17 Apr 2022
Van Baarle wins Paris-Roubaix
Related riders
Dylan van Baarle
Paris-Roubaix, 257.2km
Dylan van Baarle put in the performance of his career to win Paris-Roubaix for the INEOS Grenadiers.
The Dutchman made his winning move with 19 kilometres to go, driving clear of his fellow attackers and opening out a gap. That meant he was able to savour the atmosphere inside the famous Roubaix Velodrome - finishing solo by a commanding margin of one minute and 47 seconds.
The team rode a superb and committed race, taking on the Queen of the Classics from early on and even helping to split the race in the early crosswinds. A show of team strength helped ensure the Grenadiers constantly had numbers towards the front of the race, even as Roubaix inevitably threw a number of challenges at the team. That early pressure also helped contribute to victory in what proved to be the fasted ever edition of Roubaix.
Ben Turner continued to impress and ultimately finished 11th on his Roubaix debut. The young Brit was part of an elite lead group with Van Baarle in the closing stages, and despite crashing on sector six, he was able to finish 11th.
Long before the cobbles the team were on the front, ensuring a number of pre-race favourites and their teams were put under pressure. Cam Wurf, Luke Rowe and Magnus Sheffield got through a lot of work and the team. Michal Kwiatkowski and Filippo Ganna were able to join a lead group after the famed Arenberg sector, giving their all for the cause.
The Dutchman made his winning move with 19 kilometres to go, driving clear of his fellow attackers and opening out a gap. That meant he was able to savour the atmosphere inside the famous Roubaix Velodrome - finishing solo by a commanding margin of one minute and 47 seconds.
The team rode a superb and committed race, taking on the Queen of the Classics from early on and even helping to split the race in the early crosswinds. A show of team strength helped ensure the Grenadiers constantly had numbers towards the front of the race, even as Roubaix inevitably threw a number of challenges at the team. That early pressure also helped contribute to victory in what proved to be the fasted ever edition of Roubaix.
Ben Turner continued to impress and ultimately finished 11th on his Roubaix debut. The young Brit was part of an elite lead group with Van Baarle in the closing stages, and despite crashing on sector six, he was able to finish 11th.
Long before the cobbles the team were on the front, ensuring a number of pre-race favourites and their teams were put under pressure. Cam Wurf, Luke Rowe and Magnus Sheffield got through a lot of work and the team. Michal Kwiatkowski and Filippo Ganna were able to join a lead group after the famed Arenberg sector, giving their all for the cause.
Reaction
- Dylan van Baarle
"It’s unbelievable. I couldn’t believe it when I went on to the velodrome. I looked at the other side to see if there were some other guys but I was completely alone. When the DS car came next to me with Servais (Knaven) then I really started believing in it. It’s been crazy.
- Dylan van Baarle
"It’s unbelievable. I couldn’t believe it when I went on to the velodrome. I looked at the other side to see if there were some other guys but I was completely alone. When the DS car came next to me with Servais (Knaven) then I really started believing in it. It’s been crazy.
"It’s a Monument so of course I want to win a Monument. To be second in Flanders and winning Roubaix – I’m lost for words.
"[Splitting the race early] was not planned at all but it turned out like this. We were super focussed from the gun. And that’s what we wanted – we didn’t want to chase. We wanted to be on the front foot and that’s what we did. From that moment I knew that we would have a good chance because we spent less energy than everyone else. We were a bit unlucky – I had a puncture, Pippo had a puncture, I think everyone had something. We just kept calm and this result is amazing.
"We wanted to make the race hard before the second feed zone. That’s what we did. After that Kwiato said I was super strong and he wanted to ride for me. It gave me so much confidence and I can’t thank the team enough for today. It’s been a great spring classic season so far. We’re going to enjoy this.
"We have worked so hard for it. In the last couple of years we had some bad luck but now everything is just going in the right direction. The whole team is lifting off that and it’s been amazing."
