Benjamin Thomas, the day after

“I wasn’t originally in the line-up. On Friday I’m still at the Pays de la Loire-Tour de Marne. But we’ve had a lot of injuries, so the team asked me to come along. It’s really just to fill in. But I didn’t know any of the cobbled sections. I didn’t even do a recce. I just had the advice from the lads who told me: ‘Stay in the middle of the cobbles and leave a two-metre safety margin in front of you’.”

“My instructions were to join the breakaway. I tried once or twice. But the pace was so fast that breaking away from the peloton was virtually impossible. There were lots of incidents on the first stretch of cobbled sections. I was bouncing in and out of the group. Then there’s a turning point when Pogacar gets a puncture (120 km from the finish, Ed.). It’s absolute chaos because his car overtakes us and stops right in the middle of the cobbled section to help him out. Well, that’s part of the game. But I spend nearly 30/40 seconds off my bike. It’s ‘game over’ for me.”

“The Arenberg Gap,when I see the state of the place, I wonder how on earth the bikes manage to come out in one piece. I feel like my bike is going to snap in two. There are potholes every ten metres. Not a single cobblestone is straight. It’s a minefield. In Arenberg, I am a bit scared, yes. On the other sections, I don’t really get scared, just a few little skids. But I can’t bear to imagine what it’s like in the rain.”

“Towards the end, I’m really struggling. I stubbornly stick to the cobbles. The others ride along the verges and come back up when there’s a pothole. But you really need to know the route. If I did that, I’d hit the pothole and end up doing a somersault. At Mons-en-Pévèle, I lose the group’s wheels and finish the last 40 kilometres on my own. Well, almost, because 10 kilometres from the velodrome I catch up with Noah Vandenbranden and we finish together.”

When I’m at the Carrefour de l’Arbre, I see everyone cheering. They’re shouting: ‘Van Aert’s won, Van Aert’s won!’ I do the maths: I know I’ve got 16 kilometres and 25 minutes left to finish within the time limit. We finish just ahead of the broom wagon. They’d already made a good start on the protocol.”

‘I'm having a bit of fun, climbing onto the railing, soaking up the atmosphere a bit. It was important to finish. I can say I've finished Roubaix at least once in my career. But I'm not sure I'll be back next year.’

“My fingers and back are a bit sore. A few aches and pains. I’m fine, I’m coping well. I’m proud to have done it. I’ll watch the race differently on TV now. I’ll know what the riders go through. I was surprised by the intensity. Normally there’s always a moment when things settle down. But this time, we were riding at an incredible speed. I hit the wall nearly 100 kilometres from the finish. For those at the front of the race, it’s a whole other story. I was lucky. I just about made it through. I didn’t even get a puncture. But at the back, there are struggles you don’t see on TV. It really is a gruelling race.”