Paris–Roubaix | Guillaume Boivin “a little sad” about his bad luck

Victim of three punctures and barely recovered from the flu, Guillaume Boivin was unable to repeat his feat of last fall, finishing 61^and of the “queen of the classics”

Simon Drouin
The Press

Guillaume Boivin had played his cards perfectly.

First by slipping into the leading pack after a surprise offensive by Ineos in the side wind more than 200 km from the finish.

Then by running with his bike in the field like a cyclocrossman to circumvent a collective fall in a paved area.

Then by positioning themselves among the first 30 before entering the Arenberg Gap.

But without aces in his headline like last fall, namely legs of fire, the Quebec cyclist also had to count on a little luck on the 257 kilometer event.

However, this essential element for a successful race at Paris-Roubaix, even in dry weather, abandoned him as soon as he passed the famous trench, where he suffered his first puncture. After a repair at the exit of 12^and of 30 cobbled sections, the Canadian champion got back on the road.

The Israel-Premier Tech rider crossed the finish line in the Roubaix velodrome at 61^and rank, 15 minutes behind the winner, the Dutchman Dylan Van Baarle, who thus provided a first victory for the British team Ineos in the “Queen of the Classics” on Sunday.

“I’m a little sad, I’m not going to lie to you,” Boivin said a few hours after the race. He was about to have a bite to eat in a restaurant in Lille with a group of Quebecers who had come to encourage him, including his girlfriend, his brother and his father. “I love this race so much. »

Ninth in the rain and mud last year, a first in 30 years for a Canadian, Boivin consoled himself with the idea of ​​having been able to take the start of the 119^and presentation of the “Hell of the North”. Struck down by the flu, he couldn’t believe it seven days earlier. For two weeks, he hardly rode.

” I’ll take it. It was still a beautiful day. It was Paris-Roubaix. It gives me confidence. I know I have the level. If I’m at the top of my game, I can do something in races like this. »

His three punctures destroyed his already fragile hopes: “I didn’t have the legs I had last year. When you’re in top shape, you can save the furniture in case of glitches like that. But that was not the case. It’s a bit flat, but that’s part of the race. At least the shape isn’t so bad compared to the last two, three weeks I’ve had. »

“It was crazy! »

On the contrary, Van Baarle is right in the middle of a happy streak. The 29-year-old vice-world champion finished second in the Tour of Flanders a week earlier, beaten in the sprint by his compatriot Mathieu Van der Poel, the big favorite who had “no legs” on Sunday (9^and).

After breaking away from a group of contenders including Wout Van Aert (Jumbo) and the Swiss Stefan Küng (FDJ) about fifty kilometers from the line, Van Baarle came back to the superb Matej Mohoric (Bahrain), the unlucky Yves Lampaert (Quick-Step) and the revelation Tom Devriendt (Intermarché). The future winner dropped them 19 km from the finish in the Camphin-en-Pévèle sector, where Boivin fell in the mud last year.

Van Baarle gave himself a cushion which went up to a minute and a half despite the concerted chase of Van Aert, Küng and Mohoric (5^and). Before entering the velodrome, the Dutchman had time to savor with his compatriot and sporting director Servais Knaven, who had achieved the same achievement in 2001. At 45.8 km/h, he recorded the fastest average Of the history.

On arrival, Van Baarle fell into the arms of Dave Brailsford, the sometimes controversial boss of the British team who had given himself the mission of changing the way his people race. This victory at Paris-Roubaix is ​​the exclamation point of this new philosophy.

Despite two mechanical issues, Van Aert, who was questioning his form after contracting COVID-19 three weeks ago, settled the sprint for second place, ahead of Küng and Devriendt. Mohoric, the most active in the race, but suffered a puncture at a bad time, had to settle for fifth place. Lampaert, for his part, completed the top 10victim of a heavy fall after a collision with a spectator 7 km from the line.

The high point of the Flandrian classics, Paris-Roubaix sets the table for the Ardennes, with the Flèche Wallonne, Wednesday, and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, next Sunday. Boivin will be there with Hugo Houle to help his teammates Michael Woods and Jakob Fuglsang. “I think I can help them. I look forward. »