Featured image courtesy of FRANCOIS LO PRESTI AFP via Getty Images
Good things come to those who wait, which in the case of Paris-Roubaix has been 12 years for the INEOS Grenadiers. The team’s first-ever victory at this race came on the back of two glorious wins on more hilly terrain at Amstel Gold and Brabantse Pijl but now eight-time Roubaix starter Dylan van Baarle can talk himself up as a Monument winner.
So are INEOS now confirmed as the best team of this Classics campaign? It was a hectic 119th edition of Paris-Roubaix with punctures and crashes galore just six months on from a muddy rearranged encounter.
A first Roubaix in its traditional Springtime slot since 2019, the dust and dirt causing havoc, here are five talking points.
Dylan van Baarle deserving of victory
After taking second place to fellow Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel at Flanders two weeks ago, it was always likely that Dylan van Baarle would be a clear favourite to win Paris-Roubaix. At 29-years-of-age he came so close to taking De Ronde that you’d think there would be a little bit of fire in the belly to right to wrongs and go for the next best Monument on the calendar.
From the early stages of the race, INEOS Grenadiers were doing everything they could to make things difficult. A team as one who helped to form an early split in the bunch after just 40km of racing. A puncture for another pre-race favourite in teammate Filippo Ganna meant a slight relaxation in control but to be fair INEOS never lost their heads at all.
Having two contenders always works and it worked a treat with Dylan van Baarle attacking at Mons-en-Pévèle with 45km to go, eventually joining a reduced group of contenders. It was on the cobbles of Camphin-en-Pévèle with 18km remaining where he left everyone for dead including recent Milan-Sanremo champion Matej Mohorič.
Arms aloft solo into the cauldron of Roubaix’s famous velodrome, overall victory for van Baarle is nothing short of deserved. Since signing for INEOS in 2018 (formerly Team Sky) the Dutchman has sacrificed himself for others’ GC ambitions at three Vuelta’s and three Tour de France editions. Maintaining a pace on a mountain pass and acting as a domestique, this is what riders are there to do as a team for the grand tours but when the Classics come around they deserve a chance to earn some success.
Dylan van Baarle epitomises hard work and sacrifice for others which why he is deserving of this Paris-Roubaix victory as are others who help their GC leader of designated sprinter. For the past couple of years he has been a consistent part of the INEOS machine, the next question is whether Dave Brailsford can stave off any transfer requests, most notably rumours of Jumbo-Visma wanting van Baarle for next year.
More than anything, can it be confirmed that INEOS have been the best team of this Spring Classics campaign? It’s hard to say this statement when Jumbo-Visma claimed victories with Wout Van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel came back from injury to secure an enormous Tour of Flanders win.
Yet Michał Kwiatkowski’s win at Amstel Gold and Magnus Sheffield taking De Brabantse Pijl in the space of a few days just recently means INEOS have suddenly come to life as a talented Classics team. Have they changed tack knowing that another Tour de France yellow jersey is now becoming harder?
On all fronts the team is strong and it’s also quite important to note that Dylan van Baarle isn’t the only rider who can perfectly score a Classics victory. New talent in the form of Magnus Sheffield and Britain’s Ben Turner are coming through and not forgetting Tom Pidcock too! At 22-years-of-age, Ben Turner managed to finish 11th on his Paris-Roubaix debut – a promising future awaits.
The time belongs to Dylan van Baarle, more races are still to come but for now the INEOS Grenadiers are the form team to watch out for.
The time will come for Wout Van Aert
For all the talk of best Classics team for 2022, who can gain the title of best Classics man this year so far? You’d have to argue Wout Van Aert. After taking Omloop Het Nieuwsblad for the starter as well as the E3 Saxo Bank Classic, for the main course Van Aert was expected to glide into De Ronde and then for desert crown himself Roubaix champion.
It isn’t that simple for the Jumbo-Visma man as COVID-19 messed everything up. But to return from a setback and take second at Roubaix even when we thought there was a problem at the key point in the race at the Trouée d’Arenberg, it was just a mechanical.
