Ganna 13th in rapid Roubaix

Filippo Ganna put in a gutsy performance to lead the team home in 13th place at Paris-Roubaix.

The Italian battled hard to come back from early issues on the cobbles, before finishing as part of a chasing group at The Hell of the North.

Josh Tarling was another rider who rebounded from a puncture to fight his way into the lead group following the Arenberg. The Welshman once again showed great promise on the cobbles but would slip back late on. 

Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin – Decuninck) claimed a third victory in a row in the Roubaix Velodrome, leading home Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates – XRG) following another exciting battle between the duo.

Van der Poel was able to solo to the finish for the final 38 kilometres after Pogacar crashed briefly on the entry to a corner.

Earlier, Kim Heiduk did a great job to ride his way into the race’s initial eight-man breakaway, giving the team an extra tactical card to play up the road.

Heading into the opening cobbled sector the team were brilliantly placed, but bad luck struck early, with Ganna forced to stop and change his bike following an issue.

Connor Swift was also taken out of contention early, with Ganna joined by Ben Turner and Ben Swift in a chasing group. Tarling also punctured following sector 29, and eventually slotted back into the same group to help his teammates overcome a gap of one minute.

The catch was made with 128km to go, bringing the groups back together after Sam Watson had held his own well up front.

The Arenberg proved to be a decisive factor, as is often the case. Prior to the five-star sector Heiduk dropped out of the break to help position Tarling. Pogacar pushed on in the lead-up, and Tarling was able to weather a storm of accelerations from the likes of Van der Poel and Pogacar again following the Arenberg. The Welshman would ultimately slip out of the chasing group ahead of the finale phase of the race.