Jasper Stuyven: “I attacked on pure instinct”
April 12 th 2026 - 17:59
Third, Jasper Stuyven (Soudal Quick-Step) secured his first Paris-Roubaix Hauts-de-France podium finish after a decisive attack from the chasing group on the approach to the Vélodrome André Pétrieux:
“It’s a very nice podium after many years of consistency, having just missed the podium before. With the current generation of phenomenal riders, the task doesn’t get easier. I changed teams [to join Soudal Quick-Step in 2026], and the trust and support from the team have been pretty nice. This result is a big reward for myself and for my team.”
“I’m not really sore from the bruises from my crash in the Tour of Flanders. The biggest pain is in my legs. I can’t complain about the cobbles. I managed to stay out of trouble today. My mindset? I kind of hesitated before attacking [with three kilometers to go - ed]. That’s the place where many winning attacks have taken place in the past, and that’s why I attacked there on pure instinct, trying to make the most of it. I felt it was not going to be easy to stick, but I kept trying because I knew it was going to be even harder to finish on the podium if I sprinted against Mathieu [van der Poel], Mads [Pedersen], and the others.”
“Honestly, I thought we were going to catch the two leaders. Christian Laporte did an excellent job. He was annoying, in a correct way, disrupting our chasing efforts [to facilitate Wout van Aert’s breakaway - ed]. We were only 25" short from catching them, but we never managed to do it.”
“My experience helped me a lot to stay out of trouble and bad luck, as happened to me in other years. Positioning and knowing the racing lines also help, and I did it because I’ve done this race so many times. And, you know, even with all the experience, I still had to be reminded of many things from the team car.”
“I’m very happy for Wout. Everyone who has been his teammate, either on a trade team or on in the Belgian national team, knows what an incredible athlete he is. It’s great to see him win a Monument like Roubaix in this fashion.”