Going into this race, the Belgian press speculated as to whether Wout Van Aert was in the best physical and mental shape to race because of COVID, some doctors even advised against him competing and even the man himself suggested he was not realistic about his chances.
Wout Van Aert is therefore a good bluffer! Once the peloton was closing gaps and it looked as if anyone could attack, the Belgian national champion was one of the main instigators of acceleration on the cobbles. The only thing Van Aert missed was Dylan van Baarle’s winning move.
A mixed Classics campaign for Wout Van Aert and Jumbo-Visma on the whole. Looking ahead the final Classics races in the hills of the Ardennes await but on the cobbles already ridden it’s clear that many chances are yet to be taken b Wout Van Aert.
There is no doubt that a Ronde Van Vlaanderen and a Paris-Roubaix will be his sooner rather than later.
Third for Stefan Küng but no podium for brave Mohorič
Going into the race, Groupama-FDJ’s Stefan Küng was always going to be a dark horse as was Matej Mohorič.
The recent winner of Milan-Sanremo was surprisingly up the road with three other riders at a gap of around two minutes – a time gap that the Slovenian shouldn’t really be given because of how good he is!
When nothing was really happening to change the race situation, you’d think that it would be Mohorič’s day. Yet an unfortunate puncture with 38km to go ultimately lost him a chance of at least a podium place.
A podium eluded him, fifth in the end, but overall Matej Mohorič should be very encouraged in how his season has started, Sanremo victory included.
Mathieu van der Poel never looked close to winning
It is always true to state that every professional racer puts in every effort to try and win a race. Massive respect is always worthy of any sprinter, climber, time trial specialist or GC contender because they suffer to try and succeed.
There is no doubt that Mathieu van der Poel was nowhere near the level required to win Paris-Roubaix but cycling fan forgive him, the rider who can win any of the cobbled Classics for the foreseeable. Taking victory at the Tour of Flanders for a second time a fortnight ago, van der Poel has already achieved something special this Spring so it’s fine to expect tiredness.
He was unable to follow Wout Van Aert’s accelerations and eventually Mathieu van der Poel came in more than two-and-a-half-minutes behind Dylan van Baarle.
An off-day for the Alpecin-Fenix rider which is forgiveable. Next comes a Giro-Tour appearance where van der Poel hopes to complete both grand tours.
A chaotic 119th edition
Team DSM decided not to use new on-board tyre pressure control system as a trial but to be brutally honest for all the talk of tech to deal with Roubaix’s cobbles, crashes and punctures were the main talk of the town post Paris-Roubaix 2022.
You need incredible look to avoid crashing and suffering from a mechanical problem, but it is extremely hard to remember a Paris-Roubaix edition where so many punctures occurred. On just one 200m section of cobbles, Filippo Ganna, Dylan van Baarle, Matej Mohorič, Wout Van Aert and Jasper Stuyven all punctured.
With most teams now using tubeless tyres instead of tubular, but the thought that this prevents serious punctures for a Paris-Roubaix will now come into question.
Despite suffering from a flat tyre at one point, Dylan van Baarle did eventually win, but because so many punctures happened, expect some investigations into why.
Away from punctures, another reason why this Paris-Roubaix was chaotic and sad to watch really was the crash of Yves Lampaert, another day to forget for Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl.
When everything was looking good for Lampaert alongside Matej Mohorič to claim a potential podium, a spectator got too close and led to the Belgian crashing.
A rotten Spring Classics campaign for a team that has been used to dominating for so long. The crash for Yves Lampaert summed it up dreadfully. Two Springtime races are still to come for Quick-Step to try and salvage something.
The cobbled Classics are over for another year. The cobbles of Paris-Roubaix will be back to feature on Stage 5 of the Tour de France between Lille and Arenberg, Dylan van Baarle no doubt starting for INEOS to help their designated GC leader which will most likely be Egan Bernal.
The Spring Classics have two more races left to ride in the Ardennes at La Flèche Wallonne and the fourth Monument Liège-Bastogne-Liège. The first grand tour of the season, the Giro d’Italia, is close now too…