The tractors have returned to the cobbled roads of northern France, with cycling’s legendary one-day classic wrapping up for another year.
It was a memorable edition of the men's Paris–Roubaix, with Wout van Aert beating out the world champion, Tadej Pogačar, in a final sprint in the Roubaix velodrome.
We were on the ground over the weekend, looking for the latest cobble-taming tech and to see which hacks the riders had chosen for the 258.3km race.
There was plenty of drama, but if you missed it, we’ve condensed it into these key talking points.
Paris–Roubaix 2026 talking points
- Wout van Aert finally took the win after seven attempts and two previous podiums, while setting the fastest ever time for Paris-Roubaix with an average speed of 48.91 kph.
- Serious mechanicals characterised the race more than anyone can recall in the modern era, with hopes dashed for many riders left punctured or with broken bikes.
- That was true of no one more than Mathieu van der Poel, who arguably lost the race due to tech mistakes after puncturing twice on the Trouée d’Arenberg and then being unable to clip into his teammate's bike because he was using prototype Shimano pedals.
- Several riders crashed due to spectators, with Lucinda Brand coming down hard in the women's race after her handlebar was taken by a fan standing by the side of the road.
- 1x drivetrains proved popular, with Shimano-sponsored teams using mullet groupsets that combined Dura-Ace, GRX and XTR components.
- Wide tyres were the hot trend before the race, with the UCI even bringing a tyre checking tool to the start. The riders were all on at least 32mm tyres, with some riders, such as Tadej Pogačar, going as wide as 35mm.
