PARIS-ROUBAIX: The Cobbled History Of Legendary Winners
Paris–Roubaix Winners 1896–2025:
Full Cobbled Classics Timeline & Legends of the Hell of the North
By Alastair Hamilton On Apr 6, 2026
A Short Roubaix History Lesson: Sean Kelly, the winner in 1984 and 1986 said “Paris-Roubaix is a terrible race to ride, but the most beautiful one to win.” It is the race that attracts the attention of anyone with an interest in cycling, and some who don’t. Like the behemoth that is Tour de France, it has its obvious points that the general public can follow, where as the Giro d’Italia and De Ronde van Vlaanderen are maybe more for the hardened fans… the ‘Tifosi’.
*** You can see the ‘PEZ 2025 Paris-Roubaix Preview’ HERE. ***
Paris-Roubaix is unique
Much has been written about Paris-Roubaix. But the bottom line is that if you can survive these iconic cobbles and finish first on the sacred track, you are famous forever. To quote French journalist Guy Lagorce: “Paris-Roubaix starts as a party, but ends as a bad dream.”For some riders, Paris-Roubaix is suffering, suffering pain, falling, getting up, falling and getting up again. The race is a self-inflicted cruelty that riders yearn to return to every year. Henri Pélissier said in 1919. “It is not a cycling race, but a pilgrimage.” Four-time Roubaix winner, Tom Boonen summed it up for him: “When I take a shower in Roubaix, I actually start preparing for next year.”
Four-time winner – Tom Boonen
The French Classic was started in 1896 by Theo Vienne and Maurice Perez, two textile manufacturers from Roubaix. Vienne and Perez saw the success of Bordeaux-Paris and wanted to organise something similar. The race had to end on the cycling track they had built the year before, in Roubaix. They took their plan to the French newspaper Le Vélo, as they thought they needed the sports newspaper to organise the event. Editor of Le Vélo, Victor Breyer, decided to ride the proposed route. The weather conditions that day were so bad that Breyer thought that it would be too dangerous, but Breyer came round to the idea and Paris-Roubaix became a reality. The first edition in 1896 was won by the German rider, Josef Fischer.
The first winner of Paris-Roubaix – Josef Fischer
Paris-Roubaix quickly became a popular race, with many heroic stories over the years. It maybe a French race, but it was made for the hard men of Belgium. Since Cyrille Van Hauwaert’s victory in 1908, there has been fifty-six more Belgian victories. Three-time winners Rik Van Looy, Eddy Merckx and Johan Museeuw, but also Roger De Vlaeminck and Tom Boonen who have both won Paris-Roubaix four times, sharing the record for the most victories.
The Gypsy – Roger De Vlaeminck – The other four-time Roubaix winner
Gaston Rebry, Rik Van Looy, Eddy Merckx, Johan Museeuw and Fabian Cancellara are all on three victories. In recent years, other great champions such as John Degenkolb, Greg Van Avermaet, Peter Sagan and Philippe Gilbert have also triumphed on the Roubaix velodrome, but there have been some ‘surprise’ winners, but never a nobody: Magnus Bäckstedt, Stuart O’Grady, Johan Vansummeren, Mathew Hayman and who can forget Frédéric Guesdon. The last ten years read like a who’s who of Classic cyclists: Van Baarle, Colbrelli, Gilbert, Sagan, Van Avermaet, Hayman, Degenkolb, Terpstra and Cancellara.
Three wins for Fabian Cancellara
Dylan van Baarle achieved the biggest victory of his career in 2022, soloing to Roubaix. The dangerous late break of the day included Matej Mohorič, Tom Devriendt and Laurent Pichon, they had a maximum lead of 3 minutes. Behind them a very strong Wout van Aert was in a chase group, with Mathieu van der Poel on his wheel. There was a counter-attack by Dylan van Baarle, he jumped away from the favourites group and joined Mohorič, Yves Lampaert and Devriendt on the Cysoing-Bourghelles cobbles. They had a lead of 45 seconds on the Van Aert group and the INEOS Grenadiers rider saw his chance. He rode the others off his wheel on the cobbles of Champhin-en-Pévèle and was solo on Carrefour de l’Arbre, the last of the hardest cobbled sections of Paris-Roubaix. He finished on his own in the Roubaix velodrome. Van Aert out-sprinted Stefan Küng for second place at nearly 2 minutes behind the Dutchman.
2022 Paris-Roubaix
Mathieu van der Poel’s reign over Paris–Roubaix has become the defining storyline of the modern cobbled era—three years, three wins, each stamped with authority.
In 2023, the Mathieu van der Poel delivered a classic Roubaix knockout blow, riding clear of Wout van Aert on the brutal Carrefour de l’Arbre. A puncture ended Van Aert’s resistance, and Van der Poel powered solo into the Roubaix velodrome, while teammate Jasper Philipsen sealed a dominant Alpecin-Deceuninck 1–2.
