Martin Wynants "immediately feared the worst" when seeing Wout van Aert's rear wheel puncture but "it was already too late"
Cycling
It was such a shame that Paris-Roubaix would be decided by a piece of bad luck. But was it totally down to luck? After all, Sonny Colbrelli won the Hell of the North racing on two flats in 2021. Jumbo-Visma sports director Maarten Wynants however, has no regrets.
"We did ride tubeless," he explained in the immediate aftermath of the race. "With the same setting as Alpecin-Deceuninck. Wout was also able to continue for a while, but at a certain moment, you have to make a difficult choice. I saw his rear wheel slip a bit in the corner and immediately feared the worst."
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As we all know, the decision was made and Wout van Aert was forced to watch as Mathieu van der Poel accelerated away from him and on his way to a famous victory. "When Wout called it in his earpiece, it was already too late," Wynants laments.
"We knew there was another mechanic at the end of the lane, but replacing a rear wheel just takes a long time. Those few lost seconds were crucial," he continues. "We baked a nice big cake, but there is no icing on it. Although we must not forget that Wout's least result was a 4th place. Those five victories do not expire into nothing either. It just wasn't supposed to be yesterday."
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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- great analysis thanks! appreciate you posting this. I didn't realize CX had a different standard for deviation. this is even more egregious it seems.mij10-11-2026
- As he isn't currently with Red Bull, I guess if he want to race for one more year he needs to find a team. He's 37 so this will be his last year I would guess, unless he wants to race for almost nothing like Froome did.awp10-11-2026
- I think some are making much ado about nothing. Even though Jonas is getting older, before his crash in the Tour, he looked like a solid 2nd all the way home. No one can really climb with Tadej until this year, Eric Mas showed himself which I think was a one off year for him and Paul Seixas has been able to be pretty close to him. Whatever stage race Jonas enters as long as Tadej is not there he is a favorite to win.awp10-11-2026
- Giro or not Giro, he won't win the Tour!MajorPayne10-11-2026
- Very true.awp10-11-2026
- Ciccone had a very strong end of season. Consistently attacking and livening up races. Hope he makes that last leap in progress and starts notching some significant wins. Great rider to watch.Occam10-11-2026
- Me too!!!!!Occam10-11-2026
- they can sign any 100 of top riders today but Pogi will win over Remco any time at the TDF unless something goes wrongabstractengineer10-11-2026
- the time for a GC rider to retire is when they cannot win stages, or have a significant level drop like from winner/podium into top 5/10 consistently. Roglic is still competitive and Froome raced even though he became pack fodder.abstractengineer10-11-2026
- He should be in a different team. It was detrimental. For them it does not matter if he does not develop. He should have gone to a team where they need him to succeed.abstractengineer10-11-2026
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