Fighting to the Forest of Arenberg | "Roubaix is a sadistic obstacle course"

Rory Townsend has fought like a warrior in both Tour of Flanders and Paris Roubaix - here he takes is inside his ride at 'Hell of the North' (Photo: Pauline Ballet)

Another day, another breakaway ride by Rory Townsend in one of cycling's biggest Monuments. On Sunday, a week after his Tour of Flanders heroics, the former Irish champion was up the road for most of Paris-Roubaix.

He said he fought for the longest time to get into the escape group, with the breakaway men having to put in a huge shift to pull properly clear, such was the fight from the bunch to join them.

But fight they did, and ride clear they did. And by the time Townsend (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) saw any of the other riders again it was in the Forest of Arenberg. Eventual 1st, 2nd and 3rd - Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Mads Pedersen (Lidl Trek) - gatecrashed the party, with Townsend staying with them until disaster struck.

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"It was a seriously hard fight for the break," he said. "It wasn't the standard breakaway where everyone sits up (in the bunch). We were still fighting for a good 20 or 30 minutes, and there were some absolute trucks in that move as well. It was a hard fight."

With the Irish rider were: Kim Heiduk (Ineos Grenadiers), Oier Lazkano (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe), Markus Hoelgaard (Uno X Mobility), Jonas Rutsch (Intermarché-Wanty), Max Walker (EF Education-EasyPost), Jasper De Buyst (Lotto) and Abram Stockman (Unibet-Tietema Rockets).

With 30 pavé sectors to go, over the 259km race, the breakaway men managed to get over three minutes, with Townsend saying he was trying to convince the others to press for as far as they could.

"I kept saying to the guys 'look, we just need to make it to Arenberg and we're in with a chance', that kind of thing. I was trying to get everybody focused on this idea. In the end, I think three or four of us stayed ahead to be in the front at Arenberg."

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The eventual podium finishers catch Townsend and the other breakaway men in Arenberg

Though Townsend came out of Arenberg with the top guns, holding them at bay, he punctured after about 6km and his time at the front was over. He went on to finish, in 76th at 12:16, having been on the attack for 142km.

"It's funny coming back here the second time around," he said, having finished 108th on debut last year, third from last of the riders who made it inside the time cut.

"Flanders was a real eye-opener, that was a very special event. I think Roubaix, has that uniqueness. I can't help but think it's some sadistic obstacle course and a bike race," he said, adding some of the sectors were so rough they were hard to believe.

But getting to the velodrome made it all worthwhile.

"For me, this is the nicest finish of any race. I think it's super, super special. I'm talking as somebody who hasn't finished on the Champs-Élysées or anything like that. But this is really amazing, there's such a unique atmosphere."

He added it was also great to be at the front at a key part of the race.

"I look up and I see Mathieu kicking off again," he said of the attacks. "And I was like 'come on, let's give it a break'. I was excited to see how far I'd make it. It's just frustrating that, in the end, the opportunity was taken a little bit out of my hands

"I'm not saying it would have changed anything in the end. I won't bore you with excuses, but I'm struggling with injuries and a few little niggles. But just to have been part of the race for a little bit longer, it would have been really nice. But there's always next year."

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