🎥 "There's prestige just in finishing": Roubaix's last man speaks about determination to finish

Paris-Roubaix is the race where everyone has a story, from first to last. 2026 was no different. Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike) won the race, but at the Hell of the North, there is a prestigious honour for finishing in last place: the lanterne rouge. In the official results yesterday that man was Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis, 140th). But one rider was hell-bent on finishing his first Roubaix on the famous velodrome, even though he was outside the time limit re: EF Education-EasyPost's Alastair MacKellar.

The 24-year-old Australian was determined to reach the Roubaix Vélodrome, as he explained on Instagram after the Hell of the North.

“You grow up watching this race, hearing all the stories. It’s the only one where there’s a bit of prestige just in finishing—even if you’re outside the time limit." he said.

"So for me, more than anything, it’s something I’ll carry for the rest of my life—knowing I finished Paris-Roubaix," added the Queenslander.

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The lanterne rouge come from the Tour de France. French for red lantern, it refers to the red lantern hung on the rear vehicle of a passenger railway train which signalmen would look for in order to make sure none of the couplings had become disconnected.

In the cycling world, the lanterne rouge is the rider who finishes the race last, within the time limit. To finish inside the time limit, they must finish the race within a certain percentage of the winner's overall time.

While the award originated at the Tour de France—famous overall LR winners include Sir Mark Cavendish, Caleb Ewan and Lawson Craddock—it is also applied to other races too. As Paris-Roubaix is the hardest one day race to finish, the lanterne rouge here is a big honour.

And there is glory in still finishing the race, even outside the time cut, as MacKellar did yesterday. On Instagram, his team were "proud of his resilience and fight".