"I was completely cramped but I never gave up" - 20-year-old Madis Mihkels becomes first Estonian to Top 10 Paris-Roubaix

First Estonian to finish in the Top 10 of Paris-Roubaix. While there were numerous great cyclists coming from the mostly flat Baltic country, it took until 2024 when Madis Mihkels' broke into the group of elite cobblers at the 'Queen of Classics'.

"I'm highly satisfied," he said after the race. "I felt good, but there were critical moments. After the Arenberg sector, my tire went flat, and I had to expend a lot of energy to catch up. Because of this, I was in an energy debt on the following sectors and fell behind a couple of times, but I still managed to catch up."

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The 20-year-old Mihkels continues: "35 km before the end, my tire went flat again, so once more I had to spend energy to catch up. Over the last 10 kilometers, I was completely cramped, and I fell behind again in the last sector, but I kept a smooth power output and managed to catch up once again, a few kilometers later."

"So with all that in mind, a Top 10 at Roubaix is really a superb result for me," he added.