Racing

Analysis

Paris-Roubaix: 8 things we learnt from the cobbled Classics climax

Paris-Roubaix marked the end of the cobbled Classics at the weekend, with 

 (Alpecin-Deceuninck) triumphing in iconic fashion whilst wearing their rainbow jerseys as world champions.

There may be a few cobbles to come in the remaining smaller races, but the women's and men's 

 from Saturday and Sunday truly marked the crescendo of the much-loved 

The GCN web team were on the ground in France across the weekend. Talking to riders and seeing the 

 has left us with the following eight conclusions from Paris-Roubaix 2024:

1. There’s a cobblestone at the end of the rainbow

When people talk about Paris-Roubaix, they often talk about the chaos and unpredictability. It’s a race you can’t plan; where things often go wrong, where the underdogs can win. That makes it hard for the riders who go into this race as a favourite. They need absolutely everything to go right to be able to win, and we’re told that perfection is rare on the 

. But not if you’re Lotte Kopecky and Mathieu van der Poel.

The pair went into their respective races this weekend as overwhelming favourites, both with significant pressure to win – Van der Poel to defend his title and complete the Flanders-Roubaix double, and Kopecky to avenge her Flanders result and take a first Roubaix victory for SD Worx-Protime – and, most strikingly, both wearing the rainbow jersey. The idea of not just one but both world champions pulling off the feat of winning seemed unlikely give the nature of Paris-Roubaix. And yet despite the odds it happened. A double rainbow in Roubaix; the two greatest riders right now winning the hardest race on the calendar. It was cycling perfection, and a sight to behold in a race that often tears up the script.

The way they claimed victory couldn’t have been more different. Van der Poel winning from a 60km solo, and Kopecky taking victory in a group sprint in the velodrome. Even so, the essence was the same: two unbelievably strong riders delivered by strong, dedicated teams to momentous victories. Van der Poel and Kopecky know how to take all the pressure and expectation and turn it into a huge result, proving each time why they’re the champions of the world.

2. A Monument podium means more than we might think

When you’re watching elite athletes who compete to win, and who have tasted victory before, it can be easy to assume that anything besides the top step of the podium would be a disappointment. Whilst all the key riders in the men’s and women’s Paris-Roubaix wanted to win, watching the riders roll in from both races reminded us that in a Monument, especially one as hard as this, a podium can be just as satisfying as a win.

At the women’s finish, one of the defining images was when 

 (dsm-firmenich PostNL) realised she’d come third, rather than fourth, and the joy and elation that quickly spread over her tired face. It was special and emotional, and she called the result “like a win”, clearly overjoyed with what she had achieved. It was a similar story for 

 (Lidl-Trek), a more prolific winner than Georgi perhaps, but the Dane still found satisfaction in his third place on Sunday, not reaching for excuses, accepting his shortcomings and being happy on a Monument podium.

3. Lidl-Trek can’t always beat the favourites, but they are a very strong team

As well as the parallel rainbow jersey wins, there was another common thread between the men’s and women’s Roubaix, and that was the performances of the two Lidl-Trek teams. The two squads have been on similar trajectories this season: boosted by the new investment in the team, they’ve taken a step up in terms of their Classics prowess, and are both considered to be the main competitors to the top Classics team in their respective pelotons. Where Kopecky and Van der Poel have sometimes mirrored each other, so too have Mads Pedersen, Elisa Longo Borghini and 

Although Lidl-Trek were dominant in both races, they couldn't quite beat the favourites, finishing with second for Elisa Balsamo and third for Mads Pedersen. Their stories were similar. Both sides of the team placed two riders in the decisive selections of the day and once again proved their strength, but they were ultimately beaten by better riders. On reflection, both Balsamo and Pedersen were satisfied with their results, which likely also speaks of the positive ethos within the team during this broadly successful Classics period. Missing the win in Roubaix shouldn’t detract from what they’ve achieved in the past few weeks.

What we can conclude is that Lidl-Trek in both forms should firmly be considered one of the very best Classics teams in the world, and a force to be reckoned with in the biggest races of the season.

4. It’s not always about the last person standing

Billed as the ‘Hell of the North,’ Paris-Roubaix is a race that conjures up images of battered athletes crawling their way to the line in dribs and drabs, as they complete their sacrifice and haul their bodies to the most iconic concrete theatre in the sport. The romantic notion of the Queen of the Classics is one of individual suffering, with a lone attacker winning more often than not, and with chase groups strung out in a splintered mess behind.

