Belgian, and he finally has his cobblestone. The time was right. Everybody cheered.