Mathieu van der Poel won the first Paris-Roubaix of his career on Sunday, flying to victory in the Carrefour de l’Arbre sector, where he took advantage of the puncture of his great rival Wout van Aert. It was his last race of the spring before leaving for training camp at altitude and heading for the Tour de Suisse and then the Tour de France. The grandson of Raymond Poulidor presented himself to the calm press, his face almost rested despite the violent effort of the day.
You took all the risks, you were at the limit in certain turns: did you scare yourself at times?
Mathieu van der Poel. To be honest, I’ve always been pretty in control, I haven’t been on the edge, I’ve got things under control. No, I wasn’t scared. Sometimes in the peloton you can’t control everything, but when I’m alone or in a small group, I can do whatever I want. The Degenkolb fall (in the cobbled sector of the Carrefour de l’Arbre)? I didn’t see the footage, I don’t know if it was my fault or not, I don’t know if he took a hole or hit a spectator. If it’s my fault, I apologize. It’s a racing situation, it was obviously not voluntary. I am happy to have avoided this fall.
Was Wout Van Aert’s puncture the key moment of the race?
Obviously, this is the decisive moment. It’s unlucky for Wout, he had the ability to win. The race would have been different if he hadn’t had a puncture, we would probably have arrived at the Vélodrome together. I always say that in Roubaix you need good legs and luck, I had both today. But yes it would have been different if he hadn’t had a puncture. If there had been a sprint? I don’t know, I haven’t had time to think about it. But if we had to go to the sprint, I would probably have left earlier than in 2021 (3rd, beaten by the Italian Sonny Colbrelli).
Your teammate Jasper Philipsen took second place, did he surprise you?
Yes, a little, frankly. I know Jasper is a huge runner, I know he’s one of the few on the team that loves the cobbles, but yeah he surprised me today.
You seem to be developing more power than ever and being able to be decisive when you want…
Yes, I changed little things in my approach to the season. I wanted to do fewer races but be 100% in the races that I compete in. It makes the difference. It’s my strongest classic season, I was already good at the Tour of Flanders even if I didn’t win (2nd behind Tadej Pogacar). Today I had more power in the last 15 km, I’m stronger than in previous years. I feel good.
“I like it when it’s hard from the start”
You won San Remo and Roubaix the same year, you are the 4th runner to do so, are you aware that you are writing history?
(smile) I don’t think about it. I know I’m good at one-day races and the Monuments are necessarily priority objectives for me.
We saw you at the front from the start of the race with a completely crazy first two hours…
I learned lessons from the past (he had been trapped by an Ineos edging last year). There wasn’t really a breakaway today but we raced hard, like juniors, from start to finish. It’s better for me, I like when it’s hard from the start. I pushed and tried to drop my opponents several times until luck smiled on me (Wout van Aert’s puncture).
Were you starting to get discouraged at not being able to let go of Wout van Aert?
No, not at all, I was not desperate. I felt very strong. Wout was alone (among the Jumbos) in this group, he didn’t want to take over at first. We could have gone there for the first time both (45 km from the finish). Without the puncture, I imagine we would have arrived at the Vélodrome together… My best moment today? When I found myself on my own for the last kilometers and I was able to envisage victory. »