On Sunday April 12, Mathieu van der Poel lines up at Paris-Roubaix with the chance to do something only four men in history have ever managed: win cycling’s most brutal one-day race four times. Three consecutive wins (2023, 2024, 2025) have already elevated him to legendary status in the Classics, but a fourth victory would put him alongside Roger De Vlaeminck and Tom Boonen as the most decorated Paris-Roubaix champions of the modern era — and make him the first rider in history to win four editions in a row.
The “Hell of the North” has resisted van der Poel’s dominance in other Classics. He has yet to conquer Tour of Flanders, which Tadej Pogačar now owns. But on the cobblestones of northern France, the Alpecin-Deceuninck superstar is untouchable — and as he prepares for his fourth crack at the velodrome, the question isn’t just whether he can win again. It’s whether anyone can stop him.
The Records Already Broken
Van der Poel’s three-peat is already one of the most remarkable achievements in modern Classics cycling. Only two riders had ever won Paris-Roubaix three consecutive times before: Octave Lapize (1909–1911) and Francesco Moser (1978–1980). Van der Poel joined that select company in 2025 with a typically devastating late attack in the Carrefour de l’Arbre sector.
A fourth consecutive win would be unprecedented in the sport’s 130-year history. But van der Poel isn’t purely focused on records — he has spoken about each race as a fresh challenge, and 2026 brings a significantly altered route that may test him differently than previous editions.
The 2026 Route: New Challenges for the Champion
The 2026 Paris-Roubaix route features several significant modifications. New cobbled sectors have been added, and the sequencing of key passages has changed, placing greater demands on tactical decision-making throughout the race rather than concentrating everything into the final three sectors.
The iconic sectors remain — Arenberg Forest, Mons-en-Pévèle, Carrefour de l’Arbre — but the route now builds cobbled difficulty earlier and more continuously than before. For a rider with van der Poel’s explosive power and technical cobble-riding ability, these changes arguably play to his strengths. But they also create more opportunities for rivals to wear him down over a longer period.
You can read our full race preview in the Paris-Roubaix 2026 complete race preview, which covers all the key sectors, expected tactics, and how the route suits different rider profiles.
The Challengers: Who Can Beat Him?
Three riders stand out as credible threats to van der Poel’s supremacy this Sunday:
Tadej Pogačar
Pogačar has made no secret of his Roubaix ambitions, and his Milan-San Remo victory earlier this spring demonstrated that his form is at a career peak. But cobbled Classics represent a different physical demand than stage-race climbing, and Pogačar has yet to prove he can survive the relentless mechanical stress of the sectors over a full 260km race. His Roubaix quest is one of the great ongoing storylines in modern cycling.
Wout van Aert
Van Aert has never won Paris-Roubaix despite multiple high placings — a Classics gap that haunts his otherwise extraordinary palmares. After a difficult 2025 season impacted by injury, he arrives in 2026 with renewed focus and physical condition. His pursuit of a first Roubaix victory adds enormous emotional drama to Sunday’s race.
Jasper Philipsen
Often overshadowed by his Alpecin-Deceuninck teammate, Philipsen’s cobbled capabilities have grown significantly over the past two seasons. He represents both a domestique option and a genuine co-leader threat — which gives van der Poel a tactical weapon that his rivals lack.
Van der Poel’s Cobble-Riding Mastery: What Cyclists Can Learn
Beyond the racing narrative, van der Poel’s technique over cobblestones is a masterclass worth studying for any cyclist who tackles rough terrain. His key attributes:
- Controlled aggression — He attacks from unexpected positions, often initiating decisive moves on sectors where others are in survival mode.
- Body position — Loose arms, slightly raised off the saddle, weight distributed evenly to absorb the unpredictable impacts. He reads the road surface continuously.
- Tyre pressure management — Teams at Roubaix run significantly lower pressures than standard road riding, typically 3.5–4.5 bar, to absorb impact and maintain traction. Tubeless setups have become dominant in recent seasons.
- Power delivery — Smooth, seated pedalling on the roughest sectors to maintain momentum without losing control, then explosive standing efforts on smoother transitions.
If you’re thinking about tackling cobbles yourself — whether on a sportive or just exploring heritage cycling routes — our guide to training for cobbled cycling breaks down the preparation, technique, and equipment choices that make the difference between suffering and thriving on rough road surfaces.
Can Anyone Stop Him? The Historical Odds
Statistically, the odds do slightly favour van der Poel going into Sunday. Three-time Paris-Roubaix winners attempting a fourth victory have never succeeded in the modern era — but van der Poel doesn’t follow historical norms. His absolute dominance over cobbles, his current form (he finished spring so far with a monument victory in Milan-San Remo), and his unmatched technical advantage over the sectors make him a narrow but legitimate favourite.
The most likely scenario in which he loses? A mechanical failure — which remains the great equaliser at Roubaix — or a tactical error that allows a coordinated pursuit group to close. His team is aware of this, and Alpecin-Deceuninck’s race management has been near-flawless across all three of his previous victories.
Key Takeaways
- Van der Poel lines up this Sunday bidding for an unprecedented fourth consecutive Paris-Roubaix victory.
- A win would equal De Vlaeminck and Boonen’s record of four career victories — and surpass all previous consecutive-win records.
- The 2026 route features more cobble kilometres and new sectors that test tactical versatility alongside raw power.
- Pogačar, van Aert, and Philipsen represent the most credible challengers.
- Paris-Roubaix 2026 takes place on Sunday, April 12, 2026.
