"There used to be a material station there": Oliver Naesen explains how a small change ruined Van der Poel's Roubaix

The biggest What If of the 2026 Paris-Roubaix must be Mathieu van der Poel. The Dutchman's race was flipped upside down in a single moment, more than 90 kilometers from the finish. Van der Poel drew a short straw at the iconic cobbled sector Trouée d'Arenberg with a fast puncture.

But Alpecin-Premier Tech was ready to sacrifice everything for its leader; Jasper Philipsen immediately stopped and offered his own bicycle, only to be waved off because of incompatible clipless pedals. Soon after, Tibor del Grosso made his appearance. His own bicycle had also suffered a puncture, but still had one functional tyre that was quickly swapped with Van der Poel's deflated... Only for the three-time champion to suffer another mechanical few hundred meters later.

As Van der Poel finally made his way out of the sector, by feet, and received a reserve from his team car, the gap to leaders - Tadej Pogacar and Wout Van Aert - already grew to two minutes.

It seemed like the end of his chances for Paris-Roubaix. Oliver Naesen, who was riding past, thought so too and recounted his experience on the HLN cycling podcast: "I was riding through Arenberg and soon saw Tibor Del Grosso walking."

Normally, a flat tire wouldn't have been disastrous there, according to Naesen. But 2026 edition was different, and that might have sealed the deal for Van der Poel. "There used to be a material station there, but it wasn't allowed this year. That made a big difference."

After Del Grosso, Naesen saw someone else from Alpecin-Premier Tech. That was Jasper Philipsen. "Then the car flew past. Half through the grass, half over the strip. You could see immediately that they were in a crisis. They really stormed past us. Then I knew something was wrong with Mathieu. And at the end of the strip, I saw him walking there."

A little later, Van der Poel caught back with Naesen's group. The race was still on for Van der Poel whose entire spring campaign depended on this day. Yet he seemed to have much of the events under control, also thanks to his strong team. "He was still very relaxed. Edward Planckaert brought him back to a small group with Philipsen, who rode his heart out there until two sections after Arenberg."

And seventy kilometers to go, it was time for Van der Poel to take matters into his own hands. He immediately accelerated away from the group of Naesen, closing into the group with Nils Politt or Gianni Vermeersch. "He dropped us right off our wheel there. Back to the group that was riding for ninth place."

The 31-year-old did not stop there. Ultimately, he was only 15 seconds short of catching Pogacar with Van Aert. Jasper Stuyven was able to take advantage of the games in group fighting for third place to secure a final podium spot for himself... and right behind him was Van der Poel - who might've been the strongest man in France the last Sunday... if it weren't for Arenberg.

"In the end, he still finished fourth... That seemed impossible in Arenberg. If you have bad luck there, it's usually over. Someone always falls in the first few meters. Then the cars can't get through. That's how it always goes there."