So much to unpack from that race
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Mathieu van der Poel got to within 16 seconds of the winners, almost returning to the front after two punctures in the Arenberg Forest. He did not give up and comes away with great credit after perhaps the greatest fourth place in modern cycling history.
So many punctures, so much drama and a duel that will live long in the memory.
Tadej Pogacar, take a bow
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He came back from a puncture with 120km to go and raced his heart out. This time, Mathieu van der Poel was not the problem, the Dutchman’s great rival was.
He simply could not shake off Wout van Aert. Second place again, metres from glory. He will be back again to win his fifth monument, no doubt.
Van Aert jumps into the arms of team managing director
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In the mixed zone, Van Aert shows he still has some energy left, leaping into a bear-hug from Visma-Lease a Bike MD Richard Plugge.
Phew, that might be one of the best cycling races I have ever seen.
Third place for Jasper Stuyven
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A clever move from the Soudal Quick-Step gets him the other rostrum on the podium. Fourth for Mathieu van der Poel.
I have to say, it is hard to fault any of those riders in the top six: each one has overcome mechanical problems and ridden strongly.
Wout van Aert wins Paris-Roubaix!
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Wout van Aert has done it. He wins the 2026 Paris-Roubaix!
He had too much speed in his kick past Pogacar and the world champion could not get back on terms. The Belgian points to the sky as he celebrates and then collapses on the floor, sobbing, overcome by emotion. He has had so many injury problems, a lot of bad luck in recent years. A deserved win for the 31-year-old, who is congratulated by Mathieu van der Poel.
This triumph by the likeable Visma-Lease a Bike rider will be very popular.
— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) April 12, 2026WOUT VAN AERT HAS WON PARIS-ROUBAIX!!!! 🏆
So much adversity, so much setback, Wout van Aert finally adds the cobblestone to his mantelpiece 🤩 pic.twitter.com/p5cD48Po5N
Van Aert sits on Pogacar’s wheel and the bell goes
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One lap to go. The world champion moves to the top of the banking and looks behind at his rival... and jumps at the same time he does...
Under the flamme rouge...
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Pogacar leads Van Aert into the old velodrome to a cacophany of cheers. Goosebumps-giving stuff.
Will the Belgian come through to do another turn or let him lead out the sprint?
Two kilometres to go
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Pogacar and Van Aert are about to turn onto Roubaix velodrome. This is it, a two-man sprint to decide the 2026 Paris-Roubaix.
Behind, Jasper Stuyven attacks for the podium and Pedersen reacts a few seconds later. Maybe too late.
In the race for third place, Mick van Dijke attacks
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In front, Van Aert comes through for his turn. Four kilometres left, 27 seconds the gap.
Both are hurting, both have come back from puncture problems. On paper, in a semi-fresh state, you would put money on Van Aert outsprinting Pogacar at the finish. But he is no slouch and victory will go to the rider with the most still in his legs after a grueling race.
Record-breakers on the outskirts of Roubaix
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Pushed on by a tailwind, this will be the fastest edition of Paris-Roubaix in history. An average speed of 49 kilometres per hour.
Six kilometres to go
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Sector navigated safely. It looks like it will come down to a sprint on the venerable Roubaix velodrome unless Van Aert or Pogacar succeeds with a late attack.
26 seconds back to the Van der Poel group. They cannot afford to play around in front or knock off the speed because Bisseger, Van der Poel, Stuyven, Pedersen, Laporte and Mick van Dijke will catch them. So much jeopardy today.
Onto sector two between Willems and Hem
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World champion Tadej Pogacar leads Wout van Aert on it. This has been an almighty ride from the defending Tour de France champion. He keeps defying belief and pro cycling conventions.
He should not even be racing here, let alone being kilometres away from a momentous victory. He has been prepared to risk his season for a shot at glory in the only monument missing from his palmares.
One more real sector to go
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The 1,400 metres between Willems and Hem, a two-star sector. The final one is 300 metres in Roubaix, little rougher than the aesthetic cobbles you would find in your local town centre.
35 seconds back to the Van der Poel group. The impetus seems to have gone out of their chase. Fatigued, definitely, and probably thinking about the battle for the last step on the podium.
12 kilometres to go: Pogacar and Van Aert lead by 30 seconds
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Wout Van Aert comes through and does his turn. He has been second, third and fourth before in Roubaix velodrome. He has not won a monument since the 2020 Milan-Sanremo. He was hobbling around in a therapeutic moon boot after sustaining a fractured ankle in early January.
