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April 12 ^th 2025 - 18:03

The 122nd edition of Paris-Roubaix was introduced this Saturday in front of the Château de Compiègne, the city from which the race is set to start on Sunday at 11:10 CEST. Despite the mild rain expected during the night, the Hell of the North will be ridden in dry conditions, with tailwinds in the first part of the race to ensure a very fast run towards the cobbles. Speeds will be lower than usual ahead of the Arenberg Forest, though, as there is a new approach to this sector meant to reduce risks for the riders. Both Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogacar are poised and eager to make history - the former eyeing a third straight victory, the latter hoping to become the first Tour de France winner to triumph in Roubaix since Bernard Hinault in 1981. There is a cohort of rivals who want to upset them, with Wout van Aert, Mads Pedersen or Filippo Ganna all coming into the race in excellent shape and with high expectations.

THIERRY GOUVENOU ANTICIPATES “A DRY PARIS-ROUBAIX”

Like every cycling fan, every team staffer and every rider, the organizers of Paris-Roubaix spend the week ahead of the event “eyes fixed on the weather forecast.” Some spectators dream of a wet edition, yet most participants hope for a dry one. “In theory, there will be some rain overnight and early in the morning, but it will be mostly dry during the day,” says race director Thierry Gouvenou. “I believe the cobbled sectors will be quite dry by the time the riders hit them, but there might still be some wet parts and that may cause some risks. There will be tailwinds in the first half of the race and some large sections of crosswinds in the second one, and that will be quite demanding for the riders. The start will be quite fast and there will hardly be any quiet moments throughout the day.”

The speed will be slower than usual, though, in the approach to the Arenberg Forest, which has been modified this year. “The traditional approach is a descending false flat on a large, straight road. Riders would usually reach 60 or 65 kph right before entering a three-meter-wide cobbled track,” describes Gouvenou. “It was a scary moment for everyone. At the request of the riders association, we have found a solution to reduce the danger at that point by including four corners right before entering the cobbled sector. That way, the peloton will be slower and stretched out so it is not too crowded nor too hectic riding into the Arenberg Forest. This is very important from a safety point of view.”

MATHIEU VAN DER POEL, AIMING FOR HISTORY: “RIDING ON INSTINCT”

Already a victor at this race in 2023 and 2024, Mathieu van der Poel is chasing a number of records this Sunday. As a matter of fact, only two other riders have managed to win three straight editions of the Hell of the North in the race’s rich history: Octave Lapize (1909, 1910, 1911) and Francesco Moser (1978, 1979, 1980). “Paris-Roubaix is one of the special races I work for all winter long, hoping to win it again,” says the Dutch rider, who believes he is ready to take on Tadej Pogacar and all the other cyclists challenging for the title he is defending. “I always try to race on instinct and it’s especially the case in Roubaix, where anything can happen. I’m one of the favourites, but this is a race where many riders can win. It’s good that Pogacar is here. He will for sure be in the mix. We already saw in the Tour de France that he is good on these cobbles.” Van der Poel is not Alpecin-Deceuninck’s sole contender, as Jasper Philipsen has been second in his teammate’s two victories in the Vélodrome André Pétrieux. “We have to play our cards,” says Philipsen, “and Mathieu sure is our best one.”

TADEJ POGACAR, AIMING FOR LEGEND: “PARIS-ROUBAIX REPRESENTS A CHALLENGE”

It has been a hot topic of conversation in professional cycling ever since, on February 10th, he posted a video on Instagram riding over the cobbles in the Arenberg Forest. Will Tadej Pogacar dare to participate in Paris-Roubaix? Time gave us an emphatic “yes” as an answer. “It represents a challenge for me and I’m looking forward to taking it on,” says the rider unanimously regarded as the current best in the world - the one who has managed to overcome every expectation since turning pro, the one who has been either first or second overall in all last five editions of the Tour de France while collecting 17 stage wins and spending 39 days in the Yellow Jersey, the one who has claimed 8 Monuments already at age 26.

