Wait, what? Not a single notable Strava KOM crushed by Pogacar or van Aert in Paris-Roubaix

Tadej Pogacar disappointed his fans after Paris-Roubaix because he had to change bikes and, therefore, had no complete race data to share on Strava. However, the Slovenian from UAE Team Emirates-XRG did manage to provide it, as did Wout van Aert, who came in fourth in the race. What do these statistics tell us about The Hell of the North?

We do not know how he accomplished it, but Pogacar uploaded a Paris-Roubaix totaling 257.72 kilometers (official length: 259.2 kilometers). He completed the race in 5 hours, 33 minutes, and 18 seconds (officially: 5 hours, 32 minutes, and 45 seconds), for an average of 46.4 kilometers per hour (officially: 46.921 per hour). Despite the flat terrain that Paris-Roubaix is supposed to be, Pogi climbed 1,553 meters during the day. Maximum speed? 96.3 kilometers per hour could also have been achieved when his bike computer was in or on the car.

Pogacar, who had already impressed in the run-up to Paris-Roubaix with Strava KOMs during a recon, has three record performances to his name after Sunday. The segments 'Tilloy à Sars-et-Rosières,' 'Pavés Templeuve Epinette,' and 'Cysoing - Bourghelles - Calvaire Wannehain' are in the possession of the world champion. Due to the headwind on some stretches, Paris-Roubaix was not the fastest edition, and Wout van Aert's KOM on Trouée d'Arenberg (from 2023) is still untouched.

Ramon Sinkeldam, who took the KOM on Carrefour de l'Arbre on April 1 (no joke!), is still assured of that even after Sunday. The same goes for Florian Vermeersch's KOM on Mons-en-Pévèle. However, there is an important 'but': winner Mathieu van der Poel no longer shares Strava statistics, and number three Mads Pedersen is not active on the medium either. What's more, Paris-Roubaix was very long and very tough. It was not for nothing that Pogacar said afterward: "The level of power, when there were still five of us, was one of the highest I've ever seen. It was a tough race."

Read more below Tadej Pogacar's Strava file.

Van Aert 

If Pogacar did not improve on the KOMs by name, then the chances are slim that van Aert improved any. After Sunday, the Belgian from Visma | Lease a Bike is now a shared record holder in the 'Quiévy à Saint-Python' and 'Pont-Thibault à Ennevelin' sectors and can now call himself the fastest in the 'Quiévy-Fontaine au Tertre' sector. But, of course, that was not his goal.

Van Aert was really in good shape, as evidenced by the fact that he rode his second-best times on Mons-en-Pévèle and Carrefour de l'Arbre, but he should have been better than ever to challenge van der Poel and Pogacar. He was not. "I have no regrets about how I prepared and raced, so I must be satisfied. I am satisfied with what I have done. This is cycling," he said afterward in a candid analysis.

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