Is his time coming again?
Still nothing between Pogacar and Van Aert
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Van Aert did not give Pogacar a turn, but they come off sector four, past L’Arbre restaurant, together. That is the final brutal sector of cobbles behind them.
They cannot let up or relax. Pogacar goes for it again on sector 3 at Gruson, but Van Aert draws alongside him, overlapping the wheel, protecting himself from the wind.
Pogacar almost crashes on the Carrefour de l’Arbre
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Pushing the pace on the first few hundred metres of the sector, Pogacar’s wheels slip but he stays upright. Van Aert is able to close the bike length or so after that slight mistake. Crosswind on the sector, both riders make it round the treacherous mid-sector corner.
Behind through the dust, Mathieu van der Poel (who else?) is leading the chase. The gap is 20 seconds.
The speed has fallen in front
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Pogacar looks back to Van Aert who shakes his head. He is not helping, he does not want to lose energy or be ambushed. Just 21 seconds between the lead duo and the six-men in the Van der Poel group.
Here comes the Carrefour de l’Arbre. Will Pogacar or Van Aert make the decisive attack on this five-star sector?
Onto Camphin-en-Pevele, sector five...
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Pogacar leads onto the cobbles to screams from crowds packed three-deep. This sector is tough, but the Carrefour de l’Arbre is even harder.
Van Aert is content to let Pogacar lead. Van der Poel leads the chase group, only 30 seconds behind. This is not a two-man race, not yet.
The duel is about to be decided
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Not the one we necessarily expected either, although Mathieu van der Poel’s group is just 37 seconds behind. We will discover very soon whether Tadej Pogacar or Wout van Aert will win the 2026 Paris-Roubaix.
25 kilometres to go
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Over sectors seven and six in Bourghelles and Wannehain. Van Aert has a tad more more zip and confidence on the cobbled corners, but little to choose between them.
The one-two punches of sectors five and four – Camphin-en-Pevele and the Carrefour de l’Arbre – could well decide this race.
Mechanical misfortune galore today
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I cannot remember the last time favourites had so many issues with punctures or mechanical problems: Pogacar, Van Aert, Van der Poel, Ganna, Pedersen early on, Pithie... I am forgetting a few others, no doubt.
Hopefully no more, as it could rob us off an enthralling finale.
30km to go
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Pogacar and Van Aert are working decently together. Their advantage has hardly changed, 41 seconds up on the Van der Poel group behind.
This could all come down to the Carrefour de l’Arbre, a long and vicious five-star sector which they reach with 17km to go. As fatigue has crept in, a crash or error is distinctly possible too. A cyclo-cross star, Van Aert is smoother on the cobbles, but Pogacar has peerless power.
Two popular potential winners
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Past the windmill at the Moulin de Vertain sector. Seven more to go – six really, as the last one in Roubaix city centre is ceremonial.
Wout van Aert has often been the third man to Van der Poel and Pogacar. He has had more than his fair share of injury issues in recent years. He would be a popular winner. As would the Slovenian: win this and he becomes the fourth man in history to triumph in all five monument races...
Pogacar will likely keep attacking
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The way he wins this race is to keep accelerating until Wout van Aert cannot follow. How much does the Slovenian have left in the tank? And is his rival saving himself for one big attack himself?
As I type that, Pogacar wolfs down an energy gel. Van der Poel leads the chasing group at 42 seconds, containing Pedersen, Laporte, Bisseger, Stuyven and Van Dijke.
Van der Poel almost crashes
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Anyone else would probably have fallen, but he used the grass bank like a berm and was quickly back on the road. It looks like his heroic chase is starting to take its toll.
Pogacar makes it round the corner where he crashed in 2025 without any issues.
Christophe Laporte is getting a free ride
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On the three-star sector 9 at Pont-Thibault, Pogacar accelerates, getting a little help from a camera motorbike ahead.
If the race comes back together, keep an eye on the Frenchman. He has not been working in the chase group, as is his right, considering team-mate Wout van Aert is up the road.
Van der Poel presses on, 30 seconds down
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The defending champion is not giving up his title without a fight. He has Stuyven on his wheel in the chase group.
Pogacar gives it a little dig on an uphill drag, but Van Aert is equal to it. Next up is sector 10 at Merignies. This one is still in the balance.
