The 2024 Paris-Roubaix was contested under sunny skies and the action was intense from the onset of the race. Race organizer A.S.O. had designed a route that was 259.7-kilometers long and included no less than 29 pavé sections. This year the cobbles were once again expected to play a decisive role in the race.

The early breakaway of Paris-Roubaix 2024 featured Per Strand Hagenes (Team Visma-Lease a bike), Rasmus Tiller (Uno-X Pro Cycling Team), Kasper Asgreen (Soudal-QuickStep), Marco Haller (Bora-Hansgrohe), Liam Slock (Lotto-Dstny), Gleb Syritsa (Team Astana), and Kamil Malecki (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team).

150 kilometers from the finish line the riders were riding in echelons. The speed was intense.

With 120 kilometers left of the race, a thirty-man group had established itself as the front group of the race. They were followed by forty additional riders more than a minute back. Group one was spearheaded by most of the Soudal-QuickStep team.

Nils Politt (UAE Team Emirates) carried out a bike change and was almost caught between a team car and a curbstone in his quest to return to the front.

150 kilometers of the race had been completed and the second group was now more than two minutes behind the front men.

The front group featured noteworthy riders such as World Champion Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), Kasper Asgreen (Soudal-QuickStep), Tom Pidcock (Ineos-Grenadiers) and John Degenkolb (Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL).

The Alpecin-Deceuninck riders were at the front of the group. Later, they were relieved by Lidl-Trek rider Mathias Vacek who were setting a fast pace as the riders were approaching the decisive sections of today’s classic.

With 95 kilometers left, the professional cyclists were reaching cobble section 19: the Trouée d’Arenberg - one of the peak moments of the day as the Arenberg Forest is known to wreak havoc on the riders and the standings.

Mistakenly, the race organizer A.S.O. had introduced a new entry to the cobbled forest path that was designed to reduce the pace, thereby making the action less intense and less interesting. Paris-Roubaix is known as The Hell of the North for a reason – the new initiatives to make racing easier are reducing the legendary Paris-Roubaix Classic to a quality like any other pro classic race.

Pedersen was first to enter the Arenberg Forest, Van der Poel was in fourth. Pidcock was fifth. The race was stretched out and the fighting was less intense than what we are used to enjoy.

Van der Poel moved to the front. Pedersen stuck to his rear wheel. He couldn’t quite keep up. Behind Pedersen Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Mick van Dijke (Team Visma-Lease a Bike) fought on. 

With 92 kilometers left, Philipsen suffered a flat tire.

90 kilometers from the finish in Roubaix, a reshuffled front group had been established. The group featured Van der Poel, Gianni Vermeersch (Soudal-QuickStep), Van Dijke, Pedersen, Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ), Laurence Pithie (Groupama-FDJ), Søren Wærenskjold (Uno-X), Politt, Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates), Pidcock, Jordi Meeus (Q36.5), Stefan Bissegger (EF Education-EasyPost), and Johan Jacobs (Movistar Team). Philipsen was chasing following his mechanical incident. 

Pedersen was next to suffer a mechanical. 88 kilometers remained.

The group was split following additional punctures.

Vermeersch, Küng and Politt were now forming a front trio. Eight riders were chasing twenty seconds behind. The riders were contesting uneven terrain and there were several potholes in the tarmac – better there than potholes in my lawn.

With eighty kilometers remaining of The Hell of the North, the front trio had increased its lead to more than half a minute. Twenty-five riders were in the chase group, which was headed by three Lidl-Trek riders.

Pidcock moved to the front for a short while to increase the speed further, but he was quickly replaced by Czech national champion Vacek who was riding in support of Pedersen.

70 kilometers remained and a 24-man group was now about to catch the front three. 

With 68 kilometers left, the groups merged.

Sixty kilometers remained and Van der Poel launched a powerful solo attack. Pedersen responded but was unable to catch the flying Dutchman. Politt launched an attempt. The riders in the chase group lacked initiative and true grit – they were practically handing the race victory to van der Poel by waiting for other riders to do the hard work. This lack of initiative caused van der Poel’s lead to expand to 25 seconds. 

Fifty kilometers from the finish, the riders were approaching the second five-starred pavée stretch – the Mons-en-Pévéle (sector 11). These cobbles were nasty. But first, other challenges were to be faced by the exhausted riders.

Van der Poel entered sector 11 in solo fashion and now had a lead of more than 01:30 minutes due to the lackluster performances of the competitors who did not dare to initiate a chase and were waiting for other riders to do the hard work for them. The chase group disappointingly lacked men of true courage.

Politt, Pedersen, Philipsen, Küng and Pithie were leading the chase. 21-year-old Laurence Pithie has been impressive this season. They were now 01:45 minutes behind flying Dutchman and World Champion Van der Poel.

Pithie crashed while cornering thirty kilometers from the finish in Roubaix. Philipson, Pedersen, Küng and Politt remained in the chase group. They were more than two minutes behind.

With twenty kilometers remaining, Van der Poel was approaching the final five-starred-cobbles section of the race – the Carrefour de l’Arbre (secteur 4).

Van der Poel looked powerful on the cobbles. His lead was now almost three minutes. It looked as if the cobbles had been randomly tossed across the road. Someone bring the tarmac truck, please. The fans were cheering eagerly as van der Poel passed them.

Pedersen was leading the chase group. He was followed by Küng. Philipsen and Pedersen would likely be the best sprinters in a sprint finish for the second and third podium placements. 

Küng was dropped – what a pity for the Swiss rider. Further behind him Vermeersch and Pithie were chasing.

Van der Poel was approaching the velodrome with an average speed of no less than 47.8 km/h. 

Van der Poel crossed the finish line solo and pointed to the blue sky as winner of Paris-Roubaix 2024. 

This was now a battle for second and third. Pedersen looked strong, so did Philipsen. Would Politt prevail?

Politt was first to open the sprint towards the finish line. Philipsen crossed the finish line first and thereby secured a second-place finish in this year’s final cobbles classic. Pedersen was next across the line followed by Politt.

“It’s hard to believe,” Van der Poel told Roadcycling.com shortly after the race finish. “Our team was even stronger than last year and I’m super proud of the boys.

“I wanted to make the race hard from the beginning, because I knew this would be good for me. Of course, you know in Paris-Roubaix a puncture is never far away, but I knew I had my team car close by, which calmed me. I was super motivated for this year’s Paris-Roubaix and wanted to show my World Champion jersey,” Van der Poel added.

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