Results Paris-Roubaix 2026 | Wout Van Aerts beats Tadej Pogacar to take MONUMENTAL victory; Stuyven third with unlucky van der Poel just outside the podium

Wout Van Aert has finally done it. Years in the making, the Team Visma | Lease a Bike has finally won a cobbled monument. The 2026 Paris-Roubaix has delivered one of the most dramatic races in recent history, with Tadej Pogacar and Mathieu van der Poel experiencing catastrophic mechanicals and each making their own comeback; and with Van Aert beating Pogacar to the line in the Roubaix velodrome.

The race started off with a long 100-kilometer long flat section where dozens of riders looked to be part of the breakaway. Roubaix can be a very tactical race, whilst the tension is always high and crashes can affect many. Hence, the riders can avoid that by being in front when the cobbled sectors begin.

However, no-one had that privilege this Sunday afternoon, as the constant fight to form a front group meant that everyone neutralized themselves. The average speed into the first cobbled sector was of 54Km/h, incredibly high, and there was an all-out leadout into Troisvilles. From there on the race stabilized somewhat, with UAE often picking up the pace in the cobbled sectors, whilst at the entrance of all of them, there was a leadout battle for positioning.

Mads Pedersen and Wout Van Aert would have to switch bikes inbetween with minor mechanicals, but easily recoverable. UAE's high pace, looking to fatigue their rivals, saw the peloton split in half, although all the big names were up front. Uno-X and Unibet led the second peloton, until chaos - and the true race - began when Tadej Pogacar punctured with 120 kilometers to go. The World Champion had to switch for a neutral bike, and the road block almost saw the second peloton come to a halt.

But the Slovenian wasn't out of trouble, and had to wait several minutes before he could change back to his bike. António Morgado, Mikkel Bjerg and Nils Politt all pulled for the rainbow jersey to come within 20 seconds of the peloton into the Haveluy sector, but then Pogacar spent a few kilometers pacing for himself once again, burning valuable resources and preventing his ability to attack early.

In Haveluy Mathieu van der Poel paced in the peloton splitting it, although it came back together before the Trouée d'Arenberg. Pogacar, helped now by Florian Vermeersch, managed to return to the group and to the front right in time. Visma led the way into Arenberg where Wout Van Aert positioned himself in front.

Chaos ensued once again, as Mathieu van der Poel punctured. Alpecin went into absolute chaos as Jasper Philipsen gave his bike to his leader, but the pedals did not fit, and so he then went off again. Van der Poel had to walk back to his bike, where Tibor del Grosso changed the wheel by himself. Van der Poel got going, 1:30 behind the race leaders; and then a second puncture right at the end of the sector saw him lose another 30 seconds.

In front the following group was formed: Wout Van Aert, Christophe Laporte, Mads Pedersen, Tadej Pogacar, Stefan Bissegger, Laurence Pithie and Jasper Stuyven. Shortly after, Filippo Ganna and Jordi Meeus bridged across from behind. Van der Poel at first had teammates to cut the gap slightly, but had to do a lot of work for himself, moving from group to group.

Eventually he got the extensive help of INEOS and Filippo Ganna who punctured in the meantime. Pogacar switched bikes with 72 kilometers to go and right after so did Van Aert. The latter had the help of the dropped Red Bull duo Laurence Pithie and Jordi Meeus to return to the front of the race.

On Mons-en-Pévèle, Van Aert launched an attack right before the start, with Pogacar bridging across together with Mads Pedersen. As Pogacar hit the front, Pedersen was dropped, and the two were left in front. Behind van der Poel dropped Ganna - who would later on puncture and crash once again - and joined the chasing group together with Mick van Dijke. The group also absorbed Mads Pedersen who couldn't make it to the front. The gaps were of around 30 seconds with 40 kilometers to go, with the race stabilizing once again. Despite moves up front and behind, the two groups maintained a very stable gap all the way to the finish, with everyone seemingly equal in forces.

The fight for the podium behind began seeing attacks in the final 3 kilometers, first with Mick van Dijke attacking, then Jasper Stuyven. The front duo entered the velodrome together, with Pogacar leading the way.

And in the final sprint, with the two starting together the final sprint, it was Wout Van Aert who sprinted to victory ahead of Tadej Pogacar. Stuyven rode to third behind, narrowly staying away from Mathieu van der Poel who won the sprint in the chasing group.