Van der Poel Dominates Paris-Roubaix Again

Mathieu van der Poel triumphed over the Paris-Roubaix cobbles for a second straight year after a solo 60 kilometer breakaway to win the race known as 'the Hell of the North'.

The 29-year-old Dutch world champion won the Tour of Flanders a week ago and crossed the line exactly three minutes ahead of the nearest chasers after the brutal 260 km run including 57 km of cobbles.

Already one of cycling's best-paid riders, Van der Poel wins 32,500 dollars for his efforts and will have his name engraved on a plaque at the outdoor showers where riders usually wash off splatters of mud.

His winning time of 5 hours 25 minutes and 58 seconds meant it was the fastest average speed in the history of an event first raced in 1896, this was the 121st edition.

"I was just trying to make it hard for the others, that wasn't meant to be the winning move or me going solo, but after that I had the wind on my back," said Van der Poel.

"This goes way beyond my expectations, there will be a big party tonight," he said.

"I was at the limit at Flanders, but here I really enjoyed the final kilometers," said Van der Poel who was cheered by vast crowds over the final 50 km.

Van der Poel's Belgian teammate Jasper Philipsen was second and Dane Mads Pedersen of Lidl-Trek was third as they contested a three-way sprint with German Nils Politt of UAE at the line.

The decisive moment came on cobbles, with Van der Poel shifting from 40 kph to 60 kph in almost the blink of an eye, devastating the lead group of around 12 riders which featured Briton Tom Pidcock.

The hefty cobbles that make up the surface of around 57 km of the route, in 29 sections, caused countless punctures, broken wheels and falls.

This ultra-long 'Queen of the Classics' usually features miles of mud as well as millions of cobbles, but it was raced in bright sunshine through the glimmering green fields bordering Belgium.