British talent rode the Paris-Roubaix of his life - But he was astonished with Mathieu van der Poel's comeback
Cycling
Lewis Askey is a rider that has ridden under the radar this spring, but has achieved some very interesting results. After riding to a 21st spot at the Tour of Flanders, he was Great Britain's best at Paris-Roubaix where he finished just outside the Top10. The 24-year old detailed some of his race whilst also giving his point of view of Mathieu van der Poel's comeback first-hand.
"For me, it was really impressive to see the level of the top riders again. The race Van der Poel had... the fact he was even at the front at the end, I’m truly amazed by it. It really shows the level they are playing at," Askey said on the Watts Occuring podcast with Luke Rowe.
The NSN Cycling Team rider entered Roubaix as one of the team's cards alongside Biniam Girmay, but luck was not on Girmay's side who rode almost the entire Trouée d'Arenberg on a flat tire. The Briton in the meantime managed to avoid most major splits and mistimed mechanicals, and ended up being in one of the front groups after the first key sector of the race.
There, Mathieu van der Poel had two punctures and lost two minutes in the blink of an eye. Then he initiated his comeback, which Askey eventually got to see. "I don't know how much time we had on that sector before Arenberg. He was, from what I understand, still not in that group. We came out of there with maybe fifteen riders. It perhaps came back together a bit on that big road. I had to make a massive effort just to be there, so that cooked me a bit".
"He came from behind and brought a group of twenty to thirty riders back to us," the 24-year old details. "To me, that is so impressive. The fact that he had already made all that effort at that point just to be back. After that, he was in the front group again, had to swap (take turns, ed.) again. How much strength it takes to keep returning time and again."
There's never a straightforward Paris-Roubaix
It was a show of strength from the Dutchman, however with too much time to take back in order to return to contention for victory in the Hell of the North. Bad luck affected all of the riders who were heavily discussed as victory contenders, albeit in different ways, but that is part of the third monument of the season.
"I think you never get a straightforward Roubaix, a simple race where no one has bad luck. You always get a problem. We saw with Van der Poel that it was just too much. With Pogi... could Wout have stayed with him if he hadn't faced problems? How much did that take out of him? I don't know."
However Askey could be happy with the outcome of the race, not just his result, but with the rider who lifted the large cobble prize on the final podium: Wout Van Aert.
"I was always a fan. I think, as strange as it is to say because he is one of the best riders in the world, he was always a bit of an underdog. I think so many people wanted him to win," he adds. "A bit of a fairytale ending, then. I think that’s very cool."
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Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- Seriously do you think when somebody gets into a serious accident, the ambulance is called by the hurt person?🤦 there is always a buddy system in place for a risky job. police , firefighters etc so that if someone gets hurt, the other call that in.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I get the point totally. We live in the snowflake society where some riders forget they are getting paid to ride and get results. When they have a few issues they try to look outside of the real issue instead of themselves. It odd so many of the team are making no complaints and getting on with their job. If you do not like what you do find another job simples. Tough love as my mum would say.paultryan200207-11-2026
- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
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