Lease a Bike's Belgian rider Wout van Aert celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the 123rd edition of the Paris-Roubaix one-day classic cycling race, 258.3 km between Compiègne and Roubaix, at the Vélodrome André-Pétrieux in Roubaix, northern France, on April 12, 2026. ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT / AFP
Belgian Wout van Aert finally won one of cycling's cobbled Monuments as he outsprinted world champion Tadej Pogacar to take Paris-Roubaix victory on Sunday, April 12.
The 31-year-old Van Aert collected one of the the two prestigious cobbled classics after seven previous top-four finishes in either the Tour of Flanders or the "Hell of the North."
"It means everything to me. It's been a goal since 2018, when I first did this race," said a tearful Van Aert who dedicated the victory to his former teammate Michael Goolaerts, who died that day aged just 23 after suffering a heart-attack during the race. "Ever since then, it has been my goal to come here and point my finger to the sky," added Van Aert.
"This victory is for Michael, but especially for his family, the staff, all my friends and teammates in the previous team. It was a really tough day, and ever since then, in some kind of way, I was unlucky in this race, but it brought me experience," he said.
