ROUBAIX, France -- Belgian rider Wout van Aert beat cycling great Tadej Pogačar in a dramatic sprint to the line to win the prestigious Paris-Roubaix one-day classic for the first time Sunday.
They were neck and neck entering the finish at the vélodrome in Roubaix after more than five hours of grueling racing. Van Aert had the better sprint credentials and timed his attack perfectly to surge past Pogačar on the right and hold him off.
"Beating him mano a mano in a sprint is really special to me," Van Aert said.
Van Aert raised his right finger and pointed to the sky as he crossed the line and then got off his bike and lay on his back, thoroughly exhausted.
He dedicated the victory to his former teammate Michael Goolaerts, who died at the age of 23 after collapsing during the 2018 race.
"It means everything to me. It's been a goal since 2018, when I first did this race, and in that race I lost a teammate, Michael Goolaerts," Van Aert said. "Ever since then, it has been my goal to come here and point my finger to the sky. This victory is for Michael."
It was a rare defeat for four-time Tour de France champion Pogačar, who was looking to become the first Tour champion to win Roubaix since Bernard Hinault in 1981. He was also second last year.
Last month, Pogačar fought back from a crash to win Milan-San Remo for the first time, leaving only Roubaix to complete the set of five monuments in one-day cycling. He had already won the Tour of Flanders, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Tour of Lombardy.
The 31-year-old Van Aert is a three-time cyclocross world champion. He won Milan San-Remo in 2020 and the Tour de France best sprinters' green jersey in 2022 and finished third at Milan-San Remo last month.
The 160.1-mile Paris-Roubaix race is called "The Hell of the North" because of its multiple cobblestone sections -- totaling about 34 miles -- and reputation for crashes and punctures.
So it proved again as Pogačar punctured once and Dutch three-time defending champion Mathieu van der Poel punctured twice.
Pogačar punctured with about 75 miles left. With his team car behind, he took a neutral service bike from a nearby repairs car. Visibly annoyed, he had to wait several minutes for his team car to give him one of his race bikes.
The energy he spent catching up to the leading group may have cost him at the end.
Van Aert was on Pogačar's wheel entering one of the notorious cobblestone sections called Carrefour de l'Arbre, a 1.2-mile stretch near the end where a number of riders have fallen. In 1984, Frenchman Alain Bondue crashed when leading and ended up third, and Pogačar almost fell when his front wheel slipped.
It was a straight sprint heading into the André-Pétrieux vélodrome, but Pogačar felt out of gas.
"I was already cooked, and there was not much freshness in the legs to really maybe have a chance," Pogačar said. "I saw quite fast that it would be mission impossible."
Pogačar has not decided whether he will try again next year.
"I can't say no," he said. "It is just my second time here so let's give it time."
Belgian rider Jasper Stuyven finished third ahead of Van der Poel, who went over to hug a tearful Van Aert, his former cyclocross archrival.
It was another thrilling finish in the women's race as the German Franziska Koch held off cycling great Marianne Vos of the Netherlands by about a wheel's length in a thrilling three-way sprint to the line.
"It's kind of hard to believe," the 25-year-old Koch said after the biggest win of her career. "I've been dreaming of this."
Defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot of France was third.
The 88.7-mile race was the same day as the men's for the first time, albeit with a different starting point and a slightly shorter route than last year.
