Paris-Roubaix 2021 LIVE: Latest updates and result from men’s race after multiple crashes
Follow all the latest updates and reaction as the famous one-day classics race returns for the first time in 18 months
Italian Sonny Colbrelli won the Paris-Roubaix Monument classic, a 257.7-km ride from Compiegne, on Sunday.
European champion Colbrelli of Team Bahrain Victorious, outsprinted Belgian Florian Vermeersch (Lotto Soudal) and Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix), who were second and third respectively.
Follow all the latest updates and reaction from the iconic race below.
71km to go
The gap continues to fluctuate a bit but the latest update is that it is about a minute and a half from the leaders to a group that could probably now be termed a peloton again. There’s a group stuck in a sort of purgatory between the two, including Sonny Colbrelli of Bahrain-Victorious.
73km to go
Bike change for Mathieu van der Poel. He hurries off his old steed and swiftly re-straddles after an efficient switch of apparatus.
Another hefty crash - Sep Vanmarcke staggers about awkwardly, shaking his legs about and grimacing. A sore one for the Israel Start-Up Nation rider.
75km to go
It appears the group of favourites has decided to pause, for a moment, taking stock of a chaotic race so far. They allow a larger group to coalesce as a number of dropped riders hop back on to the bus.
Gianni Moscon of Ineos Grenadiers is leading the race at the moment, with the Astana-bound Italian looking strong at the front of a lead group of about five. He wouldn’t be a popular winner.
78km to go
Mathieu van der Poel isn’t going to die wondering. He looks very, very strong as he again forces the pace at the front of the bunch.
Elsewhere, troubles for Jumbo-Visma. First Nathan van Hooydonck punctures and then the Dutch national champion Timo Roosen is stalled by a crash with DELKO’s Evaldas Šiškevičius, the Lithuanian who finished ninth two and a half years ago at the last Paris-Roubaix.
82km to go
Over a level crossing and on to Sector 17 of pavé - 3700m of cobbles to be completed, the joint-longest section of the race.
About a minute after the leaders the group of favourites roll on to the lumps and bumps, with Deceuninck-QuickStep beginning to assemble something resembling a concerted chase. They know that they cannot really afford to let Sonny Colbrelli escape too far up the road. The Belgian team have looked, as they so often do, the strongest in the race and the “Wolfpack” are on the hunt.
83km to go
We haven’t seen our leading group for a little while but as the camera bike at the front is finally switched to by our director it appears their race may be ridden. There is grim acceptance on the faces of both Florian Vermeersch and Nils Eekhoff as they are welcomed back in to a larger leading group, but plenty of visibility for two young riders with bright futures both at this race and elsewhere, you’d say.
85km to go
An attack, and is that Sonny Colbrelli? I think it is! The European champion’s white jersey is slowly revealing itself as some of the mud comes from his back and it is the Bahrain-Victorious man on the offensive, following a jaunty little move from Jeremy Lecroq. I’ll confess to not knowing a huge deal about the B&B Hotels rider but the Frenchman has timed his move nicely and picked up a rather dangerous hitchhiker.
88km to go
Here’s how things stand - we’ve still got a leading group of two at the front of Florian Vermeersch and Nils Eekhoff (Lotto-Soudal and Team DSM). 27 seconds back are a group of about 15, with Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) the most prominent of a further half-dozen about a minute down. It appears Wout Van Aert has just closed that group down, actually, dragging some others with him - that’s now about 12 in number. That is likely where the winner lurks, and despite having to do plenty of work, the brilliant Belgian’s legs look very, very strong. Jumbo-Visma will be reasonably pleased.
89km to go - Punctures for Deceuninck-QuickStep
Lampaert and Asgreen haven’t attacked - they are out the back after mechanicals! It sounds like one, the other, or possibly both has punctured on those final metres of vicious pavé and they will face a real fight to get back amongst things.
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