By winning Paris-Roubaix 2025, Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin - Deceuninck) became the first rider since Francesco Moser (1978 to 1980) to win Paris-Roubaix three times in a row. The Dutchman took advantage of a riding error by Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) and pulled away from the Slovenian with 38 kilometres to go. Afterwards, van der Poel was unstoppable. He won Paris-Roubaix 2025 by over a minute ahead of Pogačar, with third place going to Mads Pedersen (Lidl - Trek). With his third success in the "Queen of the Classics", Mathieu van der Poel is now only one victory away from catching up with the two record winners Tom Boonen and Roger De Vlaeminck.
"The hat-trick means a lot to me. The race was really tough. When Tadej Pogačar made the mistake on the bend, I just had to keep going, even though it was still a long way to go. I'm happy to have made it to the finish." - Mathieu van der Poel in the winner interview
Pogačar makes a driving mistake - van der Poel benefits
After attacks by Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogačar, the group of favourites thinned out more and more. When Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin - Deceuninck) also had to break away on the Mons-en-Pévèle cobbled sector, the two big favourites were in a direct duel: Tadej Pogačar and Mathieu van der Poel. With 39 kilometres to go, Pogačar stepped up the pace on a cobbled section, but then underestimated the following right-hand bend. He misjudged, got stuck on a kerb and crashed.
Mathieu van der Poel capitalised on this moment. He tore a gap to the Slovenian and could no longer be caught. While the Dutchman kept up his pace, Pogačar lost more and more ground. In the end, he was well over a minute behind and finished second. In the sprint to the finish between Wout van Aert (Team Visma | Lease a Bike), Florian Vermeersch (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) and Mads Pedersen, the latter secured third place.
Paris-Roubaix 2025 - Result
Paris-Roubaix: Compiègne - Roubaix
Paris-Roubaix 2025: Paris-Roubaix, Compiègne - Roubaix
| Rnk. | Riders | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alpecin - Deceuninck | 05:31:27 |
| 2 | UAE Team Emirates - XRG | +00:01:18 |
| 3 | Lidl - Trek | +00:02:11 |
| 4 | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | +00:02:11 |
| 5 | UAE Team Emirates - XRG | +00:02:11 |
| 6 | Intermarché - Wanty | +00:03:46 |
How Paris-Roubaix 2025 went
The race started in Compiegne under a cloudy sky. It didn't take long for the first breakaway attempts to start. After around 15 kilometres there was a breakaway group. It comprised eight riders. Among them were Oier Lazkano (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe), Jonas Rutsch (Intermarché - Wanty) and Kim Heiduk (INEOS Grenadiers). Subsequently, other riders also tried to escape the peloton. After several moments, however, it was clear that no rider would be able to break away for the time being. The race situation stabilised from then on.
Movistar in bad luck
Even before the first pavé section there were the first crashes in the peloton. Wout van Aert and Matej Mohoric were also involved. However, they got off relatively lightly. The Movistar Team had more bad luck, with three riders having to abandon early. The team was decimated early on. Albert Torres was one of the riders who crashed and then had to retire.
Group around Ganna closes the gap again
On entering the first pavé sector, Jasper Philipsen crashed and Filippo Ganna (INEOS Grenadiers) also dropped back on the cobbles with a defect. Together with around 35 other riders, the duo formed a kind of second peloton behind the main field. INEOS Grenadiers in particular invested a lot of resources to reconnect the group with the peloton. 128 kilometres later, the time had come again. Ganna and Philipsen were back in the draw.
In the peloton, it was mainly Alpecin - Deceunick that did the chasing, with the Lidl - Trek team also working in the wind at times. The Van der Poel team in particular put in a lot of effort and ensured that the lead of the eight-man lead group dropped to less than a minute around 100 kilometres before the finish.
Pogačar attacks
It was precisely at this point on the Haveluy à Waller pave sector that a top favourite launched his first attack: Tadej Pogačar tested the legs of the competition twice. Around 20 riders were able to follow the Slovenian - of course Mads Pedersen, Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert and Stefan Küng, among others, were also able to stay on the world champion's rear wheel.
Forest of Arenberg
Jonas Rutsch was the first rider to enter the Arenberg forest at Paris-Roubaix 2025. Behind the leading group, the group around Pogačar came closer and closer: Mathieu van der Poel pressed on the accelerator so that the breakaway group was placed in the sector. Afterwards, van der Poel stepped up the pace again and created a separation of five riders: in addition to van der Poel himself, Pogačar, Pedersen, Philipsen and Stefan Bissegger (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) were now at the front.
Top trio
On the Tilloy à Sars-et-Rosières pavé section, Tadej Pogačar attacked again. Mathieu van der Poel was in the last position of the leading quintet at the time and had to use his strength to follow the Slovenian. Van der Poel caught up with Pogačar, and a little later Philipsen also caught up with the duo. Mads Pedersen, on the other hand, had a defect on the cobbled section and dropped back, as did Stefan Bissegger. A leading trio formed, while a chasing group of around ten riders around Pedersen, van Aert and Küng rode around a minute behind. As a result, the leaders defended their lead over Pedersen and co. With 50 kilometres to go, Philipsen, van der Poel and Pogačar had a 1:20-minute buffer over their pursuers.
Mathieu van der Poel stepped up the pace a little in the demanding Mons-en-Pévèle sector. Philipsen had problems keeping up with the pace. This was capitalised on by Pogačar, who then attacked so that Philipsen was unable to follow. As a result, the Slovenian was only in the lead together with van der Poel.
Pogačar pays taxes
Pogačar launched an attack on a cobbled section around 38 kilometres before the finish. With difficulty, van der Poel managed to close the gap. Only moments later, Tadej Pogačar made a mistake, underestimated a right-hand bend, got stuck on a barrier and crashed. Although he got back on his bike a little later, he was now 20 seconds behind the leading soloist: Mathieu van der Poel.
Van der Poel unstoppable
At first, it seemed as if Pogačar might be able to close the gap to the Dutchman in the lead once again, with his lead melting away slightly over the first few kilometres. But then the Slovenian's fuel tank emptied. He started to climb again after his lead had dwindled to 13 seconds. When Pogačar then suffered a defect including a wheel change, the Slovenian's hopes of victory faded more and more. The gap was over a minute with 17 kilometres to go. Van der Poel also changed his race bike 15 kilometres before the finish due to a defect. However, he hardly lost any time and continued to ride confidently towards the finish.
Rutsch finishes a strong sixth
After around five and a half hours, Mathieu van der Poel crossed the finish line as the superior solo winner and was celebrated. Tadej Pogačar finished second, 1:18 minutes behind. Third place went to Pedersen, who beat Vermeersch and van Aert in the sprint. The trio that followed towards the finish line consisted of Jonas Rutsch, Markus Hoelgaard (Uno-X Mobility) and Stefan Bissegger. The German Jonas Rutsch won the final sprint and thus secured a strong sixth place.
