2026 Paris-Roubaix Results & Recap
2026 Paris-Roubaix is in the books. The final results and standings are below, followed by our recap of how the race unfolded.
Race Recap
It was a Paris-Roubaix for the ages. There were punctures, lots of them, not too many crashes (thankfully), and a battle between the peloton's biggest hitters that ran all of the way to the Roubaix velodrome, where Wout van Aert (TVL) outsprinted Tadej Pogačar for a highly emotional, long-awaited and richly deserved victory. Jasper Stuyven (SOQ) took third place after attacking late on from a chase group that contained defending champion Mathieu van der Poel (APT), who won the sprint for fourth.
It proved to be the fastest Roubaix ever, the average speed a touch above 49km/h, and that speed was apparent right from the off. Innumerable breakaway attempts were made, but none at all were long-lasting. Approaching the first sector of cobbles at Troisvilles, the bunch was still together, with Pogačar's UAE team in the vanguard.
The first stand-out moment was Pogačar puncturing on the cobbled sector 8. With no team car nearby, he rode on a Shimano neutral service bike through the next two sectors before getting his spare bike. He finally regained contact with the leaders just before the crucial cobbled run through the Arenberg Forest.
Halfway through this section, Van der Poel punctured. Jasper Philipsen stopped and offered up his bike, but it was fitted with the wrong pedals. Tibor Del Grosso swapped his front wheel for Van der Poel. He got going again, only to puncture a second time, which left him 2 minutes behind the leaders, his race apparently done.
Leaving the Arenberg, a select group had formed up front comprising Van Aert, Pogačar, Mads Pedersen (LTK), Christophe Laporte (TVL), Stuyven, Laurence Pithie (RBH) and Stefan Bissegger (DCT). Filippo Ganna joined them briefly, only to puncture and drop back.
On sector 16, Pogačar punctured again, then Van Aert did too. Pogačar got back to the leaders quite quickly, while Van Aert had to chase for longer, making the junction just before sector 18. Behind, meanwhile, Van der Poel had bridged up to the Ganna group and was riding just 30 seconds behind the leaders.
Pogačar responded with an attack on sector 19. Van Aert and Pedersen were quick to follow, but the Dane wasn't able to stay with the pace at the front and was eventually swept up by the Van der Poel group.
Up front, Pogačar and Van Aert collaborated when on the asphalt. On the cobbles, though, the UAE leader kept pressing hard in an attempt to drop his rival. But, hampered by his earlier efforts after puncturing and a headwind, he never managed to forge a gap over the remaining sectors of pavé.
With the cobbles behind them, the pair focused on keeping the chasers at arm's length. They went onto the velodrome with a gap of 20 seconds on Stuyven, with Pogačar leading past the bell into the final lap. Coming down the back straight, he began to accelerate, but Van Aert had the measure of him and shot by.
As he crossed the line several bike lengths clear of Pogačar, Van Aert pointed to the sky in tribute to his former teammate Michael Goolaerts, who died in the 2018 edition of Roubaix after suffering cardiac arrest. After so many near-misses in this race, Van Aert had conquered the Hell of the North at long last.
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