After the start in Compiègne, Hagenes, who in 2021 finished third in the junior Paris-Roubaix, immediately joined the battle for a spot in the early breakaway. The 20-year-old Norwegian ended up in the lead with eight fellow escapees. The nine reached the first cobbled sections of the day with a small lead. Spurred on by Mathieu van der Poel's team, among others, their lead was quickly wiped out. Meanwhile, Christophe Laporte suffered a puncture on the first cobbled section. The European champion never made it back to the front.

After some changes of pace in the peloton, a large leading group of around 25 riders emerged. Tim and Mick van Dijke accompanied teammate Hagenes at the front of the race. The Norwegian then positioned the duo perfectly ahead of the Trouée d'Arenberg, where favourites Van der Poel and Mads Pedersen attacked. Mick van Dijke was able to follow, while his brother had to deal with a puncture. Developments then followed in quick succession. Mick van Dijke crashed and had to change bikes.

Some 60 kilometres from the finish, Van der Poel proved too strong for the opposition. Behind him, Tim Van Dijke battled for a top ten spot. With an all-or-nothing effort, he accelerated on the Roubaix velodrome, claiming eighth place. However, the 24-year-old Dutchman was dropped to 16th place afterwards by the jury after crossing the blue line on the track. An exhausted Hagenes and Mick van Dijke, reached the finish line in a chasing group.

"I am proud of what we achieved today," Tim van Dijke said afterwards. "We had a lot of bad luck the past weeks. Normally I ride as a domestique for leaders like Wout van Aert, Christophe Laporte and Dylan van Baarle. Today I got the chance to ride for myself. I was quite nervous, so maybe I didn't always take the best decisions. But in hindsight I had a great day."

"It was a quite unreal and emotional to ride with my brother in the leading group of Paris-Roubaix. Both the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix are among my favourite races. Last week I was already feeling good, so I'm happy to confirm that feeling. One day I hope to compete for the win here," said Tim van Dijke. "As kids, we dreamed of moments like this. What happened today has yet to sink in," brother Mick van Dijke added.

Sportive director Merijn Zeeman saw the young Team Visma | Lease a Bike talents rise to the occasion. "We started this race with the idea of giving our young riders Tim, Mick and Per the chance to show themselves. Of course that was not what we had planned at the beginning of this season, but everyone knows what happened to us recently. Talent development is very important to us and it is good to see that our young talents stepped up today. Along the way, they did a brilliant job. We did not get the results we had hoped for during the cobbled monuments, but the reasons are clear. However, thanks to our young talents, we can still end this period with our heads held high. The future doesn't look bad."