"Now it is starting to hurt" - Wout van Aert heartbroken by another near miss, Paris-Roubaix puncture takes him out of contention

Wout van Aert is no stranger to bad luck, or badly timed mechanicals. He suffered several during Paris-Roubaix, but none as painful as the one during Carrefour de l'Arbre, where he attacked towards a possible victory, and then saw his chances painfully fade in seconds.

“I've already had several punctures, but at this point in the race it's sour. For the time being, 'De Hel' will remain cursed for me. I think I lose 20 or 25 seconds with that wheel change. You can't make up for that on Mathieu in top form," van Aert told Sporza. Jumbo-Visma were victims of several punctures throughout the day. Van Aert himself opened the offensive before Arenberg, but soon after the team began to suffer.

Christophe Laporte was in the small group who attacked at the time, but punctured in those cobbles leaving van Aert isolated in a group that contained three Alpecin riders. He responded to the attacks of van der Poel throughout the afternoon and saved his bullets for Carrefour de l'Arbre. The race was turned upside down for many in that final five-start sector, as John Degenkolb crashed.

Van Aert attacked soon after and got a gap, but was brought back by Mathieu van der Poel. He began losing the wheels afterwards and it became evident that something was not right. Right after the sector he stopped and had to replace a punctured tyre, which cost him the chances of finally taking the victory he hoped for this spring. “I was able to bite the pain today and it didn't bother me too much during the race. Now it is starting to hurt”, he admits.

“But I was good and I am happy to end the spring with a good performance," he continues. Van Aert was clearly on a great day. He jumped back on the bike to joint the survivors of the chasing group, and attacked away from everyone but Jasper Philipsen. As van der Poel's teammate sprinted to second, van Aert closed the podium. An impressive performance, but one that did not bring the result he had hoped for.

“I am proud of what I have achieved this spring. I put down a nice series, but the big win was not forthcoming. But life is not all victories. I have shown what I have in my march. I hope the fans have been able to enjoy that," he concluded.