Memory of fallen friend inspires Wout van Aert to ‘dream’ victory at Paris-Roubaix

ROUBAIX – Wout van Aert dedicated victory to his late friend Michael Goolaerts after making his “dream come true” at Paris-Roubaix.

Van Aert, 31, has been one of the best one-day cobbled classics specialists in recent years, but had never won either the Tour of Flanders or the “Hell of the North” in 13 previous attempts.

But the Belgian emphatically outsprinted world champion Tadej Pogacar at the end of an incident-packed 258.3km slog, which included 30 cobbled sectors, to win only his second prestigious Monument race.

And his thoughts immediately turned to his friend and former teammate Goolaerts, who died of a heart attack during the 2018 Paris-Roubaix.

“So 2018 was the first time I did this race and it was immediately a sad day,” said van Aert, who pointed to the sky as he crossed the line before breaking down in tears.

“Losing a teammate in a race is something cruel.

“Ever since then, it was my goal to win this race and to be able to point my finger to the sky, to Michael.

“He’s a lot of times on my mind but especially every year in this period.

“This year even more because I think it was the first edition that I did where we passed his sector again where he died.

“So even during the recon, already I had quite some goosebumps passing there. I like to believe he gave me a bit of extra power today.

“It’s a good thing and a beautiful thing that I can dedicate this victory to his family.”

His history at Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders had been one of many near-misses – seven times he had finished in the top four across the two races.

In 2020, he lost a sprint finish to long-time rival Mathieu van der Poel at the Tour of Flanders.

Three years later, he suffered a puncture 15km from the finish of Paris-Roubaix on the crucial Carrefour de l’Arbre cobbled sector after he attacked, with only van der Poel able to follow.

The Dutchman went on to win the first of three straight titles at Paris-Roubaix, while van Aert had to settle for third.

This time, he was helped by van der Poel suffering two punctures on the brutal Arenberg forest cobbled sector, 95km from the finish, that cost the three-time winner two minutes.

He fought back to finish fourth, just 15 seconds behind the winner, and was the first person to congratulate van Aert.

“I’m obviously proud. Winning this race means basically everything to me,” said van Aert.

“We do so many sacrifices to get to this level, to always fight back and every year target this race and Tour of Flanders.

“And then to finish it off in this way, in a sprint with Tadej Pogacar in this beautiful world champion jersey, I think there’s no better way to do it.

“It’s definitely a dream come true.”

Van Aert and Pogacar suffered punctures during the race.

They broke clear from the field with 53km to ride and although Pogacar put in several attacks on cobbled sectors, he was unable to drop van Aert.

“Every time I tried, my legs were not the greatest any more,” said the 27-year-old four-time winner of the Tour de France, who fell short in his quest to become just the fourth man to win all five fabled Monument classics.

“I always saw he was really riding on my wheel. He was so strong that I could feel it. It was just not meant to be today, to drop him. In the sprint he was very fast.”

It was a popular victory, even for van Aert’s rivals.

“Van Aert really deserves this victory because (of) how he always comes back from all the bad luck,” said Pogacar.

“He never gives up and he can be a hero to many young kids (with) how he rides.”

Belgian Jasper Stuyven, who finished third, two seconds ahead of Van der Poel, also paid tribute to his compatriot.

“It’s very nice to see him take that win in Roubaix,” he said. AFP