“That’s why I’m never buying a Richard Mille watch”: Cycling fans baffled as Pogačar’s £250,000 watch leaves world champion with bloodied wrist; Driver: “Main purpose of roads isn’t safety”; Discovery+ spoils Paris-Roubaix result + more on the live blog

The cycling ‘fan’ who hit Mathieu van der Poel in the face with a Visma-Lease a Bike-branded bottle thrown during the Dutchman’s winning ride at Paris-Roubaix yesterday has turned himself in to the police, according to reports in Belgium.

Apparently, like Jack in Father Ted, he’s very, very sorry…

> Paris-Roubaix spectator who threw bottle at Mathieu van der Poel hands himself in to the police

The new TNT Sports era of cycling coverage seems to be going well, isn’t it?

Yesterday, in the aftermath of Mathieu van der Poel’s third straight victory at Paris-Roubaix, we reported that British cycling fans had flooded the channel with complaints about its coverage of the Hell of the North, claiming that they were being “constantly bombarded” by ill-timed adverts.

Cycling author William Fotheringham even joined the chorus of disapproval, writing on social media: “Fantastic Paris-Roubaix but zero thanks to TNT Sports for the constant ad breaks.

“The one placed literally as Van der Poel launched the winning move gets top marks.”

As someone watching, thankfully, without the ads – but who had to keep his mother-in-law informed about that decisive, race-changing move – I concur.

> “More adverts than bike racing”: UK cycling fans fume at TNT Sports’ Paris-Roubaix coverage

But the seemingly never-ending parade of advertisements weren’t the only source of criticism from fans – the much-maligned Discovery+ app also received a few digs online.

“I find the whole thing clunky as well as expensive,” said Judith. “My screen goes blank halfway through a race, it takes minutes to get back in, and if you’re not careful you get the version with the ads. I miss Eurosport.”

Same, Judith, same.

But thank goodness we’re not Nigel (no offence, Nige), who, having missed the pavé action live, attempted to catch up on the race yesterday evening… only for it to be immediately spoiled by a glitch in the app.

“At least you didn’t have my issue,” he wrote.

“Opened app on TV clicked on ‘watch from start’ and there was the winning rider interview. Also, when you clicked up to see attacks/incidents etc they were all out of sync. Super frustrating to say the least.”

Ouch. As I said, it’s going well…

We’ve seen a €1,200 fine dished out to the infamous ‘Allez Opi-Omi’ sign-wielder (who was also forced to pay a symbolic euro to the French Cycling Union), while last year’s hospitality cap thrower was ordered to admit her wrongdoing and spend some time with the cobble lovers at Les Amis de Paris-Roubaix.

So, how should the Paris-Roubaix ‘fan’ who decided, in his infinite wisdom, to lob a full Visma-branded bottle at Mathieu van der Poel be punished, after turning himself in to the Belgian police last night?

Well, road.cc reader jimxc has a few suggestions.

“He now needs to face the consequences of his actions,” Jim wrote in the comments under this morning’s update.

“Not only as a punishment for potentially causing a serious accident but as a deterrent to others. MVDP gets too much abuse. Imagine if he’d come off! His race would have been over as well as his entire season.

“In addition to whatever punishment he’ll receive he should be forced to endure some suffering. I propose he rides the entire course on a single-speed and picks up every single gel, bidon etc wearing hi-vis and/or a big sign saying ‘I’m the guy who tried to ruin MVDP’s race’, so everyone can watch in disgust (throw rotten veg at him?). Name and shame these idiots.”

I hear the French Cycling Union are currently jotting down ideas.

And it turns out bottles weren’t the only thing being chucked in Van der Poel’s direction on Sunday:

Not only a (full) bottle, also beer thrown on @mathieuvdpoel during #ParisRoubaix 🙄 pic.twitter.com/BFg52lJ3N5

— Vincent Van Genechten (@VVGenechten180) April 13, 2025

Let’s just hope that’s beer. Idiots.

