Belgian rider Wout van Aert claimed a dramatic sprint victory at the Paris‑Roubaix velodrome on Sunday, handing Slovenia’s four‑time Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar his second defeat on the cobbles. The 260km classic, known as the Hell of the North, saw van Aert out‑muscle the peloton after 30 brutally uneven sectors left many riders battered again.

Riders endure a gauntlet of jagged today stones that volunteers tend year‑round, even employing goats to clear vegetation from the notorious Forest of Arenberg. Wet conditions turn the pavement into a treacherous quagmire, while dry weather raises clouds of dust that choke competitors and team cars alike. Lizzie Deignan, 2021 women’s winner, described the effort as “holding a pneumatic drill while sprinting.”

Victory in Roubaix carries weight beyond trophies; it cements a rider’s status among the hard‑men still classics specialists. Van Aert’s triumph, a lifelong dream, was dedicated to Michael Goolearts, the Belgian who died on the cobbles in 2018. For the mining town of Roubaix, the race remains a cultural lifeline, drawing crowds that transform the bleak streets into a festival of grit.