"Mathieu van der Poel, who joined the group, was also running out of steam" - Jasper Stuyven happy joining Van Aert and Pogacar on Roubaix podium

Jasper Stuyven is a former monument winner but in 2026 the level is much superior than when he was victorious at Milano-Sanremo. Hence, it is a massive result to be climbing onto the podium of Paris-Roubaix, joining Wout Van Aert and Tadej Pogacar after a brutal race.

"I had to dig very deep to keep up in the Trouée d'Arenberg. At that point, I didn't really feel like I was in top form in the race. In terms of positioning, yes, but not in terms of legs," Stuyven said in a post-race interview. "I was a bit behind and had to push to keep up. Florian Vermeersch crashed in front of me, and luckily I wasn't caught in his fall".

Stuyven somehow escaped all of the bad luck throughout the critical moments of the race and found himself in the front group after Arenberg where, if he was to remain on the bike and without cracking, he would already secure a respectable Top10. However the leader of Soudal - Quick-Step, after a strong performance in Flanders last week, had the legs for more than that.

"For a very long time, I felt like I would drop on every section, but I got through it and noticed that everyone was running out of steam". It was an endurance-based race, as many are nowadays, where the riders were already at their limits very early on, and then had to sustain the gaps that had been created.

"When Wout attacked on Orchies, I exploded. After that, it was about survival. Mathieu van der Poel, who joined the group, was also running out of steam. Everyone did their best, and we managed to stay close".

The group's close collaboration allowed them to stay away from the chasing groups whilst having the chance of fighting for victory, but up front Tadej Pogacar and Wout Van Aert didn't slow down at any moment. "Christophe Laporte blocked perfectly. Hats off to him. That certainly played a part in why we couldn't catch up. He didn't do it in an annoying way, but correctly. That caused the chain to break".

The final spot on the podium was still up for grabs, either in a sprint or late attack. With Mathieu van der Poel, Mads Pedersen and Christophe Laporte, chances of winning the sprint were not too high, so the Belgian put his chips on an attack.

"I found the moment and was still afraid I would be overruled, but a podium is very nice," he explained, having resisted the chasers and finished third on the day.

It is only the second time he finishes on the podium of a monument, but the 11th time he's finished in the Top10. "I have often missed the podium in these Monuments. third versus fourth or fifth is a big difference. This is great for me personally and also nice for our team," he concluded.