A bike shop owner whose business was this weekend targeted by a second burglary in eight months has said they cannot even afford to make an insurance claim as their excess was hiked 900 per cent in the wake of the first break-in last year.

Read more: > “Scumbags” ram raid bike shop, but owner can’t claim insurance as excess soared 900% after another burglary last year

Remember Andew Atnip, the Instagram guy who was featured on the live blog back in February cooking a three-course meal while riding his bike hands-free?

Well, now he’s back – and he’s been busy cycling around a deserted car park building a 178-piece Lego set, while dutifully refraining from putting even one hand on his bars:

@andrew_the_park_rat This one was hard, it was so windy 😭 #mtb #mtblife #fyp #CapCut ♬ original sound – Andrew Atnip

“This one was tough, had like 14mph wind.”

Who said it, no handlebars guy or Mathieu van der Poel?

Fair play Joey Pidcock.

The younger Pidcock brother, in his first season racing at the highest level for Q36.5, made his Paris-Roubaix debut yesterday, after earning a late call-up following an injury crisis in the team.

(Q36.5 Pro Cycling)

But despite getting dropped early, he made the most of his afternoon in Hell, soldiering on alone for most of the finale, eventually making it to Roubaix out of the time limit, 20 minutes down on the last-placed rider, and after the gates of the historic velodrome had shut.

But, the 23-year-old – whose attempt at the U23 Roubaix was derailed by mechanicals last year – insisted he was still trying to enjoy the unique opportunity to take on the elite version of the Hell of the North.

“People actually want to finish this race more than others. I don’t think it was that hard mentally to finish, I just knew I had to commit and do it,” an exhausted Pidcock said at the finish.

Last man in, huge applause

[image or embed]

— Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team (@q365procycling.bsky.social) April 13, 2025 at 5:26 PM

“A lot of people had already gone home. But I was trying to enjoy it – I’m not here for my legs, I’m here because guys in the team crashed and couldn’t come. Van Aert touched me when he crashed and after that I thought, ‘I’m not risking my life for this’. I didn’t have the legs, but it was okay. Arenberg was still pretty cool, there was a wall of noise.

“I had to get to Roubaix, because I might not get to ride it again, so of course I’ve got to finish. And so many people don’t get the opportunity to ride something like this, so I just wanted to make it to Roubaix.”

Take a bow, Matthew Brennan.

The 19-year-old British rider’s start to life in the WorldTour has been the stuff of dreams, winning the GP Denain and two stages of the Volta a Catalunya, where he wore the leader’s jersey for two days.

According to Darlington-born Brennan’s original schedule for 2025, he was supposed to be spending the last week or so with Visma-Lease a Bike’s development team, as part of the Dutch squad’s gentle introduction to elite level.

Instead, he was a late call-up for Paris-Roubaix, his first ever monument. And boy, did he take his chance.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Team Visma | Lease a Bike (@teamvisma_leaseabike)

The youngest rider in the race, Brennan was an almost constantly aggressive presence at the pointy end of the race, well positioned, assured, and snappy across the treacherous cobbles.

And as the otherworldly Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogačar disappeared up the road, the 19-year-old neo-pro initially looked to be one of the strongest in the world-class group of pursuers – to the extent that his Visma-Lease a Bike leader Wout van Aert, who appeared sluggish in comparison (despite mustering up his natural strength to ultimately finish fourth in Roubaix), even offered to work for him.

“To be in the position that I was in when you’re left with 20 guys and you look around and they’re the best guys in the peloton, then you know you’ve done something right,” Brennan told reporters at the finish.

“It was more of a plan just to see how far I could get and then try and support Wout, but I think he maybe struggled on the sectors earlier on whereas I felt a little bit better.

“He told me to go for my own opportunity which was really nice, and he started to work a bit for me in order to keep the pace going.”

Zac Williams/SWpix.com

However, on Mons-en-Pévèle with around 50km left, Brennan was finally distanced from his group, which went on to sprint for third in the velodrome.

“The parachutes came out a little bit and unfortunately I couldn’t continue at the pace they were going,” he admitted. “I said to Wout that I didn’t feel great and I couldn’t go on anymore and he should look after himself.