Pogacar attacks with 47km to go
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Van Aert gets in the drops and fights back to his wheel. They round the sector’s tight corner and the Slovenian accelerates in the saddle. The fans are going berserk, cheering the dust-covered duo on.
A heavy crash for Pithie at the back of the chasing group on that same bend. Ouch.
Pedersen 12 seconds down
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The Lidl-Trek leader is still in close quarters. Tadej Pogacar goes to the front and turns up the heat. Wout van Aert comes through and gives him a turn.
Van der Poel is leading a six-man group, 33 seconds down. Stuyven, Laporte and several others are on his wheel.
Mons-en-Pevele up next, one of the hardest sectors
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A reminder of the 11 remaining sectors:
— Paris-Roubaix Hauts-de-France (@parisroubaix) April 12, 2026🪨 10 km to the first cobbled sector of #ParisRoubaix 2026, from Troisville to Inchy.
Les coureurs sont à 10km du premier secteur pavé de ce Paris-Roubaix Hauts-de-France 2026, de Troisville à Inchy. 😈 pic.twitter.com/0dss7qkCiT
Van Aert nearly takes out Pogacar
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Taking the line off the road and hopping back on, with Pogacar on the cobbles, the Belgian nudges his rival onto the grass verge. That was a close one.
Pogacar lost a couple of wheels to him at one point but now he is on the front. Van der Poel is with Tim Van Dijke (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe), just 25 seconds down.
And another puncture for Filippo Ganna! Foul luck – and he has a little spill as he tries to control his bike round a corner.
Wout van Aert accelerates
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Ahead of sector 12, Van Aert comes from behind with speed and Laporte lets the wheel go. Pogacar chases him down with Pedersen on his wheel – then makes his own attack! The Belgian has to grit his teeth to increase speed and successfully follow.
Van Poel is hunting them down, just 20 seconds in arrears.
Van der Poel is coming back
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He is leading the chase group over the cobbles of sector 13. The gap is just 25 seconds now.
Filippo Ganna, who has also suffered mechanical misfortune, takes a turn on the front. This is Paris-Roubaix: you keep riding hard because the race might come back to you and you never what could happen to your rivals in front.
60 kilometres to go: eight leaders
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They are Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), Christophe Laporte (Visma-Lease a Bike), Stefan Bisseger (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) and Jasper Stuyven (Soudal Quick-Step).
Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Jordi Meeus and Laurence Pithie (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) have just caught up.
The Van der Poel group is 50 seconds behind. Cue the Jaws music... surely he cannot catch up and win?
Pogacar raises the tempo
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Jasper Stuyven loses the wheel briefly as Pogacar sets the pace at Orchies (sector 14). This one runs alongside the motorway, you often see drivers pulling over on the autoroute hard shoulder to watch the race pass.
Pithie is a few metres ahead of Van Aert, 16 seconds down on the five leaders. The Belgian is feeling it.
Meanwhile in Denain...
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— Paris-Roubaix Femmes Hauts-de-France (@RoubaixFemmes) April 12, 2026
Pogacar catches up
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Five riders in front: Pogacar, Pedersen, Laporte, Bisseger and Stuyven. They take a breather before sector 14.
Van Aert and Pithie are 28 seconds behind. Down the road, Van der Poel catches the Ganna group and will no doubt be an ally to the Italian.
Mathieu Van der Poel is only 1:26 behind
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The Dutchman is doing his best to catch up and is only 15 seconds shy of catching the Ganna group. Nils Politt and Kim Heiduk are struggling to hold his wheel.
Bike changes for Pogacar and Van Aert!
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Pogacar must have had a puncture or mechanical problem. He switches bike before the four-star sector 15 and chases hard, only ten seconds down.
Van Aert also has a problem and has to change bikes. The Belgian star is further down the road, back with Pithie and Meeus. Every sector seems to throw up some kind of issue for a contender.
Is this a six-man shoot-out now?
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It is almost every man for himself. Leaders stuck behind are unlikely to get much help from knackered team-mates, 75 kilometres from the finish.
Entering sector 16, Pithie and Meeus are in no man’s land, 40 seconds in arrears, with the Ganna group a minute behind and Van der Poel’s pack at 1:30.
80km to go: Meeus is dropped and Pithie punctures
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Off this sector, we are down to six leaders again as Meeus cannot keep up and his Red Bull team-mate Laurence Pithie has a puncture.
