Retired Belgian cycling star Philippe Gilbert has argued that compatriot Wout van Aert’s brutal defeat at Paris-Roubaix was due to his “taking too many risks” in the race.
Van Aert’s chances of fighting for victory in the Hell of the North were all but wrecked when he punctured just as arch-rival Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) was launching his race-winning attack in the final hour.
The Jumbo-Visma racer later concluded that Roubaix “almost seems cursed” for me.
However, Gilbert, now working as an in-race commentator for Eurosport and who remains Belgium’s most recent winner of Paris-Roubaix back in 2019, later pointed to what he believes are other, more down-to-earth, reasons for Van Aert’s defeat – errors that he himself had committed.
“I remember my own experiences in these races and a pavé stage in the Tour de France,” Gilbert told L’Equipe (opens in new tab), “when I was driven by being over-excited or over-motivated.
“I made a mistake when choosing my line, I was poorly positioned when I rode onto the pavé and got a front wheel puncture.
“I lost a lot of energy as a result and ended up fourth on the stage.”
Gilbert argued that Van Aert had ridden the race well, biding his time and conserving his energy, “just as he did when he won E3 three weeks ago”, but that the puncture itself was not just pure bad luck.
“Wout van Aert’s mistake was due to taking too many risks, wanting to win too much and not controlling that desire to win,” Gilbert said.
“Mathieu van der Poel didn’t make that mistake because he knew how to avoid all the traps – the ones set for him by the course itself, and the ones set for him by his rivals.”