“We are here to win,” Pogacar asserts alluding to his team strength-in-depth, with two Paris-Roubaix podium finishers like Nils Politt (2nd in 2019) and Florian Vermeersch (2nd in 2021) at his service. If he earns the cobblestone trophy, he will be the first rider to have won both Paris-Roubaix and the Tour de France since Bernard Hinault (1981). How does the UAE Team Emirates kingpin intend to do it? “You can speak all day about tactics but anything can happen in this race. It’s really hard to predict. The legs will matter, but I think lots of guys can win.” In the past, some Tour de France specialists were scared to enter this race due to the risk of getting injured. “Every race is dangerous,” says Pogacar to put hazard into perspective. “High speed crashes can happen anywhere.”

A DEEP, BOLD FIELD OF CHALLENGERS FOR THE TWO BIG FAVORITES

By Wout van Aert’s own assessment, Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogacar are the two biggest favorites in this 2025 Paris-Roubaix. “They have shown they are a bit better than the rest this campaign,” admits the Visma | Lease a Bike leader, who has stood twice on the podium of the Vélodrome André Pétrieux. “They have dropped us, their rivals, a few times in the last few weeks… But the Classics in Flanders are way more hillier than in Northern France.” The flat profile of the Hell of the North is also a good fit for Denmark’s Mads Pedersen, who finished 3rd last year. “I would say that, of all the Classics, this is the one that suits me the best,” points out the Lidl-Trek powerhouse. “The race dynamics? They are really hard to call, as they depend on the wind and on how the race develops - but for sure it will be a big battle.” There are several other riders hoping to upset the two men to beat, like Ineos Grenadiers’ Filippo Ganna or Groupama-FDJ’s Stefan Küng, whose brave tactics might prove beneficial if the race is as hectic as it usually is. After all, everyone says luck is key in Paris-Roubaix … and fortune favours the bold.

HOW MUCH WILL THE THREE DEBUTANTS ENJOY THEIR FIRST BALL OVER THE COBBLES?

France’s Unibet Tietema Rockets and Switzerland’s Tudor Pro Cycling Team and Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team are all three entering Paris-Roubaix for the first time this year. We have to go back to 2009 in order to find an edition of this event with more debutant teams. In that year, Tom Boonen claimed the third of his four cobblestone trophies and Filippo Pozzato and Thor Hushovd stood with him on the podium, both sporting two outfits which were new in the Hell of the North - Katusha and Cervelo Test Team.

Will this year’s newcomers enjoy similar luck? Marco Haller, from Tudor, entertains big ambitions after featuring in the breakaway of three out of the last five editions of this race. “I am going to be a bit more passive this year, as my shape is very good and I am focusing on getting a good result,” says the Austrian rouleur. “I know that following the accelerations from Pogacar or Van der Poel would be quite difficult, so I’ll try to survive until the Arenberg Forest and then make my move.” Q36.5 will be spearheaded by Belgium’s Frederik Frison, a veteran with five editions of this race already under his belt. As for Unibet Tietema Rockets, Slovakia’s Lukas Kubis is the man to watch after scoring nine top10 results in these first three months of the season, including one victory in the Cholet Agglo Tour. In his pre-race interview, Kubis spoke of “following the footsteps of Peter Sagan,” one of the best riders in this century and winner of this race in 2018.

ECO-FRIENDLY TRAVEL TO THE RACE

Coming to the famous Roubaix velodrome without driving and needing to find a parking space is a great choice! Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift encourages spectators to travel to the race by train or other modes of public transport. Thanks to the partnership with TER Hauts-de-France, certain train tickets can be purchased half-price. To make life easier, a QR code has been created, which fans can scan to get the details of the easiest route and best mode of transport to reach Roubaix, or other key points on the course of the race, from their location. Orchies, Templeuve and Baisieux are amongst the towns on the route that can be reached by train.

More information here.