'Van Aert came up against a better opponent' - No Monuments, no complaints from Jumbo-Visma

Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel in action at Paris-Roubaix
Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel in action at Paris-Roubaix (Image credit: Getty)

Mathieu van der Poel’s running tally of Monuments now stands at four after his victory at Paris-Roubaix, while his eternal rival Wout van Aert remains with one to his name as the curtain falls on the cobbled Classics for another year.

Van Aert added another E3 Saxo Classic to his palmarès before yielding Gent-Wevelgem victory to his Jumbo-Visma teammate Christophe Laporte two days later. In the Monuments, however, the Belgian had to settle for third place at Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix and fourth place at the Tour of Flanders.

Barry Ryan
Head of Features

Barry Ryan is Head of Features at Cyclingnews. He has covered professional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and events from Argentina to Japan. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Procycling and Cycling Plus. He is the author of The Ascent: Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche and the Rise of Irish Cycling’s Golden Generation, published by Gill Books.