There are few races than at Paris-Roubaix where people show as much appreciation for the first rider across the finish line as the last.
The final lap bell had been put away, fans were heading towards the exits, and hoardings were being dismantled. Yet as a gendarme's whistle signalled the imminent arrival of a rider - something that hadn't happened for the previous 20 minutes when Visma-Lease a Bike's Niklas Behrens rode into the velodrome - people stopped, turned and showed their appreciation to Q36.5 Pro Cycling's Joey Pidcock.
The Briton was the last man home at the men's 2025 Paris-Roubaix which had been won almost 54 minutes ahead of him by Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck). He was twice over the allotted time cut of 27:28, yet that really didn't seem to matter to him when he came to a stop around his team, including boss Doug Ryder, and a handful of media.
There was no falling to the floor in absolute agony, nor were there uncontrollable waves of emotion overwhelming the quiet Yorkshireman. Yet there was a steely determination to finish the race, no matter how long it took.
"I didn't come here in the best of shape. I had to finish, so it didn't matter how long it took. I thought it might be dark by the time I got here," the 23-year-old joked.
When pressed on why Pidcock had to finish this edition of Paris-Roubaix, he was reflective and to the point.
"I might not get to ride it again. So, of course, I've got to finish. So many people don't get the opportunity to ride something like this," he added. "People actually want to finish this more than most races."
Yet in terms of battling for a place at this Monument, the younger of the two brothers was frank about his physical capabilities in such a battle of attrition.
"[My race was over] before the cobbles, I almost got caught in like three crashes in a row. When Wout van Aert crashed, I think he touched me when he came down, and after, I was like,' I'm not risking my life for this'. I already didn't have the legs."
Shedding an insight into what it's like riding in a bike race where the barriers are practically being packed away and fans are walking in the middle of the pavé sectors, Pidcock said: "Towards the end, there were still people, but everyone's going home already.
"The Arenberg was still pretty, pretty cool, proper walls of noise."
Wild race as wildcards
Speaking to Ryder while he waited patiently for Pidcock to reach the finish, he acknowledged the privilege that his team have to even tackle races like Paris-Roubaix, as a wildcard UCI ProTeam.
"The biggest races with the biggest riders, it's a privilege to be at the highest level in cycling, and we don't want to ever say that we don't appreciate being here.
"I think every rider that gets the opportunity to finish, to race and to be in the breakaways, enjoy the racing and tries to grow and develop is amazing," he explained, appreciating the grandeur of Paris-Roubaix and the importance for his team's development to be riding races such as Monuments.
Q36.5 had already achieved their unofficial objective of the day when Rory Townsend lodged himself in the day's early break. Their highest-placed rider at the end of the day was Frederik Frison, in 32nd, while Townsend was 76th, more than 12 minutes back.
The Irishman was one of the last survivors of the escapees, finally being caught at the end of the Trouée d'Arenberg by Tadej Pogačar, Van der Poel and others.
"The point at which they'd caught me, they'd made a big effort over the Arenberg to get across to us. It worked out quite well from our perspective, as there was a brief moment of breath where they looked at each other. Then bang, they kicked off again," Townsend recalled.
The Irishman was dealt another blow in the form of a puncture shortly after, but was able to reflect on his day in Hell with some optimism.
"It's briefly demoralising [being dropped] and then after a little bit you think 'it's nice to have a group to get back with'.
"Once you put away these feelings of disappointment and regret, then it's nice."
Part of Townsend's motivation for ensuring he didn't step off the back and into the car was the idea of finishing in Roubaix's iconic velodrome.
"Finishing in this venue is something special, it's one of the few races where you see every guy, no matter how far down they are, hacking round just to finish because this is such a special place."
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