A year later in 2024, it was less drama, more demolition. Fresh off his Tour of Flanders win, Van der Poel’s team detonated the race early before the World Champion launched a long-range solo—60 kilometres of pure pavé punishment. By the time he hit the velodrome, the race was over by minutes, Philipsen again best of the rest, with Mads Pedersen taking third.
Paris-Roubaix 2024
Highlights: Mathieu van der Poel’s Solo Symphony
Then came 2025—confirmation, not just dominance. Van der Poel completed a rare Roubaix hat-trick, once again proving untouchable on the cobbles. Whether through race-winning timing, raw power, or technical mastery, he has redefined how Paris–Roubaix can be won: not survived, but controlled.
Three editions, three solos, one clear truth—this is Van der Poel’s Roubaix era.
Paris–Roubaix Winners (1896–2025)
♂️ Early Years (1896–1939)
1896 Josef Fischer
1897 Maurice Garin
1898 Maurice Garin
1899 Albert Champion
1900 Émile Bouhours
1901 Lucien Lesna
1902 Lucien Lesna
1903 Hippolyte Aucouturier
1904 Hippolyte Aucouturier
1905 Louis Trousselier
1906 Henri Cornet
1907 Georges Passerieu
1908 Cyrille Van Hauwaert
1909 Octave Lapize
1910 Octave Lapize
1911 Octave Lapize
1912 Charles Crupelandt
1913 François Faber
1914 Charles Crupelandt
1915–1918 No race (WWI)
1919 Henri Pélissier
1920 Paul Deman
1921 Henri Pélissier
1922 Albert Dejonghe
1923 Albert Dejonghe
1924 Jules Van Hevel
1925 Félix Sellier
1926 Georges Ronsse
1927 Georges Ronsse
1928 André Leducq
1929 Aimé Dossche
1930 Julien Vervaecke
1931 Gaston Rebry
1932 Gaston Rebry
1933 Georges Speicher
1934 Gaston Rebry
1935 Gaston Rebry
1936 Georges Speicher
1937 Jules Rossi
1938 Lucien Storme
1939 Émile Masson Jr.
♂️ War & Post-War Era (1940–1979)
1940–1942 No race (WWII)
1943 Marcel Kint
1944 No race
1945 Serge Caput
1946 Georges Claes
1947 Georges Claes
1948 Rik Van Steenbergen
1949 André Mahé / Serse Coppi (shared result)
1950 Fausto Coppi
1951 Antonio Bevilacqua
1952 Rik Van Steenbergen
1953 Germain Derycke
1954 Raymond Impanis
1955 Jean Forestier
1956 Louison Bobet
1957 Fred De Bruyne
1958 Léon Van Daele
1959 Noël Foré
1960 Pino Cerami
1961 Rik Van Looy
1962 Rik Van Looy
1963 Emile Daems
1964 Peter Post
1965 Rik Van Looy
1966 Felice Gimondi
1967 Jan Janssen
1968 Eddy Merckx
1969 Walter Godefroot
1970 Eddy Merckx
1971 Roger Rosiers
1972 Roger De Vlaeminck
1973 Eddy Merckx
1974 Roger De Vlaeminck
1975 Roger De Vlaeminck
1976 Marc Demeyer
1977 Roger De Vlaeminck
1978 Francesco Moser
1979 Francesco Moser
♂️ Modern Classics Era (1980–2025)
1980 Francesco Moser
1981 Bernard Hinault
1982 Jan Raas
1983 Hennie Kuiper
1984 Sean Kelly
1985 Marc Madiot
1986 Sean Kelly
1987 Eric Vanderaerden
1988 Dirk Demol
1989 Jean-Marie Wampers
1990 Eddy Planckaert
1991 Marc Madiot
1992 Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle
1993 Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle
1994 Andrei Tchmil
1995 Franco Ballerini
1996 Johan Museeuw
1997 Frédéric Guesdon
1998 Franco Ballerini
1999 Andrea Tafi
2000 Johan Museeuw
2001 Servais Knaven
2002 Johan Museeuw
2003 Peter Van Petegem
2004 Magnus Bäckstedt
2005 Tom Boonen
2006 Fabian Cancellara
2007 Stuart O’Grady
2008 Tom Boonen
2009 Tom Boonen
2010 Fabian Cancellara
2011 Johan Vansummeren
2012 Tom Boonen
2013 Fabian Cancellara
2014 Niki Terpstra
2015 John Degenkolb
2016 Mathew Hayman
2017 Greg Van Avermaet
2018 Peter Sagan
2019 Philippe Gilbert
2020 No race (COVID-19)
2021 Sonny Colbrelli
2022 Dylan van Baarle
2023 Mathieu van der Poel
2024 Mathieu van der Poel
2025 Mathieu van der Poel
# Stage PEZ for all the 2025 Paris-Roubaix action and EUROTRASH Monday for everything else. #
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