An unusual mistake costs experienced cyclist a Top 10 at Roubaix: "Fortunately there is no footage of it"

Paris-Roubaix is a race that, days after it has finished, is still talked about because of the number of stories it generates. One of the most unusual of the 2025 edition was Dries de Bondt.

The Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale rider was looking for a deserved Top 10 in the Hell of the North, but an unusual mistake made him miss the opportunity and finish 22nd.

"When turning after that last cobblestone section, under the flamme rouge, I followed the motorcyclist in front of me," De Bondt tells Het Nieuwsblad. "Unfortunately, it turned to leave the course... and so did I. How is that possible?"

The 33-year-old De Bondt would seem like a rider who's been through a dozen editions of Roubaix, but truth is the opposite. "This was only my third Roubaix," he explains. "Last year I gave up, in 2018 my teammate Michael Goolaerts died during the race and my mind was elsewhere."

The 1-star sector Espace Crupelandt also isn't a decisive point on Paris-Roubaix course, meaning the riders don't know it all that well. "On top of that, we never take that last cobblestone section during the reconnaissance. Now I had to go right, left and right again. I misjudged it and also came at high speed so that I got close to that motorcyclist."

And that while he was riding in ninth position. When he returned to take the right route, he had already lost quite a few places. "The disappointment was not too bad at first, but when I was chatting with Jasper Philipsen on the central square, I heard the top 10 being called and it dawned on me."

"Fred Wright, from whose group I had jumped away, turned out to be ninth. I didn't know myself that I was riding for ninth place. I did realize that we were aiming for a place of honor when we picked up Philipsen on the way. And then this! Stupid, huh? Fortunately there is no footage of it."

Still, this is super sour for De Bondt? "I wanted to prove to myself that I could ride top 10 in a Monument. I had heard too often that I was a good rider and had achieved clean results, but that I was still a bit short for the really big races. I don't get that many chances for a top ten in a big race and then this tastes sour."