Monumental: Wout Van Aert Wins Paris-Roubaix

When Wout Van Aert crossed the finish line first in the legendary Roubaix velodrome, he pointed to the sky and shook his head in wonder, relief and triumph. It was an incredible moment eight years in the making for the Visma | Lease a Bike racer, and many in the roaring crowd and watching the race around the world matched his tears of joy.

In his winner’s interview, Wout dedicated his victory to his former teammate Michael Goolaerts who tragically lost his life in the 2018 edition of the race. “It means everything to me. It’s been a goal since 2018, when I first did this race, and it’s now eight years [and] ever since then, it’s been my goal to come here and point my finger to the sky."

This year’s men’s Paris-Roubaix was the fastest ever in its 123 editions, with Wout in his Eclipse Pro helmet recording a blistering new high average speed of 48.9kph over the race's 258 brutal kilometres. With 30 cobbled sections wreaking havoc in the peloton, Wout himself had to battle back from a puncture that threatened to ruin his chances on the day. But the Belgian was not to be denied, besting his breakaway companion and reigning World Champion Tadej Pogacar in a perfectly-executed sprint finish.

The Visma | Lease a Bike women also animated their own event. Pauline Ferrand-Prévot attacked at virtually the same place as she did when she won in 2025, taking her legendary teammate Marianne Vos and two other riders with her. The quartet would eventually become a trio, with Vos and Ferrand-Prévot working brilliantly together into the Roubaix, but ultimately forced to settle for 2nd and 3rd behind a stellar Franzi Koch.