Moscon fourth in Roubaix epic

03 Oct 2021

Moscon fourth in Roubaix epic

Related riders

Paris-Roubaix, 257.7km

Gianni Moscon put in an amazing ride to come tantalisingly close to victory at Paris-Roubaix.
 
The Italian finished in fourth place in the famous Roubaix Velodrome following an epic edition that saw wet weather throw everything at the riders.
 
Part of the race’s early break, Moscon had powered himself into an increasingly strong position, with an advantage of over a minute heading into the final 30 kilometres. Yet a bike change for a puncture, followed by a crash on treacherous muddy cobblestones, saw the Italian reeled in by a trio of chasers behind.
 
It was a tale of what could have been for Moscon after a brave ride that eventually saw him finish 44 seconds back on compatriot Sonny Colbrelli.
 
Riders were quickly caked in mud, with conditions pushing man and bike to the limits in a race that will long stay in the memory. Luke Rowe and Owain Doull had joined Moscon in the early move, but a combination of crashes and punctures took the Welsh pair out of contention.
 
A slice of luck was needed to make it through, and despite Michal Kwiatkowski riding strongly at the front of the chasing peloton, the Pole would drop back following a puncture in the infamous Arenberg sector. 

The day was also a notable one as it marked the 1000th and final race in the career of Michal Golas. What an unforgettable race to end a career! Congratulations, Michal.
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Reaction

- Gianni Moscon

“This is one of the most beautiful races. I tried to attack from far. I gave everything. I had a little bit of back luck with that puncture, then I was a bit on the limit. When you’re on the limit you will make mistakes and I crashed. I didn’t lose too much, but when they came from behind I didn’t have the legs. I tried, it’s fourth place, and we will try again next time.

“Who knows [if he could have won]. We cannot say and the race went like this. I tried to play my cards, attacking from far. Now I just look forward to a little bit of rest and the next goal. We have Lombardia next Saturday so who knows.”

- Servais Knaven

“It was frustrating. We were in the race all day and it looked like Gianni had a really good chance to win. First we had the flat tyre, but you think it’s alright, he lost about 30 seconds altogether. It would have been okay until the crash, which cost more time. I also has an impact on your body, and we saw he went from around 45 seconds to 10 seconds.
 
“We didn’t have one main card. In these circumstances you need to get numbers at the front, as we all know some will have a flat and some will have a crash. If you have only one guy up there then you have nobody left. So we had cards, we had Kwiato, we had Luke and we had Gianni. When you come on the first cobbles in these circumstances you don’t need a leader – it’s all about the legs. 
 
“I think Gianni was probably the strongest guy in the race maybe. It’s hard to say and he would have deserved the win. It’s bike racing and anything can happen. Everyone has their own story. It’s a big shame – he was so close.”
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Final result:

1. Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain Victorious) 6:01:57
2. Florian Vermeersch (Lotto Soudal) s.t.
3. Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix)
4. Gianni Moscon (INEOS Grenadiers) +44"
5. Yves Lampaert (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) +1:16"