The leaders are Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), Wout van Aert, Christophe Laporte (both Visma-Lease a Bike), Stefan Bisseger (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) and Jasper Stuyven (Soudal Quick-Step).
Puncture for Ganna!
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A front flat. He puts his hand up a, but his team car is nowhere near. Only a couple of kilometres after catching up, the powerhouse is on the back foot. He falls back to the chasing group and may well not see the leaders again.
Van der Poel is leading a chasing group, 90 seconds down. He is dropping the others, only Pogacar team-mate Politt can hang on.
Ganna and Meeus catch up
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Nine riders in front now. Impressive chase from the duo.
The world champion sets the pace onto the four-star sector at Hornaing. Barring a miraculous recovery, Pogacar does not have to worry about Van der Poel. However, favourites Wout van Aert and Mads Pedersen will not go down without a fight. Jasper Stuyven is not to be under-estimated, either.
Moments before Mathieu’s misfortune
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Seventeen cobbled sectors to go
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That was the worst place to puncture for Van der Poel – and he had two of them. His group is two minutes in arrears.
Visma-Lease a Bike are the only team with numbers in the lead group, it ought to be an advantage. Filippo Ganna is chasing hard with Jordi Meeus on his wheel, barely able to give the time-trial titan a turn.
90 kilometres to go: Pogacar among seven leaders
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The dust has settled after the Arenberg and the leaders are Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), Wout van Aert, Christophe Laporte (both Visma-Lease a Bike), Stefan Bissegger (Decathlon CMA CGM Team), Jasper Stuyven (Soudal Quick-Step) and Laurence Pithie (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe).
The Slovenian is on his own. Looks like his team-mate Florian Vermeersch had a crash or problem in the Arenberg Forest.
What drama. This race: one moment you’re cock of the walk, the next you’re a feather duster.
Another puncture for Van der Poel
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He gets a spare bike but the damage is done. Briefly, he walks with his bike, looking resigned. The team car stops and gives him a bike but he is over two minutes in arrears.
The race is splintered in front of him. Game over for the 2023, 2024 and 2025 champion. Rotten luck.
Puncture for Mathieu van der Poel!
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A crash for an NSN rider, who is down and clutching his knee. A fall for a Lotto rider too.
Problem for Mathieu van der Poel. He stops in the Arenberg Forest and gets a bike from team-mate Jasper Philipsen. But he cannot clip in, he cannot ride it. Biniam Girmay rides past slowly, having had his own issues.
At last, Del Grosso gives him his bike, they change wheels but he must have lost at least a minute. Disaster for the defending champion.
Onto the Arenberg sector!
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Matthew Brennan is leading the bunch and Wout van Aert onto the fabled sector. Impressive from the British youngster, who peels off after doing his job.
Pogacar is five riders back as Van Aert leads Van der Poel and the peloton through the wall of noise on this bone-shaking, rough sector.
Pogacar is back in the lead group
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There is a long line of riders on the world champion’s wheel as his chase ends.
He is back in the lead group, but how much energy has that chase used up? Florian Vermeersch drops back and paces him straight to the front.
100km to go: Arenberg on the horizon
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Five kilometres before this brutal, straight five-star sector.
Pithie, Pedersen, Van Aert and Van der Poel are doing turns in front. If they can keep Pogacar behind, burning energy and chasing, all their chances of winning improve. Fascinating dynamic.
And it is Paris-Roubaix: they could suffer their own puncture or bad luck too.
Mathieu van der Poel accelerates
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Out of a corner, Mathieu van der Poel hits the gas, but he isn’t seeking to do a 100-kilometre time trial. He is leading the race and bringing riders with him, trying to split the race up on this sector and form a select group.
Pogacar is getting a little closer to the lead group, but it is fracturing and he will have to blow past its flotsam and jetsam if he wants to win this race.
Onto sector 20 at Haveluy
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Alpecin-Premier Tech are setting a hot pace without going full bore and UAE Team Emirates-XRG are burning up support riders. The gap is 25 seconds.
It almost goes from bad to worse: Florian Vermeersch has an issue in the front group, nearly crashing. Behind, Pogacar moves to the front of the chase group, setting the pace single-handedly.
The Slovenian is closing on the lead pack
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It is like a TTT as Morgado and Bjerg do turns to reduce the deficit for their leader. Pogacar’s group is now only 22 seconds down.
