‘Wout always said he would win the flowers at Roubaix for Michael’ – Van Aert honours promise to parents of lost teammate, gifting them his Paris-Roubaix bouquet

“Since that day, I wanted to win here and point upwards,” Wout van Aert said, after crossing the finish line in the velodrome as victor in the 2026 Paris-Roubaix. “This one is for him, for his family, and for everyone who was there.”

The Visma-Lease a Bike rider was talking about his late teammate, Michael Goolaerts, who tragically passed away after suffering a heart attack during the second cobbled sector of the 2018 Paris-Roubaix race, aged just 23. That year was also the first time Van Aert tackled the ‘Hell of the North’, and both men were racing for Vérandas Willems-Crelan. The loss of his teammate and friend had a huge impact on the young Belgian, and he often signs off his social media posts with “#All4Goolie”.

Van Aert vowed to win Paris-Roubaix for Goolaerts, and this year, during his eighth time of contesting the Monument, he succeeded, defeating Tadej Pogačar during a dramatic sprint finish in the famous velodrome, which had spectators roaring at screens all around the world. It was a moment drenched in emotion, and as well as dedicating the victory to his fallen teammate, Van Aert said he would be sending the winner’s bouquet to his friend’s family. Today it was confirmed that the podium flowers arrived, along with an urn shaped like a cobblestone.

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The Belgian news outlet Sporza spoke to Goolaerts’ parents after Van Aert’s victory. “It is overwhelming,” said his father, Staf. “Since Michael’s death I don’t normally watch racing anymore… it hurts too much. Especially because these were his kind of races. I try to shut it out a bit. So today I wasn’t following it either.