{"id":117815,"date":"2026-04-12T17:31:05","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T17:31:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/12\/wout-van-aert-finally-buries-the-ghosts-to-win-paris-roubaix\/"},"modified":"2026-04-12T17:31:05","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T17:31:05","slug":"wout-van-aert-finally-buries-the-ghosts-to-win-paris-roubaix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/12\/wout-van-aert-finally-buries-the-ghosts-to-win-paris-roubaix\/","title":{"rendered":"Wout van Aert Finally Buries the Ghosts to Win Paris-Roubaix"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"justify-start\">\n<nav class=\"align-left col-span-full mb-base\" data-pom-e2e-test-id=\"breadcrumbs\"\/>\n<p>Van Aert reverses years of bad luck to deliver a career-defining victory he feared would never come at Paris-Roubaix. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/p>\n<p class=\"fp-leadCaption py-tight text-left font-utility text-utility3-size leading-utility3-line-height text-secondary\">Van Aert is overcome with emotion. <!-- --> (Photo: Anne Christine Poujoulat &#8211; Pool\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-body\">\n<p>Published April 12, 2026 11:31AM<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a target=\"_self\" class=\"text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/tag\/wout-van-aert\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Wout van Aert<\/a> winning <a target=\"_self\" class=\"text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/tag\/paris-roubaix\" rel=\"noopener\">Paris-Roubaix<\/a> \u2014 it was the victory that every bike fan was cheering for Sunday, but no one expected to see.<\/p>\n<p>The crowd erupted as cycling\u2019s hard-luck Belgian powered into the velodrome alongside Tadej Poga\u010dar.<\/p>\n<p>After years of close calls, near misses, and downright disasters, <a target=\"_self\" class=\"text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/wout-van-aert-dream-paris-roubaix-victory\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Van Aert finally had some luck<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>And packed incredible legs, too.<\/p>\n<p>After matching Poga\u010dar in the final hour of racing, the pair hit the final corner of Roubaix\u2019s velodrome. Van Aert attacked, and Poga\u010dar had nothing left.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter Carrefour, I knew I had a chance,\u201d Van Aert said. \u201cI\u2019ve been chasing this for so long. It\u2019s a dream come true.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.paris-roubaix.fr\/en\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Roubaix<\/a> doesn\u2019t give gifts. And make no mistake, Van Aert had to earn this.<\/p>\n<p>Two punctures could have ended it, and in any other edition, they would have.<\/p>\n<p>But this time, his bad luck came early, and Van Aert clawed his way back. He stayed in the race, and he stayed upright.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat I learned is it is never over in this race, and I showed today,\u201d he\u00a0said.<br \/>\u201cThe second puncture was quite a rough one to come back, it was quite hard to fight back to the group. But I just decided to stick to my plan.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Closing a circle<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_982450\" class=\"pom-image-wrap photo-alignnone\"><img alt=\"Team Visma - Lease a Bike's Belgian rider Wout van Aert celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the 123rd edition of the Paris-Roubaix one-day classic cycling race, 258.3 km between Compi\u00e8gne and Roubaix, at the V\u00e9lodrome Andr\u00e9-P\u00e9trieux in Roubaix, northern France, on April 12, 2026. (Photo by )\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"720\" height=\"451\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-982450\" style=\"color:transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2270518938-720x451.jpg?width=750&amp;auto=webp&amp;quality=75&amp;fit=cover 1x, https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2270518938-720x451.jpg?width=1920&amp;auto=webp&amp;quality=75&amp;fit=cover 2x\" src=\"https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2270518938-720x451.jpg?width=1920&amp;auto=webp&amp;quality=75&amp;fit=cover\"\/><figcaption class=\"pom-caption\"><span class=\"article__caption\">Van Aert get the win he\u2019s been chasing his whole career. <\/span> (Photo: Anne-Christine POUJOULAT \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>For once, fortune didn\u2019t turn against him. Van Aert was the winner of the race he\u2019d been dreaming of.<\/p>\n<p>He collapsed in tears into his father\u2018s arms and was transported back to the time when he was a youngster dreaming of racing Paris-Roubaix.<\/p>\n<p>After turning pro, Van Aert was destined to win, not one Roubaix, but many. He was Belgium\u2019s next Tom Boonen, the next big cobblestone superhero.