There was no time to prepare, and no chance to learn the terrain. \u201cI didn\u2019t know any of the cobbled sectors. I didn\u2019t even do a recon.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chaos from the start<\/p>\n
Any hope of easing into the race quickly disappeared. \u201cI was told to try and get into the breakaway. I tried once or twice, but it was going so fast that getting out of the peloton was almost impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n
The pace, relentless from the outset, was matched by the disorder around him. \u201cIn the first cobbled sectors, there were a lot of incidents. I was elastic.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then came the moment that ended his race as a competitive effort. \u201cWhen Pogacar punctured, it was complete chaos. His team car overtook us and stopped in the middle of the sector. I spent 30 to 40 seconds with a foot on the ground. For me, that was game over.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Benjamin](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/benjaminthomas-663be013532b3.jpg@webp.webp\")
<\/p>\n
Thomas won a stage of the Giro d’Italia in 2024<\/p>\n
\u201cA minefield\u201d in Arenberg<\/p>\n
If that was the turning point, the Arenberg Forest was the reality check. \u201cWhen I got there and saw the state of it, I wondered how bikes even come out intact. I felt like my bike was going to break in two.\u201d<\/p>\n
Every metre brought new impact. \u201cEvery ten metres there are craters. Not a single cobble is straight. It\u2019s a minefield.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even for a rider of his level, the experience was overwhelming. \u201cIn Arenberg, I was a bit scared, yes. On the other sectors, just a few small slides\u2026 but I don\u2019t even dare imagine what it\u2019s like in the rain.\u201d<\/p>\n
Riding to the limit<\/p>\n
As the race wore on, it became less about racing and more about getting through. \u201cTowards the end, I was really suffering. I stubbornly stayed on the cobbles, but others were using the sides of the road. You really need to know how to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Without that experience, every decision carried risk. \u201cIf I tried it, I\u2019d hit a hole and go flying.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dropped at Mons-en-P\u00e9v\u00e8le, Thomas faced the final 40 kilometres largely alone. \u201cI lost the wheels and rode the last 40 kilometres on my own\u2026 well, almost, because I caught Noah Vandenbranden near the end and we finished together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Racing the clock, not the peloton<\/p>\n
By then, the objective had changed completely. \u201cWhen I reached Carrefour de l\u2019Arbre, the crowd was shouting \u2018Van Aert has won!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Up ahead, Wout van Aert was already celebrating. For Thomas, the fight was now against the time limit. \u201cI did the maths. I knew I had 16 kilometres and 25 minutes to finish.\u201d<\/p>\n
He made it, just. \u201cWe came in just ahead of the broom wagon,\u201d he said, finishing 139th and last on the day, more than 24 minutes down on the winner.<\/p>\n
A different understanding of Roubaix<\/p>\n
Crossing the line brought something close to relief. \u201cI went up to the balustrade and enjoyed the crowd. It was important to finish. Now I can say I\u2019ve finished Roubaix at least once in my career.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the experience has changed how he views the race entirely. \u201cI\u2019m happy to have done it, even if I\u2019m not sure I\u2019ll come back next year,\u201d he admitted. \u201cI\u2019ll watch it differently on TV now. I\u2019ll know what the riders go through.\u201d<\/p>\n
What struck him most was the intensity. \u201cNormally, there\u2019s always a moment where things calm down. Here, it was full gas the whole time. I blew up nearly 100 kilometres from the finish.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even without a puncture, he felt he had escaped lightly. \u201cI was lucky in a way. I didn\u2019t even puncture. But behind, there are struggles you don\u2019t see on TV.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA truly terrible race\u201d<\/p>\n
For all his achievements, this was something else entirely. Thomas arrived in Roubaix as a proven winner at the highest level of the sport. He left with a deeper understanding of why the race stands apart from all others. \u201cI\u2019ve got some pain in my fingers, my back\u2026 a few aches, but I\u2019m doing okay,\u201d he said the following day. \u201cI\u2019m proud to have done it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paris-Roubaix did not just test him. It reshaped how he sees the sport, turning one of cycling\u2019s most prestigious races into something far more raw and unforgiving than results alone can ever show.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As mentioned, Thomas is no stranger to success. An Olympic champion on the track and a stage…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":531025,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[183868,109039,4985,110509,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-531024","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-benjamin-thomas","tag-cofidis","tag-cycling","tag-paris-roubaix","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/531024","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=531024"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/531024\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/531025"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=531024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=531024"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=531024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}