One of the men who coloured the 2019 edition of Paris-Roubaix was without a doubt Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma). A lot was expected from the triple cyclo-cross world champion - last year, he figured in the finale on his debut, but that performance was overshadowed by the passing of his teammate Michael Goolaerts. This year, Van Aert impressed in Strade Bianche, Milano-Sanremo, Gent-Wevelgem and E3 BinckBank Classic. He entered Paris-Roubaix as one of the major favourites and he didnīt disappoint. Despite being forced to chase back to the main group twice, first after a mechanical in the Arenberg Forest and then after a crash after a bike switch, he still managed to feature in the decisive breakaway 50km from Roubaix. 20km from the finish line, however, a hunger flat cost him his place up front. The 24-year-old faded back to 22nd place at the vélodrome where he collapsed on the ground. Surrounded by the media at the finish, Van Aert ended up lying down. He mumbled a few words while trying to recover, saying `I havenīt been very lucky in Roubaix, so far.` A few minutes later, he walked out of the vélodrome and sat at the side of the road.ADVERTISEMENT `I feel terrible. Iīm dead-empty. I canīt say much about it,` Van Aert said. `It was very hectic. After my bad luck in the forest I`d been ā bloc for an hour. I didn`t think about eating or drinking at that time. `In a race like today, that`s something you pay the price for. At 30km from the finish I felt that I was running out of gas. For me, the ideal scenario from there was that the group would continue to work together until the Carrefour de l`Arbre but they started attacking. `I felt straight away that there wasn`t anything left in the tank. It was painful. I had really good legs but that`s a small consolation. I didnīt take in enough energy. It wasnīt too be. Itīs still the most beautiful race of the year but everything has to go your way.` Away from the world
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