Bib Jungels won the U23 Paris-Roubaix. The 19 year old Luxembourgish finished solo in the Roubaix velodrome, almost 3 minutes ahead of Belgian Constantijn Lampaert and Australian Thomas Scully. “Rushing to the finish was pain, pain and more pain but I feel just amazing now.”
He was the strongest in the 46th edition of “Paris-Roubaix Espoirs), 180,7 km from Peronne to Roubaix. Jungels soloed to victory after an attack from an elite group on the pave at Cysoing, 26k from the finish.
“I’m super happy with this victory. It’s just insane. Paris-Roubaix is the biggest, most appealing race in cycling and for us U23 riders it’s equally a very big deal. I wasn’t too sure about how I would go on the cobbles because I’m lighter this year than before because of my focus on climbing, but it went very well. My time trial skills have certainly helped me when I was alone at the front.”
30k into the race a break of 14 riders formed. Baffi said “We didn’t have a rider in that break but that was okay because Oliver Hofstetter joined a chase group that formed later in the race. He would be an excellent help when Bob’s time to rumble was there.”
When the race entered the decisive cobblestone section, Bob Jungels bridged across to Hofstetter’s group with a handful of other riders. Soon after, Hofstetter attacked with Jungels on his wheel and six other riders.
On the Cysoing pave, Jungels, riding a new Trek Domane especially developed for the cobbles of Roubaix, attacked and went solo to the finish. “I attacked on the same spot where I was dropped when I was riding this race as a junior-just for the fun of it. I had goosebumps on my arms when riding to Roubaix. Head down, I didn’t even see the signs that would tell me how much there was left. The motorbike gave me some split times so I knew I was going well even though the pain was incredible.