Should Visma and Alpecin be riding all-out to keep the Slovenian behind? Maybe they feel it would be wrong to exploit this scenario: it is one of pro cycling’s unwritten rules that you do not profit from a rival’s mechanical misfortune, although I personally thought that act of honour goes out of the window at Paris-Roubaix. We will find out post-race.
Pogacar’s group is 50 seconds down
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The world champion is actually behind the second peloton. He goes straight to the front of his small group to set the pace before Morgado lends him a hand. Nils Politt and Mikkel Bjerg drop out of the lead group, ready to set the tempo for him. Only Florian Vermeersch has remained up there for UAE Team Emirates-XRG.
Pogacar will want to get back to the front before the Arenberg Forest. He may need to if he is to stand a chance of victory.
Still, he has had worse scenarios this season alone, crashing before the Cipressa at Milan-San Remo – and he went on to win that day.
Pogacar gets on a new bike
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In front, Alpecin-Premier Tech are setting the pace. They could turn the screw here.
Pogacar is still on the spare bike, looking round constantly to see where his team car is. He could have opted for a wheel change. Ah, it pulls alongisde him and he has a quick conversation before stopping to take his spare bike. He gestures at his mechanic to hurry up. His heart will be pounding.
Pogacar stops on sector 22 with a puncture!
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No team-mate stops with him, the world champion stands forlornly by the side of the road and he has to ride on the Shimano neutral service bike. No sign of his team car and in Paris-Roubaix, you have to keep riding. It looks a bit big for him.
Chaos as the second peloton catch him and are delayed as the Shimano car and doctor’s vehicle block most of the road. The race had been going so well for Pogacar but in the blink of an eye, he has gone from attack to defence.
— Paris-Roubaix Hauts-de-France (@parisroubaix) April 12, 2026🌈 Tadej Pogacar suffered a puncture in the cobbled sector 22 between Quérénaing and Maing.
Crevaison roue avant pour Tadej Pogacar dans le secteur pavé de Quérénaing and Maing! 🛠️#ParisRoubaix 😈 pic.twitter.com/VUqdh4dKOR
Crash for Britons Turner and Tarling
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A couple of Ineos Grenadiers riders down in the verge with an XDS Astana rider. It is Ben Turner and Josh Tarling, paying the price for riding at the back with Filippo Ganna. The Italian needs to move up.
The contenders in the lead group
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Mads Pedersen pops up at the front of the bunch. Stuyven, Van Baarle, Van Aert and Van der Poel are in the top 25 riders too, as is Pogacar.
The Arenberg Forest comes in about 30km. Bear in mind that in some recent editions, the race has split further on the sector preceding it at Haveluy. Wonder whether that will happen again.
Uno-X Mobility and Unibet Rose Rockets chase in second pack
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Looks like the Norwegian squad have missed the boat. Good luck closing the 30-second gap, given UAE Team Emirates-XRG’s firepower. Antonio Morgado has done a lot of work for Pogacar and is currently clinging onto the back of the group.
Sector 24 done and dusted.
Crosswind on sector 25
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Pogacar sits second wheel behind Molano as they cross the two-star secteur to Haussy before Nils Politt takes over pace-setting. The Slovenian and his team are making the running, determined to brutalise the bunch.
Filippo Ganna is at the back of the pack, spinning a fast cadence. Not usually effective at Paris-Roubaix.
Split in the bunch
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Approximately 50 riders are in a second group, 25 seconds down on the front pack. UAE Team Emirates-XRG are doing their damndest to ensure the peloton of 60-odd competitors goes clear. The harder the better for Pogacar.
Mathieu van der Poel and Filippo Ganna have made it into the front pack.
Animal instinct at Paris-Roubaix
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The race has a clever way of keeping the cobblestone sectors neat and tidy.
A moment to recognize the true heroes of Paris-Roubaix 🇫🇷🐐 They work at munching away on the grass and weeds that sprout up each spring between the stones laid centuries ago. This is essential work. 🪨
— Velo (@velovelovelo__) April 10, 2026
Revisit our story on the GOATS: https://t.co/apy2ZVmRny pic.twitter.com/IAsoY1MqRG
UAE Team Emirates-XRG in control
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Molano beats out a tempo on sectors 27 and 26, his upper body bobbing with the effort, the bunch strung out behind him. Pogacar has three team-mates in front of him, with Mathieu van der Poel (who else?) glued to his wheel.
