Dead last in Roubaix! Joseph Pidcock finishes nearly an hour behind van der Poel in Roubaix: "Not risking my life for this"

While Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogacar battled it out at the front for the win in Paris-Roubaix, at the very back the goal is often just to reach the finish at all. Each year, there's plenty of interest in the rider who crosses the line in Roubaix last. This year, that honor went to Joseph Pidcock—yes, the younger brother of Tom—who finished just under an hour after Van der Poel.

"It was really cool," said the 23-year-old Brit from Q36.5 Pro Cycling to CyclingProNet. “It honestly felt like walls of sound everywhere.” For him, the question wasn’t if he would finish, but when. “Maybe I won’t get another chance to ride Paris-Roubaix, so of course I had to finish. Not many people get the opportunity to race here.”

Pidcock's younger brother, who finished 53 minutes and 40 seconds after van der Poel, attracted much attention from the media. While other races may not seem exciting, the last rider to cross the finish line at the Vélodrome André Pétrieux can generally count on much interest. Why does he think that is? "I think it’s because riders want to finish this race more than other races," he said.

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Van der Poel won Paris-Roubaix for the third time Sunday

Finishing in Roubaix was 'mentally not that difficult' for Pidcock

A big smile appeared on his face when asked what was going through his mind during the Hell of the North. “Not much,” said the Leeds-born rider. Whereas it may seem mentally difficult for the spectators to have to ride far behind the leaders on the way to the finish line, Pidcock thinks it's not that bad. “I don’t know, but I think mentally it’s not even that hard to finish here. I just knew I was going to do it, and I went all in,” he says calmly.

Nearly an hour after Van der Poel crossed the finish line, Pidcock finally rolled in. Pidcock arrived much later than the greats of contemporary cycling on the critical parts of the course. As a result, many people had already gone home. "There were still people at the end, but most had left already." Despite this, Pidcock thought the ambiance was great. "I definitely enjoyed it. At least I tried as much as possible. I was really excited about it beforehand."

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Joseph Pidcock in the kit of Q36.5 Pro Cycling

"I think Van Aert hit me when he fell," thinks Pidcock

The fact that he was even allowed to start the Paris-Roubaix is somewhat of a miracle. In his own words, Pidcock did not travel to northern France because of his good legs. "But because some of our team’s riders had crashed and couldn’t come. When I heard I could race, I was really happy. I also rode the U23 race last year, and that was fun. Things went well, but then I had mechanical problems." The Brit finished 59th back then, a long way behind winner Tim Torn Teutenberg.

Pidcock did not finish in 59th place this time, but in last place with an 'Outside Time Limit' next to his name. Where did he think things went wrong? "Before the first cobbles," the Q36.5 rider laughs, recalling how he saw the big names crash right in front of him. "I was almost involved in three crashes in a row. When Van Aert crashed, he was really close to me. I actually think he hit me when he went down. That’s when I thought: I’m not risking my life for this. And I just didn’t have the legs anyway."

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