Paris-Roubaix is traditionally raced on the second Sunday in April, but the race was delayed this year in hopes that it would not be canceled by the pandemic for the second consecutive year.
On its new October date, The Hell of the North delivered rain, and wet, muddy pavé for the first time in nearly two decades.
The faces of the racers told the tale.
Sonny Colbrelli of Team Bahrain Victorious right after winning the 2021 Paris-Roubaix.
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Colbrelli was congratulated for his historic win at the rescheduled 2021 Paris-Roubaix.
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The trophy at Paris-Roubaix is also unlike any other trophy — a massive cobble.
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Mathieu van der Poel of Team Alpecin-Fenix finished in third.
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Van der Poel did a huge amount of work to reel in Gianni Moscon of Ineos Grenadiers .
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Mathieu van der Poel in the Roubiax velodrome infield.
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Woet Van Aert of Jumbo-Visma after finishing in seventh place at the Hell of the North.
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Van Aert struggled to contain his emotions after being greeted by his family following the 2021 Paris-Roubaix.
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Zdeněk Štybar of Deceuninck-Quick-Step finished 26th.
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Štybar and John Degenkolb (right, 53rd) of Lotto-Soudal. The two are all smiles after the 2021 Paris-Roubaix.
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Yves Lampaert (left) of Deceuninck-Quick-Step lead the second group across the finish line — and into fifth place — in the Roubaix Velodrome.
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Yevgeniy Fedorov of Astana-Premier Tech crashed out.
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Toms Skujiņš, Trek-Segafredo, 44th.
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Arnaud Démare, Groupama-FDJ, 34th.
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Bram Welten, Arkéa-Samsic, 42nd.
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Amaury Capiot, Arkéa-Samsic, 18th.
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Christophe Laporte, Cofidis, sixth.
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Dylan Groenewegen, Jumbo-Visma, 81st.
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Florian Sénéchal of Deceuninck-Quick-Step and Michał Kwiatkowski of Ineos Grenadiers finished 71st and 70th, respectively.
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2017 Paris-Roubaix winner Greg Van Avermaet, Ag2R Citröen, 32nd.
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Gianni Moscon, Ineos Grenadiers, fourth.
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Heinrich Haussler, Bahrain-Victorious, 10th.
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Jasper Philipsen (right), Alpecin-Fenix, 41st.
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Jasper Stuyven, Trek-Segafredo, 25th.
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2021 Ronde van Vlaanderen champion Kasper Asgreen, Deceuninck-Quick-Step, 68th.
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Luke Durbridge, Team BikeExchange, 54th.
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Luke Rowe, Ineos Grenadiers, 67th.
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Matteo Jorgenson, Movistar, 65th.
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Maximilian Walscheid, Team Qhubeka-Nexthash, 12th.
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Mitch Docker, Team EF Education-Nippo, abandoned.
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Even the motorbikes carrying media personnel, and providing neutral support, weren’t impervious to the treacherous conditions at the 2021 Paris-Roubaix.
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2014 Paris-Roubaix winner Niki Terpstra, Team Total Energies, abandoned.
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Oliver Naesen, Ag2R Citröen, 52nd.
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Gritty riders gritting their teeth as they ride over the road grit at the 2021 Paris-Roubaix.
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2018 Paris-Roubaix winner Peter Sagan of Bora-Hansgrohe crashed in the 2021 edition of the Hell of the North. He went on to finish 57th.
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Stan Dewulf, Ag2r-Citröen, 58th.
Photo: ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Stefan Bissegger, EF Education-Nippo, 62nd.
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Stefan Küng, Groupama-FDJ, abandoned.
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Tim Declercq (left), Deceuninck-Quick-Step, abandoned.
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Victor Campenaerts, Qhubeka-Nexthash, abandoned.
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