Dylan van Baarle (Ineos Grenadiers) attacked on the cobbles of Camphin-en-Pévèle to deliver a race winning 18 kilometre solo effort, defying the favourites and completely turning around his Paris-Roubaix fortunes.
The 29-year-old rider, who last year finished outside the time limit, had a comfortable buffer as he rode into the Roubaix velodrome giving Van Baarle time to soak up the enormity of the victory after 257.2 unrelenting kilometres, with 54.8 of them across bone-jarring cobbles.
It was 1:47 later when Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma), who was returning to racing after COVID-19, came off the wheel of Stefan Küng to take second place ahead of the Groupama-FDJ rider. It was a close fourth for Tom Devriendt, who had been solo out the front at 40km to go, to deliver Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux its best ever result in a Monument.
Conditions for the 119th edition of the race, which was back in spring after 2021’s pandemic delayed October edition, couldn’t have provided a bigger contrast to the wet and muddy course of last year but the weather still played its part. Ineos Grenadiers started wearing down rivals early, pushing at the front as the crosswinds hit, and at just 47 kilometres into the race the peloton was split with the likes of Van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) left behind.
It was a split that lasted through the opening cobbled sectors of the race and, while it ultimately came back together, it was a signal of intent from Ineos Grenadiers with the team starting and finishing the race on the front foot. The aggressive racing tactics paid off when Van Baarle became the first rider from the British squad to hoist the heavy cobblestone trophy aloft on the top step of the podium at Paris-Roubaix.
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Results - Top 10
Pos.
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Dylan van Baarle (Ned) Ineos Grenadiers
5:37:00
2
Wout van Aert (Bel) Jumbo-Visma
1:47:00
3
Stefan Kung (Swi) Groupama-FDJ
4
Tom Devriendt (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert
5
Matej Mohoric (Slo) Bahrain Victorious
6
Adrien Petit (Fra) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain Victorious) celebrates his victory on the podium of the 2021 Paris-Roubaix (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain Victorious) capped off an incredible 2021 season that included the European and Italian national road race titles with an emphatic victory in his debut Paris-Roubaix.
In horrific conditions with heavy rain and deep mud on the cobbled sectors, the Italian showed no signs that this was his first trip through the farm tracts of Northern France.
Colbrelli made the race-winning move along with Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) and Florian Vermeersch (Lotto Soudal), with the trio catching and dropping solo attacker Gianni Moscon (Ineos Grenadiers) on the final five-star sector, the Carrefour de l'Arbre.
The trio cooperated until 3km to go when Vermeersch attacked, forcing Colbrelli to chase him down. Vermeersch opened up the sprint on the velodrome but only Colbrelli could push through to snatch the win, with Van der Poel finishing a devastated third.
Often described as the Queen of the Classics or the Hell of the North, Paris-Roubaix is the third Monument of the cycling season and arguably the most recognisable event in the sport after the Tour de France. The race dates back to 1896 and has taken place 117 times since then, with the last edition in 2019. For the first time ever, race organiser ASO will put on a women’s race on October 2, 2021.
Compiègne – around 80km outside of Paris – has hosted the race start since 1977, while Paris played host from the very start up to 1967.
Two Belgians share the accolade of taking the most wins at the race, with Roger De Vlaeminck winning four times in the 1970s and Tom Boonen completing his quadruple between 2005 and 2012. As you'd expect, the honour roll is replete with huge names from cycling history, from Eddy Merckx and Sean Kelly to Johan Museeuw and Fausto Coppi.
Paris-Roubaix most successful riders
Roger De Vlaeminck and Tom Boonen are the only men in history to have won the event four times, with both men battling famous rivalries with Merckx and Fabian Cancellara along the way.
Of the current peloton, nobody has won the race more than once, with Gilbert, Sagan, Degenkolb, Niki Terpstra, Sonny Colbrelli, and Greg Van Avermaet – who rode the fastest Paris-Roubaix ever in 2017 – the lucky sextet to have lifted the famous cobblestone trophy.
Paris-Roubaix route
The race begins, as ever in Compiègne, 80km north-east of Paris, with the town hosting the start from 1977 onwards. After the roll-out the riders are met with 96km of rolling and flat roads as they head north to the Nord department and the first of 30 cobbled sectors at Troisvilles.
It's not an easy introduction to the cobbles, with the first three sectors coming in at three- and four-star ratings. As always, though, the front of the peloton will be a hectic fight for position, regardless of the star ratings.
Three five-star sectors dot the route, with the first coming at the most famous of them all, the Trouée d'Arenberg, after 162km of racing. The 2.3km sector isn't the longest of the race but is among the toughest due to the unevenly spaced, harsh cobbles through the forest.
47km later, Mons-en-Pévèle provides another hard challenge, raced mostly on a false flat for 3km. The tight left turn midway through can give a concertina effect as riders accelerate out of the bend, too.
The final five-star challenge of the race comes with the Carrefour de l'Arbre, 17km from the line, after 240km of hard racing. Measuring in at 2.1km, the sector is usually the last stretch of cobbles where a big race-winning attack can be launched from.
Three more cobbled sectors follow, including the ceremonial last stretch of pavé in the town of Roubaix itself. To conclude the race, the riders will race one-and-a-half laps around the comparatively relaxing – depending on the race situation – flat surface of the outdoor Velodrome André Pétrieux.
Paris-Roubaix cobbled sectors
30 : Troisvilles to Inchy (km 96,3 – 2,2 km) ***
29 : Viesly to Quiévy (km 102,8 – 1,8 km) ***
28 : Quiévy to Saint-Python (km 105,4 – 3,7 km) ****
27 : Saint-Python (km 110,1 - 1,5 km) **
26 : Haussy to Saint-Martin-sur-Écaillon (km 116,6 - 0,8 km) **
25 : Saint-Martin-sur-Ecaillon to Vertain (km 120,9 - 2,3 km) ***
24 : Capelle to Ruesnes (km 127,3 - 1,7 km) ***
23 : Artres to Quérénaing (km 136,3 - 1,3 km) **
22 : Quérénaing to Maing (km 138,1 - 2,5 km) ***
21 : Maing to Monchaux-sur-Ecaillon (km 141,2 - 1,6 km) ***
20 : Haveluy to Wallers (km 154,2 - 2,5 km) ****
19 : Trouée d'Arenberg (km 162,4 - 2,3 km) *****
18 : Wallers to Hélesmes (km 168,4 - 1,6 km) ***
17 : Hornaing to Wandignies (km 175,2 - 3,7 km) ****
16 : Warlaing to Brillon (km 182,7 - 2,4 km) ***
15 : Tilloy to Sars-et-Rosières (km 186,2 - 2,4 km) ****
14 : Beuvry-la-Forêt to Orchies (km 192,5 - 1,4 km) ***
13 : Orchies (km 197,5 - 1,7 km) ***
12 : Auchy-lez-Orchies to Bersée (km 203,6 - 2,7 km) ****
11 : Mons-en-Pévèle (km 209,1 - 3 km) *****
10 : Mérignies to Avelin (km 215,1 - 0,7 km) **
9 : Pont-Thibault to Ennevelin (km 218,5 - 1,4 km) ***
