The masterful success of the Dutchman, linked to the bad luck of Van Aert, has been widely revisited and commented on.
By the editorial staff
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« Van der Poel flies through hell », title El Pais to accompany the resounding success of the Dutchman Mathieu Van der Poel, this Sunday in Paris-Roubaix. Carlos Arribas writes: “”Come on Poupou”. A spectator has written it on a piece of cardboard and from the ditch shows it to Van der Poel, who, poised until the last second, without touching the brakes, letting the bike slide through the turns like a rally driver, passes in front him, at more than 60 an hour. “Poupou”, whom he called Pappy, was his grandfather. You can already feel the Vélodrome de Roubaix, you can hear it, it’s right next door. Victory awaits him. The queen of classics loves it. The Hell of the North, the monument of Paris-Roubaix, he wins it, it is the fourth monument of his career, as much as Pogacar. This is the golden age of cycling in the 21st century. And this week, the biggest is Van der Poel. Grace is with him. He is the lucky star. Very nice and relaxing lightly dancing on the cobblestones. »
« A demon in hell “Marca poster which tells” in the decisive sector, the Carrefour de l’Arbre, Van Aert was on a killer plane. Degenkolb went to the ground. So much play ended up tiring Van der Poel, who took off at 15 km. His attack coincided with Wout’s puncture. Philipsen and Van Aert completed the podium where a monumental VdP shone. »
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Van der Poel, the cyclist of the great classics, is the new tamer of “ the hell of the north », sums up Mundo Deportivo.
The Rtbf leafs through the family album and says: “ Papa Adrie had broken his teeth there. Grandpa Raymond, also by the way. Grandson Mathieu did not ask himself the slightest question. He averted the fate of the family and won Paris-Roubaix. How ? By doing… what he does best. Drive on instinct, attack, anticipate and test your opponents. His attacks, planned, programmed with his team, hurt the competition… very early on. Always placed at strategic times, where they were not necessarily expected. From Mathieu van der Poel in the text to this pivotal moment, on the dusty and pitiless cobblestones, at the Crossroads of the tree (…) Van der Poel is therefore more than ever the man of spring. The Monuments man, too. His record? 14 races contested, 4 victories, 8 podiums, 13 Top 10. His worst place? 13th at Sanremo in 2020 for his first participation. Here he is, already, with his 4th Monument in his pocket. He returns to Pogacar. Add to that his title of cyclo-cross world champion gleaned last December and his 2nd place at E3 and you will understand why van der Poel is the boss of the moment. »
Het Niewblad looks back on the misfortunes of Wout Van Aert, with a puncture in the Carrefour de l’Arbre, when the leader of the Jumbo-Visma team had just attacked: “ Wout van Aert and Paris-Roubaix is a marriage doomed to failure, made up of drama and bad luck. In the 2023 edition, he may have come closest to victory, but a puncture on the Carrefour de l’Arbre decided otherwise. ”Paris-Roubaix remains cursed for me”, summarizes WvA “. Before focusing on the winner who “ jubilee » : « Van Aert’s bad luck? It takes good legs and luck to win here. And the Flemish daily underlines the dazzling success of a team inspired by Mathieu Van der Poel, a leader in full success: nine victories, two Monuments: where does the dazzling rise of Alpecin-Deceuninck come from? »