“But that’s part of the game, I’m still young, so to be in that position is really quite a confidence booster for the future.”

Brennan eventually finished 44th, just under nine minutes down on Van der Poel – but considering that he’s only ever raced over 200km twice in his life, and believes that the monument’s 260km distance is the biggest ride he’s ever put in, even in training, the 19-year-old’s ability to stay in contention for so long certainly bodes well for the future.

“I think this is the furthest ride I’ve actually ever done,” he said in Roubaix. “I think to be able to do that and race is something different. It’s completely different to race 200km compared to 260km – that last hour is always a killer, and especially on a course like this.

“It just never ends until the finish line. I think you just run out of bullets, explosivity, and get generally tired – if you don’t, then you’re a weirdo! Once you drop, it’s the mental aspect of 50km on your own to try and get back home.

“All the way it was special, you’ve got hundreds and thousands of people shouting your name. When you’re on your own you get loads of people cheering you on, it’s so nice to see.

“I knew it would start to bite at some point, but still, it was such a nice day.”

There may be a few more nice days to come Matty, don’t worry.

Dwindling trade with other nations, soaring bike prices, and some green shoots in the form of a boost in local manufacturing? It’s already happening in Russia, albeit for very different reasons, of course…

> Can we already predict what’s about to hit the US bike industry amid Trump’s tariff trade war? Why looking to Russia might provide some answers

As Pauline Ferrand-Prévot cemented her spot back at the top of the road racing hierarchy with a sensational solo victory at Paris-Roubaix on Sunday, 12 minutes behind the dazzling French star, Sigrid Ytterhus Haugset was putting in her own epic – if somewhat foolish – ride on the cobbles.

This afternoon, the 26-year-old Norwegian’s Coop-Repsol team confirmed that Haugset’s crash with 58km remaining at the Hell of the North had left her with a broken hip.

Despite suffering what turned out to be an extremely serious injury, Haugset continued on to the finish in Roubaix, eventually crossing the line in the velodrome in 71st, exactly 12 minutes behind Ferrand-Prévot.

Madness.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Team Coop – Repsol (@teamcooprepsol)

“As a result of the injury, she will miss both the Ardennes Classics and the Vuelta,” Coop-Repsol said in a statement today, bringing an abrupt end to a promising spring for the 26-year-old, who had secured a number of strong results this season so far, including second in a stage at the Vuelta a Extremadura and 11th at Dwars door Vlaanderen.

“Doctors at the hospital in Alst will decide in the coming days whether surgery is necessary,” the team said.

If you thought all the drama, mechanical mishaps, and heroic exploits were confined to the elite races at Paris-Roubaix at the weekend, think again.

Because let’s just say the final half-an-hour or so of Sunday morning’s junior edition of Paris-Roubaix was a bit of an ordeal for Mats Vanden Eynde.

The 18-year-old Belgian, who impressed during the cyclocross season, taking three wins and finishing fifth in the junior world championships, was busy on the front throughout the 110km race, entering the iconic five-star Mons-en-Pévèle sector ahead of the peloton, alongside Dutchman Kaj Roeling.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Supportersclub C&M Keppens (@c_m.keppens_supportersclub)

And, as Grenke-Auto Eder’s exciting Dutch prospect Michiel Mouris soloed to a superb solo victory in the Roubaix velodrome after attacking with 2km to go, Vanden Eynde was part of the five-rider group sprinting for second, 12 seconds behind, ultimately taking sixth.

Pretty good, then. But the ACROG-Tormans teenager’s ride was even more impressive when you consider he raced the final 20km with a very broken bike.

In a video filmed in the velodrome and posted to his Instagram after the race, Vanden Eynde can be seen checking out his mud-splattered Ridley – and its precariously attached, extremely wobbly front fork.

Uma trincadinha ou outra sempre dá#ParisRoubaix pic.twitter.com/iP5s4rFRM8

— O País Do Ciclismo (@opaisdociclismo) April 13, 2025

Jeepers. Imagine racing on that over the Carrefour de l’Arbre… It’s not even worth thinking about.

