It’s a story that seems to have no end: once again, at Paris-Roubaix, the presence of motorbikes had a real impact on the race.
Let’s be clear from the start: Van der Poel fully deserved his third consecutive Roubaix victory — no ifs, no buts. But at what was probably the most exciting moment of the race — Pogacar’s attack — the footage clearly shows three motorbikes right in front of the Slovenian rider.
Those motorbikes were already affecting the race dynamics: they were so close they provided a slight aerodynamic advantage.
But more importantly, they blocked his view. Pogacar and Van der Poel were both riding at full speed, and Pogacar simply didn’t realize in time how tricky the upcoming corner was.
It wasn’t a mistake in bike handling, but in judgment. And that judgment was compromised by the motorbikes obstructing the road.
Van der Poel himself went wide into that corner, but since he was sitting behind, he had just enough time to adjust his line.
It’s something worth thinking about: the presence of the motorbikes changed the flow of the race. It was just pure luck that Pogacar didn’t get seriously injured.
Of course, saying the dynamics were altered doesn’t mean the final result would necessarily have changed. Van der Poel probably would have won anyway.
He clearly had the legs: he closed the gap to Pogacar with ease and once he hit the front, he kept extending his lead.
Still, without that crash, we might have seen a truly epic duel all the way to the finish. More spectacle, more tension, more pure racing.
That said, Van der Poel dominated. Pogacar, on the other hand, looked slightly less sharp than usual — if you can even say that about someone finishing second at Roubaix.
Maybe a slight dip in form? A bit of fatigue kicking in? We’ll find out in the coming weeks.
But the regret remains: a potentially legendary showdown lost… mainly because of three motorbikes too many.
