Fastest Paris-Roubaix in history & longest men's solo in 30 years; Mathieu van der Poel's greatest ever performance?
Cycling
Mathieu van der Poel has claimed a second successive Paris-Roubaix victory and in some style too after a dominant performance on the historic French cobbles this Sunday afternoon.
Breaking a record the Dutchman set last year, this was also the quickest Paris-Roubaix in the long and storied history of cycling's most famous one-day race. 12 months ago, the average speed was a blistering 46.8 kilometres an hour, a speed that was blown out of the water in 2024 with van der Poel's effort of 47.8, a whole kilometre an hour faster than ever before.
With his race-winning attack coming just under 60km from the line, van der Poel also took the longest men's solo victory at Paris-Roubaix in 30 years, a record dating back to Andrei Tchmil all the way back in 1994.
For the Alpecin-Deceuninck team too, it was a record breaking day as the became the first team ever to win the opening three monuments of the season (Jasper Philipsen Milano-Sanremo, Van der Poel Tour of Flanders & Van der Poel Paris-Roubaix ed.).
Plus, with Jasper Philipsen winning the sprint for second, Alpecin-Deceuninck secured a second-straight one-two finish at Paris-Roubaix.
Is this the greatest ever performance in the legendary career of Mathieu van der Poel? Let us know what you think!
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Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
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MATHIEU VAN DER POEL WINS PARIS-ROUBAIX!!! 🙌 🌈 From The Hell of the North to cycling paradise, The world champion makes it back-to-back Monument wins! 🏆🏆 #ParisRoubaix
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