Expert believes Wout van Aert lost Paris-Roubaix in his head: "His fear after all those crashes makes him hit the brakes too often"

Wout van Aert didn't really have many reasons to smile last year and the consequences of crashes that caused that state of mind continue to haunt him also in 2025. Although fourth places at Flanders and Roubaix sound okay on paper - they're not victories.

"Van Aert lost his race on a stretch of barely five kilometers, specifically in and after the Trouée d'Arenberg," cycling expert Marc Sergeant declares in analysis of Paris-Roubaix at Het Nieuwsblad.

"First, it was his own fault," he's of the opinion that Van Aert is 'too kind'. "Van Aert insisted that his legs were not good enough in the Trouée d'Arenberg. But look at the images, and you realize something else is happening. Van Aert still enters Trouée d'Arenberg in a good position. But when Pogacar goes to the front, you see him fighting with Pedersen for Pogacar's wheel at a particular moment. That's where it goes wrong. Is he too kind?"

Van Aert lost the battle in the chaos, but according to Sergeant, it may also have been due to something else. "Is it his fear after all those crashes that makes him hit the brakes more often than before? But you see Van Aert hold his legs still for two seconds. And that is something you don't want to do. Giving in to the competition in that spot is catastrophic. Van Aert lost his momentum there and, with it, his speed, especially when he did it again shortly after. Holding his legs still again, losing that momentum again, losing his position and more time."

According to Sergeant, the fact that van Aert did not return after Trouée d'Arenberg was 'the merit of Van der Poel.' "The entire peloton has been focusing on Trouée d'Arenberg for hours, but after that stretch, there is often a pause. So Van der Poel shifted his focus to the stretch after Trouée d'Arenberg. He immediately attacked and decided to race there, not so much on the cobblestones but on the asphalt - a brilliant move."