This is how Lizzie Deignan won in 2021 and it is how Fabian Cancellara claimed his second title in 2010. But other than Mathieu van der Poel’s exhibition on Sunday, this past weekend’s editions of Paris-Roubaix were not raced in the same buccaneering spirit of ‘last person standing.’ Behind Van der Poel, groups of three and nine riders contested small sprints amongst themselves to decide the standings of the top 20. 

Things were even more organised in the women's race. The winner came in as part of a group of six, and bar 

 (Lidl-Trek) dropping off the pace in the front group on the final lap of the velodrome, the next rider to come to the finish alone was way down in 25th place. A 10-rider group contested positions 7-16th, whilst a further four-rider group rounded out the top 20.

It is up for discussion as to why this year’s races were less selective than one might imagine. Perhaps a longer route for the women, or one that included the Trouée d'Arenberg might have forced more gaps to appear. While in the men’s race, it could be argued that the chasing group were effectively neutralised by Alpecin-Deceuninck’s 

, thereby nullifying the racing. But whatever the reason, this year’s Paris-Roubaix proves that the Queen of the Classics does not always chew riders up and spit them out in a pit of isolated suffering.

5. Soudal Quick-Step is dead, long live Alpecin-Deceuninck

In March, the men’s professional peloton completed the fastest edition of 

, with the winner averaging 46.1kph. A month later, the men raced the fastest edition of the 

, with the winner averaging 44.5kph and just a week later, they completed Paris-Roubaix at a fastest-ever average speed of 47.8kph.

On the top step of each podium was an Alpecin-Deceuninck rider. And, to cap off the most wonderful spring for the Belgian team, Milan-San Remo winner Jasper Philipsen finished second behind the Flanders-Roubaix double-winning Mathieu van der Poel on Sunday. It was the icing on the cake for a team that not long ago raced as a second division outfit. 

When Alpecin-Deceuninck's roster of primarily cyclo-cross riders first began the transition to the road towards the end of the 2010s, Quick-Step were the team of the moment in the Classics.

Fast forward to 2024 and not only have Alpecin taken Quick-Step’s former co-title sponsor in Deceuninck, but they have also taken their crown as the Kings of the Classics. Once a team built merely to serve Van der Poel’s fledgling road ambitions, Alpecin-Deceuninck demonstrated in Sunday’s Paris-Roubaix that they are now so much more than this.

Van der Poel was the one lifting the biggest cobblestone of all at the end of the day, but his victory was as much thanks to the work of his teammates behind as it was to his sparkling form. His dependable domestiques laid the groundwork for a searing pace over 100km before the Dutchman eventually took his leave, whilst Philipsen and Gianni Vermeersch performed above and beyond to close down every attack behind Van der Poel in the finale.

Sunday was a masterclass by the greatest one-day team that cycling has seen since Mapei in the 1990s. The less said about Soudal Quick-Step, meanwhile, the better at the moment.

6. Vos might never add a cobblestone to her collection

This may be a bold assertion to make, but Saturday underlined that there is a very real possibility that Marianne Vos could retire without winning Paris-Roubaix. She’s still contracted to be riding next year and possibly beyond but this weekend was likely her best chance since this race began, with the Dutchwoman in top form this spring having won two Belgian Classics. She did make it into the decisive move but couldn’t shake faster riders and was beaten in the sprint for the win, settling for fourth. Despite her protestations before the race that she doesn’t really see Roubaix as a gap in her staggering palmarès, it would be nice for Vos to retire with a win at the Queen of the Classics alongside her Flanders win, Tour de France yellow jersey and three world titles.

In light of Saturday’s fourth place, the question must be asked: what scenario does Vos need to be in to win in the velodrome? And this is where it gets tricky. The 36-year-old is not a rider who is suited to a solo attack, so she needs to go with a selective group, but also make sure the group doesn’t contain any faster finishers. And can she actually do that? Could she drop riders like Lotte Kopecky and Elisa Balsamo next year? Honestly, we’re not sure. Even the G.O.A.T. has limits, and the specific demands of Paris-Roubaix – long, attritional, no punchy climbs – could go against her chances of winning here.