“When you have to ride the last 20km on a broken bike,” the 18-year-old succinctly captioned the video, which has since been removed from his Instagram stories (presumably after someone from Ridley got on the phone to the team. These schoolkids and their lack of social media training, eh?).

In another (non-deleted) story, Vanden Eynde wrote: “Today was literally hell, but I enjoyed it as much as I could.”

> Mathieu van der Poel hit by bottle thrown from crowd at Paris-Roubaix, demands legal action over attack

Of course, he wasn’t the only rider who suffered a mechanical mishap during the closing stages of the junior Paris-Roubaix.

Enzo Hincapie, the son of former Roubaix contender and US Postal superdomestique Big George Hincapie, was forced to run his first lap of the historic velodrome, after a late mechanical left his derailleur dangling.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by The Young Peloton (@theyoungpeloton)

Fortunately, his famous podcasting dad was on hand to throw him a teammate’s bike, enabling 17-year-old Enzo to ride across the line, almost nine minutes down in 95th.

Meanwhile, Hincapie’s Ashlin Barry – who’s set for Visma-Lease a Bike’s development team next year – continued his very impressive start to life in the junior ranks by winning the sprint for second behind Mouris.

And yes, young Ashlin is the son of former US Postal and Team Sky rider Michael Barry and T-Mobile and Saturn pro Dede Demet-Barry.

God, I feel old now…

We’ll move away from Paris-Roubaix for a minute (I know, it pains me too), because it’s the start of a new week, and that means just one thing – a new social media row involving Jeremy Vine!

This time, the road.cc Podcast guest and broadcaster was responding to calls to scrap Wales’ default 20mph speed limits, after the Conservatives claimed that “enough was enough”.

Replying to the Welsh Conservatives’ post, Malcolm Hay, a seemingly easily distracted driver, wrote: “It’s bloody dangerous, because cars were never designed to travel at such a slow speed and you have to keep checking the speedometer, which takes your eyes off the road!

“In some areas you have multiple speed limit changes 50/40/30/20/30/40/50 on one rural road with a few cottages.”

Cue Jezza.

“If it’s ‘bloody dangerous’, why have fewer children been killed and injured on the roads in Wales since the 20mph limits came in?” asked Vine.

> 20mph speed limit “single most significant change we’ve ever seen,” says Cycling UK as data reveals 100 fewer people killed or seriously injured on Welsh roads since change – but Conservatives slam “confusion and frustration for drivers”

And if you thought Malcolm’s comment was, ahem, interesting, you ain’t seen nothing yet.

“The main purpose of roads isn’t road safety, it’s transport,” said blue-tick self-proclaimed ‘critical thinker’ Sean Magee.

“Since the lower speed limit was imposed, the roads have become dramatically less effective.”

Deary me. Is that the most car-brained comment we’ve ever seen on the live blog? (And trust me, there’s been some serious competition.)

“But on the plus side, lots of people remain effective, on account of not being dead or mutilated! Yay!” replied Laura. “A means of transport with a death toll as high as private motoring needs curtailing.”

Sounds like Sean needs to work on his critical thinking.

> Council U-turn over “ridiculous” bike ban at recycling centre, after litter-picking cyclist told he needs a car to drop off rubbish

Well, that’s it over for another year. And to mark this year’s riveting edition of the Queen of the Classics, I’ve rounded up my favourite Paris-Roubaix images from the weekend, just for you…

Two cycling icons exiting another icon

And finally, probably my favourite cycling photo of the season, or even decade, so far:

[All photos, credit: Zac Williams/SWpix.com]

The UCI and Mathieu van der Poel’s Alpecin-Deceuninck team have both released statements this afternoon condemning the spectator who threw a full water bottle at the Paris-Roubaix winner during yesterday’s race, hitting him in the face.

The governing body has also said it will use all the legal channels at its disposal to make sure the spectator is “duly and severely punished”.

