The China Mail - Van Aert finally wins Paris-Roubaix cycling Monument

The 31-year-old Van Aert collected one of the the two prestigious cobbled classics after seven previous top-four finishes in either the Tour of Flanders or here in northern France.

It was his second Monument victory after Milan-San Remo in 2020.

In crossing the line first at the famous velodrome in Roubaix, Van Aert prevented Pogacar from completing a clean sweep of the five Monument races, and stopped the 27-year-old Slovenian's run of four straight victories in these major classics.

"It means everything to me, it's been a goal since I first did this race," said Van Aert, who broke down in tears after crossing the line.

He dedicated his victory to former teammate Michael Goolaerts, who died aged just 23 while racing Paris-Roubaix in 2018.

"This victory is for Michael but especially for my family, the staff, all my friends and teammates in the previous team," added Van Aert.

"Luck was not on my side (previously, but) I kept believing in it and finally luck was on my side.

"Obviously there's no more beautiful way than going to the line with the world champion.

"Beating him in the sprint 'mano-a-mano' is something really special for me."

In an incident-packed race, Belgian Jasper Stuyven took third place 13 seconds back, with pre-race favourite Mathieu van der Poel relegated to fourth at 15sec.

That in itself was a remarkable result for three-time champion Van der Poel, who lost two minutes to the leaders after suffering two punctures in the crucial Arenberg forest cobbled sector with just under 100km to race.

The leading pair broke clear with just over 50km to ride, after which Van Aert worked hard to stick to Pogacar's wheel as the world champion put in several bursts of acceleration over cobbled sectors.

Pogacar, who had won his three previous races this season, was unable to distance Van Aert and so the pair arrived together at the Roubaix velodrome.

After that, Pogacar led out the sprint but Van Aert proved too strong and breezed past to win convincingly.

J.Thompson--ThChM