The 116th edition of the ‘Hell of the North’ was held on Sunday and it was a true spectacle. QuickStep Floors had been dominant throughout the cobbled classics and, to many onlookers, the race was theirs to lose. Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) was among the top favourites, but without a strong team and with Quickstep having so many cards to play, the deck was stacked against Sagan.
But in his typical style Sagan took the race by the horns, making a brilliantly gutsy move with 54 kilometres to go, catching the remnants of the daylong breakaway, and then out-sprinting Sylvan Dillier (Ag2r La Mondiale) to win the second Monument of his career.
Sagan has provided us with so many memorable moments in recent years that it’s tough to say if this was better than the rest. But the ride of the day arguably goes to to Dillier, the 27-year-old Swiss, who had been in the breakaway for most of the day, worked with Sagan until the end, and then hung on for second. This is a rider to follow, folks.
“Peter Sagan was an angel and a devil in the same person,” Dillier said after the race. “Without you I wouldn’t have made it up there into the velodrome, but it’s so hard to beat you in the sprint! Very happy with my little cobblestone for second place.”
The photos below tell the story of the day. They come to you courtesy of our talented photographers Kristof Ramon and Jered & Ashley Gruber.
-
- World champion and eventual race winner Peter Sagan waits for sign-on.
-
- The wrapped hands of 2016 Paris-Roubaix winner Mathew Hayman.
-
- Koen de Kort (Trek-Segafredo) preparing for the cobbles.
-
- The wrists of 2015 winner John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo) being taped by the team doctor pre-race.
-
- Michael Goolaerts (Veranda’s Willems-Crelan) signing on at the start in Compiegne. A few hours later he would be fighting for his life after suffering a cardiac arrest during the race itself. Later that night his team confirmed that Goolaerts had tragically passed away.
-
- Sector 28: Only the second section of cobbles and already the peloton is in pieces.
-
- Heinrich Haussler (Bahrain-Merida) was focused on the cobbles. He ended up 20th on the day.
-
- Three-time world CX champ Zdenek Stybar (Quick-Step Floors) gets cheered over the cobbles.
-
- The peloton enters sector 13.
-
- Philippe Gilbert (QuickStep Floors) battles the mud.
-
- Alexander Kristoff (UAE-Team Emirates) crashed heavily but managed to finish in 57th.
-
- Sagan peeps up front to assess the situation.
-
- Marcel Sieberg (Lotto Soudal) leads the peloton over the Arenberg Forest / Bois de Wallers cobbles.
-
- Mitch Docker (EF Education First-Drapac) was riding in support of team leader Sep Vanmarcke.
-
- Belgian champion Oliver Naesen (Ag2r La Mondiale) finished 12th.
-
- Three-time and current cyclocross world champion Wout Van Aert (Veranda’s Willems-Crelan) is having a crack at his first professional road season and is off to an incredible start. He finished in 13th place at his first Paris-Roubaix.
-
- After attacking from a group of favourites, Sagan made his way to the two leaders: Dillier and Jelle Wallays (Lotto Soudal).
-
- Sagan and Dillier dropped Wallays.
-
- Dillier battled to hold Sagan’s wheel all the way to the finish.
-
- 2014 winner Niki Terpstra (QuickStep Floors) led the chase group in the closing kilometres, trying to reel in Sagan and Dillier. He later attacked solo to finish third on his own.
-
- Taylor Phinney (EF Education First-Drapac) finished in an impressive eighth place. He’s a two-time former winner of the U23 Paris-Roubaix.
-
- Sagan sits on Dillier’s wheel as the pair rides a lap and a half of the Roubaix velodrome.
-
- Sagan sprinted from behind …
-
- Peter Sagan won last Sunday’s Paris-Roubaix from a two-up sprint.
-
- A moment of respect after a huge shared effort.
-
- Vanmarcke finished sixth, behind Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) and Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo).
-
- Sylvain Chavanel (Direct Energie) finished the race bearing the signs of an earlier crash.
-
- Defending champion Van Avermaet addresses the media post-race.
-
- Sagan takes a bow.
