Vetplant

I have so much respect for this guy. May he please win De Ronde before he retires.

Something I missed: before Sunday's result, Pogačar and MvdP won the last 11 monuments between the two of them. No wonder most of the cycling fans were happy with a Wout win.

Going into the race yesterday I just had this feeling that 2026 was going to be the year for Wout and his Roubaix dream. Previous years he was in amazing form but then the lottery of Race Day always went against him. The lead-up to this race was actually perfect in the sense that Pogačar and MvdP were the form riders and all the attention was on them. The race day lottery was favourable to Wout. The moment MvdP had his issue and lost more than a minute I started to believe. Wouts issues were manageable and he had Laporte in the lead group playing disruptive tactics when he needed it most. This race gave me similar tension and joy as Sagan 2018, who finally got what he had worked for and missed out on repeatedly. Lekker Wout! PS. LBL in two weeks time... MvdP and Wout have finished 3rd on previous occasions. Can either one of them do the unthinkable and reach the top step..?

YEEEEEAAAAAAHHHHH! WOUT!

It is too tense to look away and type...

This has been a crazy since the Arenburg Forest. Fingers crossed. Kom Wout!

That's a little too close to the action bud.

Well deserved win. What an amazing edition of MSR!

A win by Top Ganna will be nice to see... At this stage I will be happy with anyone but MvdP.

Nah, no real hostility towards him. Actually found support for him wherever we stood, always shouts of GO MATTHIEU when he passed. But, obviously the cheers for WOUT were on another level given the race was in Belgium. (On the photos: I decided to carry along a decent camera on Holiday instead of trying to capture stuff with the cellphone camera. Photo quality is worth the effort.)

Box ticked, happy camper.

Fun experience to see the riders up close and to experience the atmosphere. But, as with most sports, following the race is way better on TV. Got some nice photos though, will share once back at the WiFi connection at our accommodation.

Not a Classic, but going to see Wout and MvdP go at each other at 15h00. Hofstade Plage Cross. Standing just past the finish line. 😁

"The course is obviously something that suits me, especially when that last climb is 6km from the finish. That opens up perspectives for classic riders like me." Seems he did The wet weather also played to his strengths. ADD: Oh, Jorgensen needs full credit too for that stage win. He played the PERFECT teammate role in the lead-up to that last passage of Montmartre.

Wout you biscuit! What. A. Finish! Sorry sprinters, but THIS should be the final stage of the TDF. I was hopeful that Wout could beat his breakaway riders in the sprint, never in my wildest dreams did I think he can drop Pogi on the climb. That was great to watch.