Belgian hard men Yves Lampaert and Arnaud De Lie are off the back, having had issues.
150km to go
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UAE Team Emirates-XRG riders set the pace over sector 28. Pogacar is sitting pretty in their wake. The same cannot be said for Wout van Aert, who is paced back to the bunch by Briton Owain Doull after suffering an issue.
Images from the first cobbled sectors
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Pedersen chases back on
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Moving from bumper to bumper of the team cars behind the bunch, he artfully gets to the rear of the bunch at the end of the sector. There is no good time to have a puncture in Paris-Roubaix, but that was not a bad moment.
From here until the Arenberg Forest, a rider cannot win the monument, but they can definitely lose it.
Onto the Fontaine au Tertre sector, a four-star one for its 3.7km length, making it the joint longest in the race.
Onto sector 29 at Viesly
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From now to the finish, it is about being at the front and staying at the front. By doing that, a wannabe winner largely avoids the risk of a rider crashing in front of him and is more able to pick lines and choose his luck.
With every cobbled sector, more riders will be off the back, unable to keep the pace or hampered by a crash or mechanical misfortune.
Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) stops with a puncture and hops onto his spare bike.
Troisvilles ticked off
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One sector down, 29 to go.
Briton Josh Tarling was on the front, kicking up dust as he flies over the cobbles at 50km/h, while world champion Tadej Pogacar and Wout van Aert were visible about ten riders back.
Such an evocative image, like rising smoke. A few punctures already: for Movistar, Picnic PostNL and NSN.
— Paris-Roubaix Hauts-de-France (@parisroubaix) April 12, 2026🏁 162km
🚴🏻♂️🚴🏻♂️🚴🏻♂️🚴🏻♂️🚴🏻♂️🚴🏻♂️🚴🏻♂️🚗🪨 The peloton enters the first cobbled section, from Troisvilles to Inchy.
Le peloton entre dans le 1er secteur pavé du jour, de Troisvilles à Inchy. 😈#ParisRoubaix pic.twitter.com/G2Fw8558R5
A reminder of the cobblestone sectors at Paris-Roubaix
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— Paris-Roubaix Hauts-de-France (@parisroubaix) April 12, 2026🪨 10 km to the first cobbled sector of #ParisRoubaix 2026, from Troisville to Inchy.
Les coureurs sont à 10km du premier secteur pavé de ce Paris-Roubaix Hauts-de-France 2026, de Troisville à Inchy. 😈 pic.twitter.com/0dss7qkCiT
The cobbles are coming
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The peloton is at warp speed approaching Troisvilles, the first of 30 cobbled sectors.
This monument is a race of attrition. No contender will want to crash or have a puncture; it will leave them burning precious energy to chase back on.
If they can even get back: it could well favour Tadej Pogacar to make the race as hard and fast as possible for his rivals, whittling away their energy and reducing the front group. A smaller bunch is less nervy and easier to move around.
Tadej Pogacar’s pre-race thoughts
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— Paris-Roubaix Hauts-de-France (@parisroubaix) April 12, 2026🎙️ @TamauPogi : "I hope that I learned something from last year and I can fight for the win again."
🇸🇮 : "J'espère avoir appris de l'année dernière et pouvoir à nouveau me battre pour la victoire."
Que la bataille commence ! ⚔️#ParisRoubaix pic.twitter.com/91CcdSBknJ
175 kilometres to go
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Teams are starting to organise themselves ahead of the first cobbled sector at Troisvilles. Pogacar has a team-mate moving him up to the front of the bunch and there is a swathe of yellow on the right side, with several well-placed Visma-Lease a Bike riders around Wout van Aert. Mathieu van der Poel is visible too.
Ineos Grenadiers have a couple of riders up there too. Positioning is most of the battle in this race, not necessarily the cobblestone sectors themselves.
What’s in a name change?
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By the way, the official name of the race has been changed to Paris-Roubaix Hauts-de-France for 2026, highlighting the support of the region in which this monument takes place. Bit of a mouthful and nary a fan will be calling it that, though.
Nor me: I still refer to the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes as the Dauphiné Libéré.
Pogacar and Van der Poel briefly caught behind split in the bunch
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Wout van Aert too. Perhaps they had gone for a nature break and were left on the back foot. A match or two burned as the world champion makes it back to the bunch, with Filippo Ganna on his wheel. Strength in numbers and all that.