<\/p>\n<p>But he kept running into Van der Poel, his rival since they were teenagers. And then Poga\u010dar decided he wanted to race the classics.<\/p>\n<p>It seemed like it would never happen. An injury over the winter seemed like 2026 would be another wash for Van Aert.<\/p>\n<p>But a strong ride at the Tour of Flanders with fourth behind the climbers gave him quiet confidence for Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI feel like I closed a circle,\u201d he\u00a0said. \u201cI\u2019ve been chasing this for so long.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Others weren\u2019t so lucky.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, all the \u201cbigs\u201d had some sort of bad luck on Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>Poga\u010dar floundered with a puncture, a broken wheel, and was even forced to ride a Shimano neutral support bike until he could chase back on before the Arenberg.<\/p>\n<p>And then bad luck would bury Van der Poel in a series of cruel twists on Roubaix\u2019s most unforgiving sector. The three-time winner chased all day, but never regained contact.<\/p>\n<p>Van Aert rumbled off the Arenberg at the front, and with each passing kilometer, things were looking good just as everyone was bracing for \u201cwhat could happen now?\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Sprint of dreams<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_982451\" class=\"pom-image-wrap photo-alignnone\"><img alt=\"UAE Team Emirates XRG's Slovenian rider Tadej Pogacar (L) and Team Visma - Lease a Bike's Belgian rider Wout van Aert cycle in a breakaway on a cobblestone sector during the 123rd edition of the Paris-Roubaix one-day classic cycling race, 258.3 km between Compi\u00e8gne and Roubaix, northern France, on April 12, 2026. (Photo by Etienne GARNIER \/ POOL \/ AFP via Getty Images)\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"720\" height=\"453\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-982451\" style=\"color:transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2270520998-720x453.jpg?width=750&amp;auto=webp&amp;quality=75&amp;fit=cover 1x, https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2270520998-720x453.jpg?width=1920&amp;auto=webp&amp;quality=75&amp;fit=cover 2x\" src=\"https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2270520998-720x453.jpg?width=1920&amp;auto=webp&amp;quality=75&amp;fit=cover\"\/><figcaption class=\"pom-caption\"><span class=\"article__caption\">Van Aert held off Poga\u010dar to win. <\/span> (Photo: Etienne GARNIER \/ POOL \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The kilometers clicked by, and nothing bad happened. After floating off the Carrefour, he started to believe.<\/p>\n<p>He had rehearsed this moment for years and played every scenario over in his mind.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI planned my sprint already for years. I did this sprint in so many dreams,\u201d he said. \u201cBefore every edition, I knew exactly how I wanted to approach.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Poga\u010dar could only concede and gave well-deserved congratulations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWout really deserves this victory, and how he always comes back from all the bad luck, and he never gives up,\u201d Pogacar said. \u201cHe can be a hero to many young kids today.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy legs were not the greatest anymore, and Wout was always on my wheel. I could feel he was strong, and it was not meant to be to drop him, and in the sprint, he was just too strong.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With a final sprint to beat the Merkcx of our times, Van Aert was able to exorcize the demons that have haunted him during his cobblestone career.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/wout-van-aert-finally-buries-the-ghosts-to-win-paris-roubaix\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Van Aert reverses years of bad luck to deliver a career-defining victory he feared would never come at Paris-Roubaix. Van Aert is overcome with emotion. (Photo: Anne Christine Poujoulat &#8211; Pool\/Getty Images) Published April 12, 2026 11:31AM Wout van Aert winning Paris-Roubaix \u2014 it was the victory that every bike fan was cheering for Sunday, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":117816,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117815"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=117815"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117815\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/117816"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=117815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=117815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=117815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}