Mathieu Van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck): “It has been the Roubaix I’ve suffered the most in my career”

April 13 ^th 2025 - 17:24

“This victory means a lot to me. It has been a very hard race. It has been the Roubaix I’ve suffered the most in my career. I was not expecting to go clear that early. Tadej [Pogacar] misjudged a corner and I was quick enough to save it. That’s part of racing. From then on, I just had to go for it even if it was quite far until the end. I struggled with the headwind on the cobbles, but I gave everything I had all the way to the finish.”

“Tadej is an amazing champion. It was his first time here, but I’m not surprised by his performance because he is just an amazing talent. In the future, when his career is over, we will look back on it as we do with Merckx’s. Had he not made a mistake, we probably would have made it together to the velodrome. This is not a revenge after the Tour of Flanders - I’m just happy to find my good legs again.”

“Winning Paris-Roubaix three times is super special. This is something you don’t expect when you start racing, because this is a race in which legs count as much as luck does. It’s quite exceptional.”