No signs of stress on his face as he sits on the wheel of a Red Bull rider, on his way back to the peloton. I’m surprised he has no team-mates with him, mind.
200 kilometres to go
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As the bunch speeds past yellow rapeseed fields, we are a touch under 40km from the first cobblestone sector at Troisvilles.
A Movistar rider gives it a dig, but he would almost have a better chance of winning the lottery than putting minutes between himself and the pack.
Tadej Pogacar follows an early attack
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Well, that is a curious move. He briefly tracks an acceleration from Decathlon rider Oliver Naesen, briefly sitting third wheel. I guess he is making other contenders worry and spend a few more kilo-joules.
At the rear of the bunch, his team-mate Florian Vermeersch picks up some sustenance from the UAE Team Emirates-XRG car.
Van Aert and Pedersen: the neutrals’ choice?
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“Wout van Aert deserves a Monument win,” says Joseph Bloggs in the comments.
Absolutely right. He would be a very popular victor after coming close several times and enduring injury hardships in recent years. It is six years since his only monument victory at Milan-San Remo.
A Mads Pedersen success would also go down well with the neutrals. He has had a race against time to be fit for this monument after breaking his collarbone in February.
220 kilometres to go: bunch together
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Attacks are raining down, with no rider getting any leeway. The tailwind has made for an average speed of 55km/h, rendering it so difficult to get daylight from the bunch. Time was when the early break would get a lead of 10 minutes before being chased in earnest, but those days are over.
Visma-Lease a Bike team-mates Christophe Laporte and Wout van Aert are on the back of their team car bumper, getting back to the bunch. The race is about to go through the feed zone in the fittingly-named village of Ham.
No British man has won Paris-Roubaix
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Could it be 123rd time the charm? Of the dozen Britons on the start line, Josh Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers) and Fred Wright (Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) have the best chances, but they are long shots in the whole scheme of things. A podium finish would be a big surprise.
I am interested to see how Matthew Brennan will go for Visma-Lease a Bike too, having ridden strongly in the first 200km of last year’s edition before fading.
(I also say British man because Lizzie Deignan impressively won the inaugural women’s Paris-Roubaix in 2021.)
Puncture for Nils Politt
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The German, a runner-up here in 2019, is one of Tadej Pogacar’s key domestiques on UAE Team Emirates-XRG. He has just rejoined the bunch.
At the front, Cees Bol (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) has joined the three leaders but they are about to be swept up by the bunch. All change.
250 kilometres to go
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Three riders have a 15-second gap: Martijn Rasenberg (Unibet Rose Rockets), Riley Sheehan (NSN Cycling Team) and Matevz Govekar (Bahrain-Victorious).
It has been a supersonic start to Paris-Roubaix, with the bunch averaging 56km/h.
When and where is the first of the 30 cobbled sectors?
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Troisvilles, with 162 kilometres to go. After that, they come thick and fast. We will have nigh on two hours of high-speed racing on tarmac before that as riders try to go in the day’s early escape and peloton peers shut down their moves.
Paris-Roubaix 2026 is underway
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There is a slight delay to Christian Prudhomme waving his flag to start the race as he waits for a Tudor rider to return to the peloton after a mechanical issue.
The attacks begin immediately. Getting ahead in the breakaway is a decent tactic for a capricious classic like this – sometimes a strong rider can finish in the top 10 by doing so. It also means riders can pick their lines better on the cobbles and stay out of the stressful argy-bargy for position in the bunch.
Only one man to catch
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After his victories at Milan-Sanremo and the Tour of Flanders, Pogacar has moved past Roger De Vlaeminck for monument wins. Remarkable, and he is only 27 years old. The smart money is on him passing Merckx. The way he is going, he could even win all five monuments this season, which has never been achieved.
The race is about to start
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After 258 kilometresin purgatory, the laps at the velodrome in Roubaix will feel like paradise. Who will cross the line victorious in six hours’ time?
Mathieu van der Poel on Pogacar and dodging misfortune
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“He [Pogacar] is on a really high level. It will be difficult of course to beat him but Paris-Roubaix is also a race where a lot of riders can win. I respect him a lot and like him as a competitor as well. For me, it’s always cool to be with him at the front of the race. We grew up racing this way and we just enjoy racing this way, giving it 100 per cent.
“You have to be very careful with the lines you choose, a flat tyre can always happen. If you have a bit of a margin on the cobbles and look around better, I think it’s easier to avoid bad luck.”
