+4
17-04-2026 05:53
+5
16-04-2026 20:21
+6
16-04-2026 20:16
+0
14-04-2026 21:08
+1
13-04-2026 18:52
+13
12-04-2026 20:32
11-04-2026 20:45
10-04-2026 02:27
31-03-2026 20:47
30-03-2026 08:14
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+4
OCexile
indeed, infinite complexities. so the best way to tell who the strongest was is to look at the podium and just roll with that.17-04-2026 05:53
+5
OCexile
it’s not even really about who manages the mechanicals the best most of the time. it’s just plain BAD LUCK. wout didn’t “poorly manage his flat tire” a few years ago when he had his blowout right at the end when he and mathieu were almost certainly headed for a heads-up in the velodrome. just bad luck.16-04-2026 20:21
+6
OCexile
i’m a big fan of mathieu, so for people like me that factoid is a bummer, but that’s roubaix. it’s just highly attritional. mathieu has had his share of very good luck the last three years: no ill timed mechanicals at all, while both wout and pog didn’t get off as easy. so while it’s in some sense objectively true that mathieu was the strongest (elapsed riding time), that doesn’t matter a HOOT. the history of PR is a history of broken wheels and fouled derailleures. way it goes. couldn’t be happier for Wout. such an indomitable spirit. great, great champion.16-04-2026 20:16
+0
OCexile
it takes some good luck to win roubaix. mathieu has had that for the last few years. this year he got bitten. it happens. and when it does even being as strong as he was sunday usually isn’t enough.14-04-2026 21:08
+1
OCexile
couldn’t be said more clearly.13-04-2026 18:52
+13
OCexile
i’m a huge fan of mathieu but i’m absolutely THRILLED for wout! just an inspiring athlete on every level. cheers, wouter!12-04-2026 20:32
+0
OCexile
the course was a massive mud pit in 2021. van der poel made the race, but he had to pull so much to bring back mosconi, who was way off the front, that by the time he got to the velodrome with sonny colbrelli (and vermeersch?) he was just fried and lost the 3-up sprint. colbrelli got the win.11-04-2026 20:45
+0
OCexile
he also hates it when mathieu wins. since it’s basically just those 2 guys that win everything that matters this time of year, horner spends a lot of time whining.10-04-2026 02:27
+0
OCexile
exactly. it’s such a savage sport, you gotta grab those little moments of civilization where you can. this was a cool window into just one of the ways the peloton works.31-03-2026 20:47
+1
OCexile
after he emptied the tank like that on friday, it seemed very unlikely he’d be fully recovered by sunday’s flanders fields. he’s human. he does get drained and it takes him time to recover. in this he’s very different from pog, who is never tired, never depleted, never less than 110%.30-03-2026 08:14