In its statement, the UCI – along with the teams, organisers, and riders unions – said they “unanimously condemn, in the strongest terms, the unacceptable behaviour of a spectator during the 122nd edition of Paris-Roubaix from the side of the road on 13 April”.

> Paris-Roubaix spectator who threw bottle at Mathieu van der Poel hands himself in to the police

“Such behaviour cannot be tolerated in the context of a cycling event,” the governing body continued.

“The UCI and representatives of cycling’s families express their support for the rider and will explore, in conjunction with the competent authorities, all the legal channels at their disposal so that such behaviour is duly and severely punished, as has already been the case in the past. They will take the same action in the future against any act that threatens the physical integrity of riders.

“Cycling is one of the few sports that offers such proximity between athletes and the public during events. This is one of its assets, both for the riders themselves and for the spectators.

“However, this particularity implies an increased responsibility for spectators at an event, whose behaviour can not only influence the course of the event, but also, and even more seriously, endanger the physical integrity of the riders.

“This is why the UCI and the cycling families appeal to the responsibility of each and every spectator and invite them to show the utmost vigilance when attending an event, in order to guarantee the safety of all those involved and the smooth running of the races.”

Zac Williams/SWpix.com

Meanwhile, Alpecin-Deceuninck published its own statement describing the bottle throw as a “dangerous and unacceptable incident” and announcing they will file an official complaint.

“We are relieved that Mathieu remained unharmed and confirm that, as a team, we will be filing an official complaint against the perpetrator to formally denounce this behaviour,” the team said.

“However, this issue goes beyond that single act. Too often, we observe that such misconduct is either caused by or accompanied by excessive alcohol consumption. What occurred on Sunday represents an escalation of earlier incidents, with Mathieu van der Poel not being the sole target.

“We have also noted that during other races, both in CX and on the road, the misbehaviour of a few individuals can have far-reaching consequences. It jeopardises the safety of our riders, overshadows the enjoyment and reputation of genuine cycling enthusiasts, and diverts attention from the sporting achievements.

Zac Williams/SWpix.com

“We will continue to monitor the legal process internally so that this misconduct does not receive more attention than it warrants.

“At the same time, we are calling for dialogue and cooperation among all involved parties – riders, teams, federations, organisers, and government authorities – to implement measures that prevent individuals with bad intentions from infiltrating cycling events and to take proactive steps at known critical points.”

We really shouldn’t have doubted him.

For a few tantalising kilometres on Sunday afternoon, it seemed like we were about to be treated to an epic, era-defining duel across the rough, rugged farm tracks of northern France.

The stage was set. World champion Tadej Pogačar, the novice in Hell, versus the pavé master, Mathieu van der Poel, alone at the front of Paris-Roubaix, the third, decisive instalment in their spring-long monuments war.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Il Ciclista Fotografo 🚴📸 (@ilciclistafotografo)

And then chaos ensued. A relatively innocuous right-hander on the relatively modest Templeuve sector with 35km to go, a little too much speed, and the inexperience that had dominated the pre-race narrative finally showed.

The world champion was down, then staggering, then flailing at his bike, a scene of carnage and mayhem surrounding him.

Up ahead, all was serene for the radio-less Van der Poel – puncture and perfectly executed bike change on the Carrefour de l’Arbre notwithstanding – as the Dutch superstar floated to his third straight win in Hell.

Zac Williams/SWpix.com

Pogačar, meanwhile, embodied that version of himself we’ve only seen on a handful of occasions: depleted, exhausted, defeated.

But still – on his very first crack at Paris-Roubaix, a race Tour de France contenders have avoided entirely for over three decades, and failed to win for half a century – he was there, in second place, his fifth monument podium a row (becoming only the second rider ever to achieve that feat, after Sean Kelly 41 years ago).

And while he didn’t win it this year, Pogačar certainly proved he can win Paris-Roubaix. And he’ll now know not to stack it on a corner by entering it too fast.

“You think it’s a flat race but in terms of power this is one of the hardest races I did in my life. The stress on the body from the cobbles – it is one of the roughest, toughest races I did. I gained some experience so next time I come it won’t be as extremely hard as today,” the world champion said.

