“Wout is everyone’s champion, a rider for the people” - Team-mate and friend says no one deserved Paris-Roubaix win more than Wout van Aert

The scale of Wout van Aert’s Paris-Roubaix victory is perhaps best understood from inside the team.

For Edoardo Affini, who has spent more race days alongside the Belgian than anyone else at Team Visma | Lease a Bike, the result was not just a win, but something long overdue. “Nobody deserved a win like that more than Wout,” Affini said in conversation with Gazzetta dello Sport, speaking the day after the race from his home in the Netherlands.

From the outside, Paris-Roubaix 2026 will be remembered for its chaos and its sprint finish. Inside the team, the feeling was simpler. “It’s a huge joy for him, for us, for the whole team,” Affini explained. “It’s the first time we’ve won this race, so it will stay in the memory. But I think the whole cycling world is happy.”

The significance stretched beyond the team itself. “In Belgium, April 12 will probably become a national holiday,” he added, underlining the wider impact of the victory.

Affini’s perspective carries extra weight given his relationship with Van Aert. “I can call him a friend,” he said. “I’m the one in the team who has raced the most days with him. We often share a room at training camps.”

That closeness offers a view beyond results and performances. Away from the race, Van Aert remains, in Affini’s words, grounded despite his status. “Wout is everyone’s champion, a rider for the people, a living myth in his part of the world,” he said. “But his main trait is humility. He always keeps his feet on the ground and is liked by everyone.”

That humility is not just a label, but something reflected in how he races. “Sometimes he does the same job as us. He works for the team and enjoys doing it,” Affini added, pointing to a rider who is as comfortable supporting others as he is leading them.

At the same time, that personality is not without edge. “When he needs to stand his ground or say no, he does. Don’t think he’s a yes-man.”

Affini also placed Van Aert within the wider context of the sport, making a striking comparison with Tadej Pogacar. “Apart from Pogacar, he is the most complete rider in the world,” he said.

Explaining that view, he pointed to the breadth of Van Aert’s abilities. “He can lead out a sprint, close a gap, attack and win solo. He can be decisive for a team leader, like he was for Jonas Vingegaard at the Tour or Simon Yates at the Giro. He’s strong on every terrain and can climb better than many others. That’s what makes him a true leader and a model for everyone.”

The Roubaix win also carries deeper meaning, given the setbacks Van Aert has faced in recent seasons. “Van Aert has been plagued by bad luck for quite a few years now,” Affini said, recalling in particular the crash at the 2024 Vuelta. “He was incredibly strong, winning stages so easily, but that time he was really down.”

Against that backdrop, Paris-Roubaix represents more than just another result. “Roubaix heals everything and puts you into history,” he said. “If you had asked him to choose one race to win, it would have been that one.”

That mindset, Affini explains, is something Van Aert has carried through both success and disappointment. “You can go to bed feeling empty after a disappointment, but the next day the spark has to come back.”

The impact, Affini believes, will be lasting. “From now on, we might see him more relaxed and carefree. Knowing he has won it takes a weight off his shoulders.”

Affini’s own race ended early, but his reflections underline the strength of the bond within the team. “Not good. I did five sectors, then that was it,” he said of his own Roubaix. “I didn’t have a specific problem, but the legs just weren’t there.”

Even so, his role within the team remains clear. “The team still trusts me. Even when I’m not at my best, I can still be there in the important moments.”

And that trust runs both ways. “Wout knows that and trusts me a lot.”

For those closest to him, Van Aert’s victory is not a surprise, but a moment that finally matches the rider they have seen for years. After everything that has come before, that may be the most telling detail of all.