“Last week he went at 45 kilometres, here it was 60" - Adrie van der Poel reacts to son Mathieu's dominant Paris-Roubaix triumph

Mathieu van der Poel claimed a dominant victory at Paris-Roubaix this Sunday afternoon, soloing to the win from a touch under 60km in the longest solo victory for 30 years in the men's version of the French, cobbled monument.

“I think he did the math. Last week he went at 45 kilometres, here it was sixty. In terms of time it's about the same," the world champion's father, Adrie van der Poel proudly reflects to Wielerflits, referring to his son's other monument victory this season at the Tour of Flanders. "There was of course a lot of tailwind and behind it you were lucky that Jasper Philipsen was in a good position there. It was just another strong collective performance.”

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To do the Flanders - Roubaix double is a massive success for van der Poel, made even more impressive by the fact he still has just five race days in his legs this season. "It has happened before in the past. Riders who are good in Flanders are also good in Roubaix," Adrie assesses. "There are riders who have already done the double, and riders who have not. That can go a bit in either direction.”

Could the Alpecin-Deceuninck leader make his spring even better though and secure a hat-trick of monuments this season at the upcoming Liege-Bastogne-Liege? "Liège will be a completely different story. Riding in the top five in Liège is the same as winning in Roubaix," Adrie says, attempting to cool expectations somewhat. "But yes, he has to take advantage of the good condition and perhaps the euphoria. Because there will now be a horde of other riders ready who will also be super motivated. It could go either way.”

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Mathieu Van der Poel even had time to cheer on Jasper Philipsen to second place at Paris-Roubaix 💪 _________ 🇫🇷 #ParisRoubaix

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