The Forest of chaos: punctures, crashes and broken bikes — everything you didn't see on the Arenberg

Once again, the Arenberg Forest was one of the decisive passages at the 2026 Paris-Roubaix. Not least because of the drama that Mathieu van der Poel and his Alpecin-Premier Tech team endured, but also because of everything that happened behind them — much of which we never saw on TV. Here is a round-up.

First, there was the crash of Florian Vermeersch, who reacted afterwards and shared footage via social media. The Belgian was riding in fourth position at the front of the group — just like Van der Poel — but punctured before crashing hard on the unforgiving cobblestones.

Van der Poel and his Alpecin-Premier Tech companions Tibor Del Grosso and Jasper Philipsen were at that point busy trying to limit the damage — something that was covered extensively on the broadcast.

Van der Poel punctured, then took an incompatible bike from Philipsen, while Del Grosso — also riding on a flat — swapped his wheel with Van der Poel's. Van der Poel then punctured again before the end of the sector.

It all 'started' with a crash by Guillaume Boivin in the opening metres. Like Vermeersch and Van der Poel, he was a key figure in the wet 2021 edition. The experienced Canadian went down just after the charge into Arenberg and was left behind on the cobbles in considerable pain, while the NSN team car held up the convoy of following vehicles.

"Unfortunately, Guillaume crashed heavily on the cobblestones of the Arenberg in the chaos," NSN confirmed. "X-rays confirmed a fracture of his left shoulder blade, which fortunately does not require surgery." NSN also lost team leader Biniam Girmay, who also shared his injuries on social media. "Girmay also crashed later in the race and had to abandon, but he escaped without fractures, suffering only bruises."

John Degenkolb has made Paris-Roubaix a major goal for years, but the former winner did not escape the Forest unscathed either. "Bad luck in Arenberg with a puncture… that cost me contact with the lead group. In the end, a solid 31st place at my 13th participation and the fastest edition in history," the German wrote on Instagram.

Brent Van Moer (Pinarello-Q36.5) was also caught out. "I entered Arenberg in that lead group, but then I got a rear puncture and lost contact. I did everything I could to get back, but I couldn't rejoin the group fighting for the top positions. That's the only disappointment," the Belgian sighed. He finished 19th.

Groupama-FDJ were also hit hard. Axel Huens, in good form, punctured before the sector even started, while co-leader Thibaud Gruel broke his front wheel in the Forest. Cofidis fared no better: of the three riders they still had in the first part of the peloton, Hugo Page and Alexis Renard both punctured. Stanislaw Aniolkowski salvaged an 18th place for the team.

Bahrain Victorious had to deal with a puncture for Matej Mohorič, who ultimately did not reach the finish. Uno-X lost team leader Søren Wærenskjold crashed on the sector, where Cedric Beullens (Lotto-Intermarché) also hit the deck

And so far we have only named a fraction of the bad luck. The video of Sandy Dujardin (TotalEnergies), walking in despair along the sector with a broken bike, says it all. Paris-Roubaix at its finest.

Beyond the Forest, there were several more crashes that went unseen on the broadcast. Laurence Pithie (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), like Filippo Ganna, crashed a second time later in the race. The INEOS rider had already seen teammates Ben Turner and Joshua Tarling go down on the same sector as Pavel Bittner (Picnic-PostNL). Pithie and Ganna finished together in 25th and 26th, more than seven minutes behind Van Aert.

Even the winner's team did not escape entirely. Per Strand Hagenes went down in the same corner where Pithie first crashed in the chasing group, but the Norwegian made it to the Vélodrome and was able to join in the Visma | Lease a Bike celebrations that evening.