"The circle is now complete."
Good morning,
These are today's quotes and interviews worth your time.
Stood out to me today: "Do you think I get to the final on my own, like I'm some superhuman robot?"
¡Vamos!
🎤 INTERESTING INTERVIEWS
"The circle is now complete."
Marianne and Staf Goolaerts on receiving Wout van Aert's Paris-Roubaix victory bouquet
Wout van Aert crossed the finish line with one finger pointed to the sky. Two days later, he handed his victory bouquet to the parents of Michael Goolaerts, the teammate he lost to cardiac arrest during Paris-Roubaix in 2018. Marianne and Staf Goolaerts spoke to Het Nieuwsblad from their home in Hallaar.
"That is something special," said Marianne. "I think there are few people who can say they have a bouquet from Paris-Roubaix. And our little one has one now." Father Staf, who had been in the car on Sunday when van Aert dedicated his win to his son, was visibly moved.
"Paris-Roubaix was Michael's dream race," Marianne added. "Maybe he was supporting Wout when he rode past the velodrome... All sorts of things go through your head. The circle is now complete."
The family described their life since 2018 as frozen in place. "Our whole social life was cycling," said Staf. "First with our eldest son, then with Michael. And then suddenly that was gone. We don't go anywhere anymore." Still, they remember Michael above all as "a golden guy with an eternal smile." Marianne: "People tell us often that they'll never forget him. That means so much." Then, quietly, the question that never gets answered: "Where would he be now? We'll never know." "He was doing well," Marianne added. "Twice in the breakaway at the Ronde van Vlaanderen, and then literally and figuratively: hell."
"The under-23 boys had a full live stream. That's just ridiculous."
Riders on the lack of live coverage at Paris-Roubaix Femmes
The most-discussed topic from Paris-Roubaix Femmes had nothing to do with the racing. For the first time since its 2021 debut, the women's race was held on the same day as the men's, leaving live cameras off for the first two hours. Rouleur gathered the reactions.
Marianne Vos, who finished second behind winner Franziska Koch, framed the tension plainly: "You can see it two ways. It's nice for the spectators to watch both races. But Paris-Roubaix is a race where a decision can be made early, and then it would be a shame if that isn't live on TV." She was right: this year's rerouted parcours featured four cobbled sectors in immediate succession early in the race, creating an unprecedented density of action. None of it was broadcast.
Lauretta Hanson, who rode the inaugural edition in 2021 alongside winner Lizzie Deignan, spoke to the structural cost of invisible racing: "They say you can't be it unless you see it, and not every athlete is going to be a Lotte Kopecky or Elisa Balsamo. There are so many different assets and riders. There's been so much progress in women's sport and women's cycling recently, and a big part of that is coverage, building fans, and getting to know the personalities of the sport. It's disappointing, but we'll race with grit and hope for the best."
Cat Ferguson noted the confusion it creates for casual viewers at home: "My grandparents always watch, and for them to switch on the TV and probably see the group already going into the velodrome is quite confusing, and it doesn't tell the whole story of the race."
Her 19-year-old teammate Carys Lloyd was more direct: "Quite a bit of my family were able to travel here, but last year people watched the whole race, and were able to see a lot of the race. I think it's just a really big shame that we weren't able to have that this year, especially because the under-23 boys had a full live stream. That's just ridiculous. I think I was excited originally when they said that we were going to be on the same day as the men, but actually, to be honest, I preferred last year for the live broadcast. I think it's more important than us being on the same day."
"I told Michi: if my back is broken, you'll never see me on my bike again."
Mads Pedersen on his crash, his recovery, and why Paris-Roubaix suits him
Nine weeks after breaking his right wrist and left collarbone in a 60 km/h crash at the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, Mads Pedersen started Paris-Roubaix. He finished fourth. The recovery story, shared via Lidl-Trek's All Access series and covered by In De Leiderstrui, was as much about mentality as physiology.
"I was lying there in the ambulance, in some kind of neck brace," Pedersen recalled. In the car, sports director Michael Schär sat with him. "I told Michi: if my back is broken, you'll never see me on my bike again. I'm done. Keep my jersey. That's it. I was on my stomach trying to push myself up using my hands, and it wasn't working." Fortunately, his back was intact. Three days after surgery, he was already calling his coach to map out a return.
