Milan, 12 Apr. (LaPresse) – Wout Van Aert has won the 2026 Paris-Roubaix after a 258.3-kilometre battle on the cobbles of the Ardennes. The Belgian rider from Visma-Lease a Bike, with a tactically flawless race strategy, beat the pre-race favourite, Tadej Pogacar, in a sprint finish at the Roubaix velodrome. The Slovenian rider from UAE Team Emirates was chasing his fifth consecutive Monument classic, following Liège-Bastogne-Liège in 2025. No one has ever managed to do this before. Third place went to another Belgian, Jasper Stuyven of Soudal-QuickStep. Team Ineos’s Italian rider Filippo Ganna was unlucky, forced to throw in the towel due to a series of punctures that saw him cross the finish line well behind, as did the defending champion, Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel of Alpecin-Premier Tech.