Wout van Aert will be ‘absolutely gutted’ as puncture ruins ‘faultless’ Paris-Roubaix – Adam Blythe

Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) will be “absolutely gutted” after a puncture derailed his “faultless race” at Paris-Roubaix, according to Eurosport expert Adam Blythe.

But promise turned to despair for Van Aert within a kilometre as a rear-wheel puncture allowed Van der Poel to disappear into clear air and leave the 28-year-old leading a forlorn chase.

His misery was compounded in the iconic Roubaix Velodrome when Van der Poel’s team-mate Jasper Philipsen comfortably saw him off in a sprint for second. It means Van Aert still has just one Monument to his name – at Milano-San Remo in 2020 – as he chalked up a seventh podium across cycling’s most prestigious one-day Classics.

It was another blow for Van Aert, who also failed in his mission to win the Tour of Flanders for the first time last week after being distanced by Van der Poel and eventual winner Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates).

“I think he’ll be fine with Flanders because he just didn’t have the legs. It wasn’t down to a mechanical,” said Blythe on The Breakaway. “Today will hurt. It will cut quite deep, having a puncture.

“A faultless race from him, followed the moves, didn’t do too much work.

“He probably did the least amount of work in that group he was in – and for who he is, it’s very surprising. He should have been doing a lot more really.

“So for him to come away with a puncture and third place, he’ll be gutted. Absolutely gutted.”

Van der Poel pounced on Van Aert’s puncture and time trialled to the finish, although he survived a big scare with 7km remaining when he carried too much speed into a corner and was forced to rely on his cyclo-cross skills to avoid a crash.

He won Milano-San Remo in March with this triumph making him only the fourth rider to win La Classicissima and Hell of the North in the same spring after Cyril van Hauwaert (1908), Sean Kelly (1986) and Degenkolb (2015).

Incredibly, the Dutchman has finished in the top 10 in 13 of his 14 Monument appearances. He has also won the Tour of Flanders twice, with Liege–Bastogne–Liege and Giro di Lombardia the only trophies missing from his cabinet.

“Of all the Monuments he’s ever started, he’s only been outside the top 10 once,” said Dan Lloyd. “It’s just phenomenal the level of consistency that he displays and the lack of bad luck – well, I think you make your own luck.

“We saw it one of the last corners on the final proper cobblestones sector, just pushing the limit. But it’s not luck that he stayed upright. A lot of other people going in that speed would have just hit the deck straight away, but he’s such a skilful rider as well.”

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