Van Aert reveals he was exhausted after Thursday's recon — then won Paris-Roubaix on Sunday

After a short holiday in Marbella, Wout van Aert is back on Belgian soil. The Visma | Lease a Bike rider spent last weekend riding with teammates including Tiesj Benoot, and on Monday took part in a session on the virtual cycling platform Rouvy, during which he answered questions from viewers. Belgian website Sporza collected the highlights from the ride/chat (translate to English).

What emerged was a candid account of a build-up that was far from straightforward — and a race won on pure instinct and willpower despite it.

Van Aert revealed that he felt far from his best in the days leading into the Hell of the North. "I was exhausted after the recon on Thursday. I didn't feel good. As a rider you want to feel good every single day. It was a strange build-up. On Saturday I felt hungry again."

Then came Sunday — and everything fell into place.

"The hyperfocus took over in the final kilometres," Van Aert said. "I was on Tadej's [Pogacar's] wheel, exactly where I wanted to be. I stopped second-guessing myself and was ready to sprint. I was completely unaware of what was happening around me."

The moment of realisation came slowly after the line. "That only happened two or three minutes after the finish," he said.

The win was eight years in the making. Van Aert has spoken at length about his tribute to former teammate Michael Goolaerts, who lost his life to a heart attack on the Paris-Roubaix cobbles in 2018. But beyond the emotion of that dedication, the victory has left Van Aert with a particular kind of peace he has not felt after previous results.

"It's strange to say, but that Sunday immediately felt like a relief — far more so than after other wins. It felt that way because of the long wait. I had to be patient for such a long time. That's what made it more special," he said.

As for what comes next: "I can't imagine a bigger highlight in my career," he admitted. "I hope there are more successes to come — but right now I'm still just enjoying this one."