Bruyneel impressed by more than just van der Poel and Pogacar: "That rider will be a future star"

"It was a great final to watch," George Hincapie begins his story. "When Philipsen, van der Poel, and Pogacar were up front, they kept attacking and never slowed down for a moment. Even when van der Poel had a gap, he kept riding hard. I thought that was a strange tactic, but it was just beautiful to see."

"What Pogacar showed today was unbelievable," Johan Bruyneel continues. "Pogacar is impressive; he can compete for the win on any terrain, but he has never won before. Van der Poel was so magnificent when you see how he rides over the cobblestones; no one can do that better. Van der Poel is simply the best cyclist in the world on the terrain of Paris-Roubaix."

Unfortunately, due to a crash by Pogacar, we did not see a sprinter's duel in the Vélodrome of Roubaix. "You could see that Pogacar was flying into the corner at full speed to put van der Poel under pressure. It's a shame that it went wrong then. But it couldn't have gone any better if you saw how van der Poel took the corners. He gained seconds on his opponents in every corner he took in the lead."

Nevertheless, Bruyneel still firmly believes in Pogacar's chances of one day adding Paris-Roubaix to his list of achievements. "Everyone knows that Pogacar is the best in the world, but I did not see him being so incredibly strong in Paris-Roubaix. His performance is even more impressive considering that he rode the entire race alone, without teammates."

But it is not only the riders' performances that impress but also how they race, which Bruyneel enjoys watching. "It is great to see how they race these days. In my time, it always took a long time for a race to break open, whereas now it happens as early as 100 kilometers before the finish. That is very nice to see."

"And once the race has started, the top riders don't hold back either," the former cyclist continues. "In Pogacar's case, you would normally think: if you're riding with van der Poel, you save yourself for a possible sprint. But he also rides at full speed. It's great that the top riders don't hold back and just give it their all. That only makes the race more beautiful."

And Hincapie also greatly enjoys the attack-minded racing mentality of recent races. "We already saw a great race in the Tour of Flanders, but also last Sunday. And that's simply because the top riders start so early, which is fantastic. Lucky for us, both races also produced great winners."

And Wout van Aert? Unfortunately, he could not play a leading role in the Hell of the North. "Van Aert was involved in a crash early on, which meant he had to chase for a long time. But I think he is in very good shape. He never completely dropped out of the chase, and you can see that the longer the race lasts, the better he gets," the Belgian analyst says.

But what impressed Bruyneel was another rider from Visma | Lease a Bike. "Brennan was so incredibly strong. You will be a future star if you're riding at nineteen in perhaps the biggest race of the year."