“On a corner like that, shit happen. Overall, it was a great race from our team. We can come back next year with a strong team again and be motivated to fight for a victory in the next years.”

Zac Williams/SWpix.com

For this year’s winner, Van der Poel, Pogačar’s groundbreaking ride at the Hell of the North is further proof that he will eventually win all five monuments, and cement his name alongside Eddy Merckx as the greatest male rider of all time.

“If you see what he’s doing, he’s the only rider who can pull this off,” Van der Poel said of his rival’s monument chances in his post-race press conference.

“I said after Milan-Sanremo that he was the only rider who could actually make the difference on the Cipressa. He’s 26 – there’s so much more to come.

“When his career is finished it will be like Merckx and his career.”

As Tadej Pogačar battled on alone during the last 35km of Paris-Roubaix, his gap to Mathieu van der Poel – which at one point seemed destined to steadily tick downwards – spiralling beyond control, our eyes were drawn to one thing: the world champion’s wrist.

In an apt metaphor for the cruel brutality of the Hell of the North and the pain it can inflict upon even cycling’s brightest stars, the white UAE Team Emirates glove on Pogačar’s left hand was stained red with his blood.

The culprit? The race’s harsh, jagged cobblestones, naturally… and the Slovenian’s £250,000 Richard Mille watch.

Yes, that’s right – UAE Team Emirates are backed by the Swiss luxury watchmaker, who supply the squad with their 32g, grade-5 titanium RM 67-02 model, which you can buy for anything between £240,000 and £300,000. Bargain.

The insanely expensive watch was also worn by Van der Poel on the way to victory in the Roubaix velodrome, and while the Dutchman’s wrist emerged unscathed, the watch’s position and the bone-jarring nature of the pavé left Pogačar’s wrist looking a bit worse for wear by the time he reached the velodrome.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by TNT Sports Cycling (@tntsportscycling)

Ouch. And let’s just say a few fans are slightly baffled by the three-time Tour de France winner’s high brow form of masochism.

“Why would you ride with a watch like this?” asked Pecacore on Instagram, while Alex wrote: “I find it strange that after all the attempts to save weight and increase aerodynamics, Pogi wears a huge chunk of titanium, gold, and sapphires on his wrist? I get the marketing aspect, but it’s not like he needs the cash?”

“Stick the watch on the other wrist, problem fixed. That bevel is massive,” added Paul. Come on Tadej, marginal gains and all that!

“The UCI must avoid these situations. The use of a watch while riding can turn dangerous and enhance the risks of injuries,” noted João. Don’t give the UCI any ideas!

“Bit silly that they made him wear it really… unless he just loves it,” wrote Alister, while Bod described the world champion’s bloodied wrist as a “luxury issue”.

“Next time get a cheap Casio!” added Stefan.

The watch was still there in the famous Roubaix showers, too (Zac Williams/SWpix.com)

However, others were bemused by those questioning Pogačar’s watch choice.

“So many ignorant comments,” said Simon. “These Richard Mille watches are very light (32g) and very tough.

“That’s why they are using athletes to market them. If I was to wear a watch while cycling, this would be a reasonable choice (albeit with an unreasonable price). MVDP is sponsored by them too, and his wrist was fine.

“Perhaps Pog didn’t strap it on tight enough, or maybe watches just sit lower on his wrist. I found a picture of MVDP with his watch, and his sits further up his wrist away from his hand.”

> Buy a (£655,000) cycling watch and get a free Colnago

Meanwhile, some were just impressed with Richard Mille’s unique form of marketing.

“One of the best commercials ever, gloves and watch in a glass display case,” said Aldo. “The wrist will regenerate itself.”

Not that the weirdest watch ad in history worked on everyone, of course.

“I refuse to buy one of these watches because of this,” wrote Blair, whole Fez said: “That’s why I’m never gonna buy a Richard Mille watch. Thank you Tadej!”

And there was me about to press ‘buy’, too…