Van der Poel's teammate knows Mathieu van der Poel can win in Paris-Roubaix on Sunday: "We can only hope"

The long-anticipated showdown on the French cobblestones is finally set to unfold this Sunday. At Paris-Roubaix, Mathieu van der Poel will aim to secure a third victory in the legendary race, while world champion Tadej Pogacar hopes to cap off his debut with a win. If Gianni Vermeersch, teammate of Van der Poel at Alpecin-Deceuninck, is to be believed, it’s going to be an all-out battle.

Team leader Van der Poel was defeated just last Sunday in the Tour of Flanders, where he also suffered a crash. “After Mathieu’s crash, it was hard to judge what exactly needed to be done,” Vermeersch told HLN. “I waited, because Meurisse and Planckaert were involved too. Luckily, Planckie’s bike wasn’t damaged, and he brought Mathieu back really well. I spent some time riding in no-man’s land myself, but in the end, that was just a side note.”

In addition to his crash, Van der Poel also fell ill in the lead-up to De Hoogmis. “Mathieu kept training, but his recovery wasn’t ideal,” team manager Christoph Roodhooft admitted earlier on Friday. “Probably because of the Tour of Flanders. When you’ve just been sick, it tends to linger in your system.” Teammate Jasper Philipsen also crashed earlier this year, but according to Vermeersch, both top riders have moved on. “We’re assuming the illness and crashes haven’t had too much of an impact on them.”

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Van der Poel was involved in a crash in the Tour of Flanders on Sunday

Could Vermeersch be a surprise contender on Sunday? "If you’ve got top legs..."

For Vermeersch, Sunday will once again be about doing the work for team leaders Van der Poel and Philipsen. But how does he feel about that role himself? “I’ve found my place in it and I feel good about it. Winning a classic is still something very different from, say, winning Dwars door het Hageland. That first one is something very few Belgian riders have achieved, not even me,” the Belgian says candidly. “I’d rather be meaningful in the finale as a pure domestique for two big finishers like Mathieu and Jasper, than go for my own chance with just a top-ten as the best-case outcome. They know what they can expect from me. And seeing them win brings me just as much satisfaction.”

Ideally, Alpecin-Deceuninck will once again control the race on Sunday, just as they did last year, when they walked away with a victory, second place, and sixth in the final results of Paris-Roubaix. And Vermeersch knows: “If you’ve got top legs and you do your job properly, supporting your leaders as long as possible, you can definitely go far in a race like Roubaix yourself.”

So what would the perfect scenario look like for the Belgian team? Vermeersch can picture it clearly: a repeat of last year. “Getting over the Forest of Arenberg with at least three of us in a group of about twenty riders, and then being able to control everything in the finale.” That sounds great on paper, but making it happen is another story, as Vermeersch is well aware. “It’s unpredictable. All we can do is hope it works out again.”

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Pogacar dropped Van der Poel, Van Aert and Pedersen on the Oude Kwaremont last Sunday in the Tour of Flanders

"Nothing surprises you anymore with him," says Vermeersch about Pogacar ahead of Paris-Roubaix

If Van der Poel wants to claim another Paris-Roubaix victory, Alpecin-Deceuninck will need to find a way to beat world champion Tadej Pogacar. The Slovenian rider from UAE Team Emirates–XRG is making his debut in the Hell of the North, something Vermeersch finds quite impressive. “Because let’s be honest—for someone who wants to win the Tour in July, it’s still a risky race. One of the most dangerous of the spring, especially if it rains.”

While some still doubt his chances, Vermeersch is convinced Pogacar will be in contention for the win. “If you saw how strong he was in the Tour of Flanders… Okay, he made the difference there on uphill cobbles, and here they’re flat, which makes it a lot harder to drop Mathieu, Wout van Aert, Mads Pedersen, and the rest. At least, that’s what I think,” Vermeersch says with a laugh, fully aware of the danger Pogi poses. “But who knows, he might pull off another one of his crazy rides. With him, nothing surprises you anymore.”

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