LeBron James is in Mathieu van der Poel’s camp
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I did not have this on my bingo card for 2026.
Note: the basketball legend is an investor in Canyon, the brand of bicycle which Van der Poel races on.
Can Pogacar do it?
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This time last year, Pogacar had never raced the elite version of Paris-Roubaix and there was great anticipation about how he would fare. Having made the running and finished second, we can safely say that even this classic for powerhouses, usually avoided like the plague by Tour de France winners, is in his wheelhouse.
He is at his peak and dominating the sport. However, he will have to stay near the front, wear down Mathieu van der Poel and either time his attack perfectly or rely on outsprinting him – and avoid bad luck.
His chances of winning were ended by overshooting a corner and falling off his bike 12 months ago. There could be bigger crashes or greater misfortune for him this year. The nervy moments he will experience and fights for positioning before the cobbled sectors are no joke.
The toughest cobblestone sectors
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The cobblestone sectors which define this classic are numbered in descending order, from 30 to 1, and rated a bit like hotels, only inversely: five stars for the gnarliest, longest and hardest sectors, one stars for the easiest and briefest.
The most-feared one takes the peloton through the Arenberg Forest, an arrow straight 2.3km-run on a fan-lined old mining road through a horror-film forest. To call this tract of road bumpy is quite the understatement. Cycling through it is like holding onto a pneumatic drill.
Even 100 kilometres from the finish, any wannabe champion needs to come out of that test in a decent position without having suffered a mechanical mishap.
Closer to the finish, the Carrefour de l’Arbre has sometimes been a launchpad for race-winning attacks.
28. Quiévy to Saint-Python (104.9km into the race) ****
20. Haveli to Wallers (153.6km) ****
19. Trouée d’Arenberg (163km) *****
17. Hornaing to Wandignies (175.9km) ****
15. Tilloy to Sars-et-Rosieres (186.8km) ****
12. Auchy-lez-Orsies to Bersée (204.3km) ****
11. Mons-en-Pevele (209.7km) *****
5. Camphin-en-Pevele (238.4km) ****
4. Carrefour de l’Arbre (241.2km) *****
— Paris-Roubaix Hauts-de-France (@parisroubaix) April 12, 2026🪨 10 km to the first cobbled sector of #ParisRoubaix 2026, from Troisville to Inchy.
Les coureurs sont à 10km du premier secteur pavé de ce Paris-Roubaix Hauts-de-France 2026, de Troisville à Inchy. 😈 pic.twitter.com/0dss7qkCiT
Pogacar will have to go through hell to make cycling history
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There really is no other cycling race like Paris-Roubaix, it’s barely even the same sport. It is heaven for pro cycling fans, hell for the riders.
Just finishing this 258-kilometre test, which contains 30 short sectors of cobblestone road, is an ordeal and an achievement for a bike racer. Winning it is a dream.
Specifically, Tadej Pogačar’s dream. The imperious force in pro cycling has won his last seven races, recently pipping Tom Pidcock at Milan-Sanremo and getting the better of Mathieu van der Poel at the Tour of Flanders last weekend.
He is getting greedy: this is the only one of cycling’s five most prestigious Monument one-day races missing from his collection. If he takes victory in Roubaix’s venerable outdoor velodrome this afternoon, he will become the fourth man in history to win them all.
It will not be straightforward. This is Van der Poel’s fiefdom, the cyclo-cross star so adroit over the rough roads. A three-time winner, he even overcame a spectator chucking a water bottle at him last year.
There are no mountains, let alone hills, on the route for Pogačar to exploit. However, finishing second on debut in 2025 showed he can be a contender.
Mads Pedersen, Filippo Ganna and Wout van Aert are credible outsiders, but barring accident (highly possible in this risky crash-fest) or bad form, it is likely to be a duel between the two superstars.
For the first time, the women’s edition will be held on the same day, finishing a couple of hours after the men. Defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot and her Visma-Lease a Bike team-mate Marianne Vos are prime contenders, as is 2024 winner Lotte Kopecky. Briton Zoe Backstedt could challenge for the win too.
It should be a dry edition with a slight tailwind. The men’s race starts in Paris Compiègne at 10.05 BST and is set to finish around 3.45pm.
Feel free to send in your thoughts, predictions or favourites to me at andrew.mcgrath@telegraph.co.uk.