Unlucky Peter Sagan fights to the finish at cruel Paris-Roubaix
On the world’s most famous one-day race, only the strongest – and luckiest – survive. Paris-Roubaix has become the stuff of legend in its 114 editions, forging a reputation not only as a hard race on the strength of the course alone, but because of how unfair it can be to even the strongest riders – luck is what truly wins this race
The UCI World Champion, Peter Sagan, had excellent support from his BORA-hansgrohe teammates, but the Queen of the Classics is a cruel mistress and two punctures in quick succession kept the Slovak rider off the decisive moves.
For some riders, this is the only race in the season that matters. L’Enfer du Nord – the Hell of the North – a race does not come by such a nickname without good reason. It does not matter what the weather conditions are like – if it rains, it’s slippery, if it’s windy, the splits in the peloton can ruin a rider’s chances and if it’s sunny, the dust from the dry roads cakes the riders. Of course being Paris-Roubaix, riders can experience all this in one day. This is before even arriving at the cobblestones, the twenty-nine sectors ranging in difficulty from one to five stars, counting backwards towards the finish of the 257km route at the Roubaix Velodrome.
In spite of a flurry of activity at the start, the breaks failed to stick, the constant attacking stringing out the peloton and reaching average speeds of more than 50kmh. Attack after attack came, as the first cobblestone sector came closer, where all hell would break loose. Just ahead of the first sector, the Troisvilles à Inchy, a break finally escaped, barely allowed an advantage of more than a minute, the peloton coming within touching distance, before the escapees managed to distance them again, as the Tranchée d‘Arenberg loomed close on the horizon. Riding near the front of the peloton was UCI World Champion, Peter Sagan, ably supported by his BORA-hansgrohe teammates. From 77km out, the Slovak rider went on the attack, testing both his own legs and his rivals, only to cruelly suffer a puncture. After working hard to bridge back to the chasing group, Peter was once again the victim of a flat tyre.
Unlucky Peter Sagan fights to the finish at cruel Paris-Roubaix - photo credit: ©BORA-hansgrohe / Stiehl Photography
While the course clearly had its own plans for Peter, the UCI World Champion showed the fighting spirit he’s famed for, making his way back to the second chasing group, thirty seconds behind the first group, from which BMC’s Oss had gone on the attack. With less than 30km to go to the famous Roubaix Velodrome, and the second chasing group growing in number, there was the will in this group to try and make the catch, but the lead group was just too strong. All the chasers could do was see the day through to its end as five riders fought it out among themselves to see who would take the win, with BMC’s Van Avermaet outsprinting the rest in a small bunch sprint.
As the Spring Classics season draws to a close, Peter was pragmatic about the day’s events, knowing he was simply unlucky today. “It was a very tough and very fast Paris-Roubaix. My teammates did a great job all day long, but I suffered from punctures at critical moments when I was in a good position in the front of the race, attacking. As I said before, in order to win Paris-Roubaix you need more than good form and legs. However, that’s part of cycling and we will try next year.”
Directeur Sportif, Jan Valach, saw that in spite of Peter’s misfortune, the team worked well together. “Unfortunately, the two punctures of Peter Sagan changed Paris-Roubaix for us. We were in a good position when first, Peter and Maciej Bodnar attacked. They were both feeling good, and Maciej was putting in a lot of effort to help Peter save energy for the finale. Then the first puncture came and Peter spent energy to get back to the first group. When he attacked again, he suffered another puncture that was probably the end of it. It’s a shame – Peter and the team were in good form today.”