Wout VAN AERT. 10 with honors. The eternal runner-up silences the unbeatable. He fights and beats him, with a sprint of sheer dominance that leaves no doubt and makes history—certainly for a rider, but also for a race. Donald Duck wins, surpassing Goofy, leaving behind nasty clouds and malicious potholes. He wins to reclaim what he already deserved to have and what, for one reason or another, he had spectacularly lost, what had maliciously slipped away from him. Long live Wout who grasps paradise, who takes a piece of history from the one who carries it all on his shoulders. He wins because he has dynamite in his legs and a mind free from dark thoughts. He's a Wout who pedals lightly, who knows he must keep his eternal rival Mathieu Van der Poel at a distance, whom fate has punished. He's Wout who unleashes hell 54 kilometers from the finish—after attacking the Aremberg Forest like no one else—to prevent the Dutchman from coming back and to bring the strongest into the open: Tadej Pogacar. But today Wout equals the Slovenian, if not surpasses him. He beats him by responding blow for blow and takes him to the sprint to knock him out. Immense before immensity: a giant.

Tadej POGACAR. 9. What can you say to him? He loses because, in the end, he too has less. He fights openly, as he always does, as he always will, as long as he decides to challenge the world, as long as the world stirs hunger and curiosity in him. He loses twice, or at least it seems that way. The first time in the Quérenaing à Maing sector (2.5 km), the ninth of the day, when he gets a puncture. Shimano's neutral wheel change passes him the bike on the fly. The UAE one will arrive much later, due to the usual race dynamics: bottlenecks of team cars and riders on narrow, winding road sections. Morgado is the first to stop and wait for the captain. He recovers 57 seconds in twenty kilometers and then he's there, where he's always been, in his place, at the forefront of the race. He's in a state of grace, as he usually is, but today there's someone flying on the pavement, while the Slovenian runs over it at high speed. It seems like the same thing, but it's not. He's just short of history, of a story that this time doesn't have a happy ending, but seems not yet finished, because it's a story still open.

Jasper STUYVEN. 7. He had to be there and he shows up. A race of great sacrifice, like all Roubaix editions, made of chases and climbs. The 33-year-old Belgian confirms his talent, his aptitudes, with a podium that means a lot, alongside those two.

Mathieu VAN DER POEL. 10. Immense even in defeat, which for him is a 4th place. He gets two punctures in the Forest, his reaction is something to show in cycling schools, in all clubs and sports societies: calm, absolute self-control, anything but nervous breakdowns, theatrical scenes. He loses at least two minutes, for many everything would be over there, not for him, who never gives anything up for lost until the very end. He has class, talent, and temperament: he puts it on display. It's all there. He pedals like a God of the Pedal, pedals on surfaces that for him are velvet. A manifesto of the ideal athlete and great sportsmanship.

Christophe LAPORTE. 8. The Frenchman races with great clarity and strength. Wout's teammate, today he receives no favors, but he does him one, giving his all until the end.

Mick VAN DIJCK. 5.5. The 26-year-old Dutchman from Red Bull stays in the thick of the race, but never gives the impression he can attack it all the way through.

Mads PEDERSEN. 5. The first sector (number 30) from Troisvilles to Inchy is enough to understand that Roubaix is a beast from the start. Stopped by a puncture: what bad luck! There's time to make up for it and he does. But then he has several chances to stay up front, but he doesn't have the pace of his best days. He has to settle for staying with the group of the best, but for someone like him that's not quite the maximum.

Stefan BISSEGER. 7. He finds himself among all the big favorites. He takes on the role of the great intruder, despite finishing in the top ten a year ago (7th), this year he's still there: 8th.

Nils POLITT. 7.5. The German works hard to bring his captain back in alongside Antonio Morgado (rating 8). As a great champion, he finishes the work in Van der Poel's group.

Mark TEUNISSEN. 6.5. The 33-year-old Dutchman from XDS Astana has one goal: to finish his efforts in the top ten. He succeeds!

Filippo GANNA. 5.5. Not particularly fortunate, stranded at a very particular moment, he raises the white flag in the final. However, even before the puncture, he never gives the impression of having that pedal stroke to make a difference and stay in the thick of the contest.

Pietro MATTIO. 7. The 21-year-old from Cuneo with Visma Lease a Bike does great work for three-quarters of the race. Very good.

Matevz GOVEKAR. 6. The Bahrain Victorious rider goes away with Riley Sheehan (NSN) and Martijn Rasenberg (Unibet Rose Rockets) after just a few kilometers, and after a few kilometers they're caught too. Matevz is also the first to crash.