The rebuild was brutal. "My left arm was in a cast up to the shoulder and my right collarbone was broken. I had constant back pain from lifting the cast, it was so heavy." But the wattage kept improving, and the belief came back with it.
His resilience, he says, comes from home. "I think I got that from my mother. She's a strong woman. Even later in life, she's started new studies and pursues new goals, which is wonderful to see in a 50-year-old woman who channels her time that way. I hate it when people feel sorry for themselves. It's just awful."
The team around him was also central to the comeback. "My wife supported me through everything, never doubted what I was doing, trusted me completely. My father did motor pacing for me. My mechanic in Mallorca fixed my bike every three days to keep me in normal condition, and my own soigneur was with me the entire time. That's how I came to understand why I love this team and why I have a contract here until the end of my career."
As for why Roubaix specifically: "It's merciless, it's brutal, and that's what draws me to it. It's absurd, it makes no sense, but sometimes I love what isn't normal. It's a ridiculous race, and that's why it suits me."
"I was just pretending to be a cyclist with my friends, and suddenly, almost without realizing it, I had become a professional."
Pello Bilbao on sixteen seasons, activism, and what he'll carry with him
Pello Bilbao will retire at the end of this season after sixteen years as a professional. The 36-year-old Spaniard rode his last Itzulia Basque Country this past Saturday and spoke to Bahrain Victorious about what the career has meant, as reported by In De Leiderstrui.
"For me it always felt like a game at the beginning," he said. "I was just pretending to be a cyclist with my friends, and suddenly, almost without realizing it, I had become a professional. Everything happened so fast. Of course I needed time to adjust to the professional life, but I never regretted the decisions I made along the way."
It's a long way from that starting point. He turned pro with Euskaltel-Euskadi in 2011, climbed through Caja Rural, built his name at XDS Astana Team, and found his home at Bahrain Victorious, where he would spend seven years, win stages at the Tour de France, Tour Down Under, and Itzulia Basque Country, and become one of the more vocal activists in the peloton.
The Tour de France stage win in 2023 carries particular weight: "Winning at the Tour de France was something every cyclist dreams of. That moment showed me how intense and emotional this sport can be. During the 2023 Grand Départ, some of my worst and best memories came together. It was a difficult period, but out of that difficulty came one of the most beautiful victories and memories of my career."
His activism, built partly in the footsteps of his late Bahrain Victorious teammate Gino Mäder, ranged from climate advocacy to publicly supporting pro-Palestinian protests during the Vuelta a España.
He wasn't shaped purely by wins. "I will always cherish moments like the one I shared with Damiano Caruso in the Giro d'Italia: attacking together, fighting for the win, and ultimately helping him achieve something special. Those are the moments I'll never forget."
Now, every race feels different. "At some races I'm even more nervous than usual, knowing it could be the last time I experience them. Every race, every moment feels more important. I just want to show people one more time what I can do."
"She brings calm and confidence."
Lieselot Decroix on Franziska Koch and a breakout spring
The question after Paris-Roubaix Femmes wasn't just about the winner. It was about how Franziska Koch arrived there, and what it says about where she's heading. Sporza spoke with Lieselot Decroix, sports director at FDJ United-SUEZ.
Koch moved to FDJ United-SUEZ from Picnic PostNL at the start of the year and delivered immediately: third at Strade Bianche, a role in Demi Vollering's Ronde van Vlaanderen win, and now Paris-Roubaix. "She's truly obsessed with the cycling bug," Decroix said. "She's a very level-headed and adventurous woman who has built up a lot of experience over the years."
The transfer was targeted: "Last year we saw that we were competitive in the Flemish classics, but we didn't have the strongest core. That's why we wanted to strengthen ourselves there. Franziska had a strong season last year, so we knew she had this in her."
Decroix's read on Koch's character was specific: "She's seen as someone who dares to speak tactically about racing. She's very calm and above all brings calm and confidence to the process within the team. She doesn't worry easily."
The 25-year-old is also nowhere near her ceiling. "There were still a lot of new things this winter: the training approach, altitude camps. At Picnic PostNL she had never done a wind tunnel test to optimize her position. Those are the steps we're taking now."
The win itself exceeded all expectations. "Winning Roubaix is of course beyond all expectations. She's been strong all spring and we knew, or at least hoped, that she would be competitive in all the Flemish classics."
