Martin Wynants "immediately feared the worst" when seeing Wout van Aert's rear wheel puncture but "it was already too late"

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."

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."