ROUBAIX, France — Belgian rider Wout van Aert beat cycling great Tadej Pogačar in a dramatic sprint to the line to win the prestigious Paris-Roubaix one-day classic for the first time on Sunday.

They were neck and neck entering the finish at the vélodrome in Roubaix after more than five hours of grueling racing. Van Aert had the better sprint credentials and timed his attack perfectly to surge past Pogačar on the right and hold him off.

“Beating him mano a mano in a sprint is really special to me,” Van Aert said.

Van Aert raised his right finger and pointed to the sky as he crossed the line and then got off his bike and lay on his back, thoroughly exhausted. It was a rare defeat for four-time Tour de France champion Pogačar, looking to become the first Tour champion to win Roubaix since Bernard Hinault in 1981.

Last month, Pogačar fought back from a crash to win Milan-San Remo for the first time, leaving only Roubaix to complete the set of five monuments in one-day cycling. He had already won the Tour of Flanders, Liège–Bastogne–Liège and the Tour of Lombardy.

But the 31-year-old Van Aert is one of the world’s most versatile riders.

A three-time cyclocross world champion, he won Milan San-Remo in 2020, the Tour de France best sprinters’ green jersey in 2022, finished third at Roubaix in 2023 and third again at Milan-San Remo last month.

The 258.3-kilometer (160.1-mile) Paris-Roubaix race is called “The Hell of the North” because of its multiple cobblestone sections – totaling about 55 kilometers – and reputation for crashes and punctures.

So it proved again as Pogačar punctured once and Dutch three-time defending champion Mathieu van der Poel punctured twice.

Pogačar punctured with about 120 kilometers left and, with his team car behind, he took a neutral service bike from a nearby repairs car. Visibly annoyed, he had to wait several minutes for his team car to give him one of his race bikes.

The energy he spent catching up to the leading group may have cost him at the end.

Belgian rider Jasper Stuyven finished third ahead of Van der Poel, who went over to hug a tearful Van Aert, his former cyclocross archrival.

Women’s race

The women’s race followed later Sunday.

The 143.1-kilometer (88.7 mile) race was on the same day as the men’s for the first time, albeit with a different starting point and a slightly shorter route than last year, featuring about 40 kilometers of cobbles.