"It is great that we succeeded" - One-two finish at Paris-Roubaix sees hard work pay off for Alpecin-Deceuninck

A one-two finish at Paris-Roubaix may well go down as one of the best results in the history of the Alpecin-Deceuninck set-up. This did not come out of the blue however, nor was it all down to the supreme talent of team leader Mathieu van der Poel. This was all part of a plan envisioned long ago by Philip Roodhooft.

"Last winter we made the plan to consciously take up the gauntlet against the top teams at the major races," Alpecin-Deceuninck's team manager Philip Roodhooft revealed following the Hell of the North. "We knew that would have consequences for the number of victories. At the time that is not fun, but if you know why, it is easier and now expectations have been more than fulfilled."

Mathieu van der Poel's race win, backed up by Jasper Philipsen outsprinting Wout van Aert for second was the culmination of years of hard work for Roodhooft and the rest of the Alpecin-Deceuninck but they man behind the success is quick to point out that they are not the only top team in the World Tour peloton.

"2 monuments, we did not expect that. But there was an idea behind it. If you do the right things and the talent is there, the results will follow," says Roodhooft before disagreeing that they are now the team to beat. "You can say that, but two weeks ago that was still Jumbo-Visma," he explains. "It goes very quickly, but it was indeed our ambition to be there at the big moments. It is great that we succeeded."