As for who leads in future races: "When Demi starts, it's logical that Franziska rides in support. But when the opportunities come, she's ready to take her chances." At 25, Decroix added simply: "You're obviously not at your maximum potential yet."
"Mathieu was the strongest man in the race."
Dries De Bondt on witnessing Mathieu van der Poel's impossible recovery at Paris-Roubaix
Mathieu van der Poel punctured twice in the Wallers forest, lost more than two minutes to the front group, and still finished fourth. Dries De Bondt, who rode his wheel for much of that chase, reconstructed the day in the Café Koers podcast, as reported by In De Leiderstrui.
"Mathieu was the strongest man in the race. Yes, of course," De Bondt said without hesitation. "I had a front-row seat to it." The initial chase was launched by Jasper Philipsen, who buried himself on one of the cobbled sectors after the Wallers forest to close the gap. Then came the moment that defined the day.
"On one of the next sectors, Mathieu decides: I'm going to give this one a real go. We could see a small group riding ahead of us, with Nils Politt among them. And he just wanted to jump across to them. He launched... and by the end of that sector, which was only 1.4 kilometers, he was simply gone from view. He dropped us completely."
Van der Poel absorbed that group too. "That group was riding twenty seconds ahead of us, and he took them with him, so they were also gone." De Bondt paused at what came next: "While we could still see forty seconds ahead of us. And then five minutes later I hear sports director Mathew Hayman say: Mathieu is now at 1 minute 20 from the front of the race. I thought: how? He is simply one of the supermen in cycling."
🏆 THE SERGE BAGUET AWARD
Not awarded today
Wonder what The Serge Baguet Award is all about? Check it out here.
💬 QUICK QUOTES
"I think this was my first Paris-Roubaix without a puncture. Without any problems. It was my tenth. First time I didn't flat." — Christophe Laporte, Bistrot Vélo
"That sprint was the sprint of an assassin. That was cold, calculated, and he 100% believed he could win it as soon as he went into that velodrome, the way he sat on Tadej's wheel." — Pundit Matt Stephens, CyclingUpToDate, on Wout van Aert's sprint to win Paris-Roubaix
"I got a message last night at 4:15 a.m. from Wout. He said he couldn't sleep and that the flowers were on their way." — Staf Goolaerts, father of the late Michael Goolaerts, HLN, on receiving a middle-of-the-night message from van Aert fulfilling his promise to give the Roubaix victory flowers to Michael's family
"The best way to clear your head." — Mathieu van der Poel, In De Leiderstrui, posting from the golf course the morning after Paris-Roubaix
"It's the last one for me, that's for sure. I'm happy it's done." — Luke Durbridge, CyclingNews, confirming this was his last Paris-Roubaix, he'll retire after the Australian Road Nationals at the end of the season
"4 long weeks, but we are back 📈 Rehab and rebuild can start 🫡" — Thibau Nys, Instagram, returning to the bike after knee surgery for a prepatellar friction syndrome that ruled him out of the Ardennes classics
"This should not be a matter of public interest." — Óscar Freire, Marca, after being sentenced to nine days of permanent location monitoring and a six-month restraining order following a guilty plea to a minor offense of unjust harassment against his former partner
"I never understand why we don't get coverage from the start, because our racing is shorter in time and kilometers. That means we race hard from the gun. And the more the years go by, the more the racing is incredibly hard from the gun. But for me, the biggest frustration is that teams, sponsors, people around the world never get to see the work domestics do for their leader. There's one leader and there's five or six other riders sacrificing their careers, their day, for that one person. They only see the person winning. They only see the name highlighted on TV. And I've had so many comments like, 'Oh, your teammates — where are they? What are they doing?' And I get so angry. What do you think? Do you think I get to the final on my own, like I'm some superhuman robot?" — Kim Le Court, The Domestiques Podcast, on the lack of coverage for women's cycling and the invisible work of domestiques
"I dream of a sprint in Liège between Pogačar and Paul for the win at La Doyenne, and I believe it's possible. Whatever the attacks, I believe that Paul Seixas won't be distanced on La Redoute or La Roche aux Faucons." — Christian Prudhomme, CyclingUpToDate, Tour de France director
"I think Seixas is going to do the Tour." — Oliver Naesen, De Reconstructie, in what sounded like an accidental early reveal of Decathlon CMA CGM's plans for Paul Seixas
That's it for today. See you tomorrow 👋
Jay