Dylan van Baarle wins as Ineos rip up Paris-Roubaix; Wout van Aert second, Mathieu van der Poel disappoints

Dylan Van Baarle (Ineos Grenadiers) finished off a fascinating edition of Paris-Roubaix with an immaculate ride, which was set up by his Ineos Grenadiers team-mates, the first moves of which were made as far away as 200km south of the fabled André-Pétrieux velodrome. Van Baarle rode solo onto the track and was then able to enjoy a relaxed final lap of the fastest edition of the race in history. Ad/> A group of four arrived almost two minutes later, with Wout van Aert (Jumbo Visma) and Stefan Kung (Groupama FDJ) claiming the minor podium places.

Paris — RoubaixParis-Roubaix — As it happened — Colbrelli reigns supreme as Hell of the North lives up to billing02/10/2021 AT 21:08 Beginning with Michal Kwiatkowski, who exploited the crosswinds to force a huge split in the bunch long before the cobbles were even in sight, every Ineos rider contributed to their first victory in the Hell of the North. They were able to because theirs was the only team to have every team member in that front group. They drilled discipline into it, working themselves and obliging everyone in it to take their turn at the front, and indirectly wearing out the riders behind — who included the teams of pre-race favourites Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) and Wout Van Aert.

To win Paris-Roubaix, “you have to have a certain amount of luck,” said former winner Magnus Backstedt commentating. “Everything has to go right on the day.” Though perhaps not completely true, Van Baarle arguably had a bit more than others. He suffered just one puncture, at one of the least dangerous points in the race.