7. The next French winner will probably be a woman

Whenever these big French races come around, there’s always chatter about when the last French winner was, because in the case of Paris-Roubaix and the Tour de France, the answer is quite a long time ago. As such, in the French media particularly, you’ll always find speculation about why that is, who the next winner may be, and how long the cycling-loving French public will have to wait. After witnessing the two races over the weekend, our assertion is that the next French winner in the André Pétieux velodrome will be a woman.

In the men’s race, the French riders were never really near the front in the key moments, and the nation’s best finisher was 

 (Visma-Lease a Bike) in 25th. That’s below countries like Estonia, New Zealand and Kazakhstan. 

 represented Groupama-FDJ, the French team, in the top 10, but unfortunately, that doesn’t make them French. In the women’s race, however, it was a different story for the home nation. They didn’t podium but there were three French women in the top 15 and French squad FDJ-SUEZ was one of the most active and well-represented teams in the whole race. It was 

, a Dutchwoman, who the team placed highest, but she was joined by 

 in the top 10, whilst Gladys Verhulst-Wild finished 12th.

Looking to the future, Christophe Laporte may indeed be a Roubaix winner, but the French talent is deeper in the women’s peloton, with Le Net, Verhulst-Wild and 

 all looking like future stars on the cobbles.

8. Cycling remains best when watched from the roadside

In a spring of domineering performances in the Classics, be it Tadej Pogačar at 

, Mathieu van der Poel at the Tour of Flanders or…. you get our drift. In a spring of such immense displays of power, Sunday’s men’s Paris-Roubaix was perhaps one race too far for some of the watching public at home.

As Mathieu van der Poel crossed the line in the Roubaix velodrome, social media was awash with awe and anguish in equal measure. To some, the men’s race was boring. It was another afternoon of watching Van der Poel ride clear without much difficulty, as his opponents messed around behind and refused to put together a coordinated chase. In many ways, these critics are right. It is not hard to see why many struggled to be entertained by a scene that we have seen plenty of times before — albeit not in such grandiose fashion at the Queen of the Classics.

On the roadside, however, Sunday’s race was a spectacle, full of expectation, excitement and exaltation. Team 

 were on the ground, and witnessed the buzzing atmosphere at the roadside. At the Forest of Arenberg, fans draped over barriers and rope. In some places, they even perched in bushes to get a glimpse of the stars as they thundered through this natural echo chamber.

Just minutes later, the same legion of fans would take to the highway and rush to the Roubaix Velodrome, but not before a roadside stop. As fans thundered north on the A23, Van der Poel appeared on the right alone, attacking on the Orchies sector of cobblestones and drawing the convoy of traffic to a standstill, with everyone desperate to catch another glimpse of the rainbow jersey.

Van der Poel’s victory might have been a tiring affair for many on the television, but for fans out on the course, it was another marvel of afternoon entertainment. Bike racing rarely disappoints when viewed up close.

For more racing analysis and commentary, visit our 

How To

Training

Improve your aerobic capacity with Manon Lloyd's time trial efforts

Time trialling is one of the toughest disciplines in cycling that requires a rider to maintain a high level of effort for long periods of time.

To perform well in time trials, a rider needs a strong aerobic engine, which also has benefits for virtually every type of riding. In this workout, ex-pro and 

 will guide you through a 35-minute session with the aim of boosting your 

It is a great session for racers looking to test themselves through longer high-intensity efforts. After a warm up, you'll get into some long, high-intensity blocks of riding. It's not going to be easy, but if you can keep at it, this kind of training is going to develop your muscular endurance and work your aerobic engine.

From cadence drills to anaerobic sessions, check out GCN’s full library of indoor cycling workouts

Our bodies fuel exercise through two methods. The first is aerobic, which uses oxygen, 

while the second is anaerobic, when the body burns glucose in the muscles

. Aerobic exercise can be sustained for longer periods of time, while anaerobic exercise is only possible in short bursts.

The point at which a rider jumps from aerobic to anaerobic exercise is known as the VO2 Max. This is a rider’s aerobic capacity, when the body has reached the limit of the amount of oxygen it can process.

How do cyclists train their aerobic zones?

Aerobic capacity, or VO2 max, is a key indicator of a cyclist’s physical ability

. It's about how good the body is at delivering oxygen to the muscles. In simple terms, it’s about how big our engine is.

Improve your aerobic capacity with workouts like this one, and you’ll be able to ride harder and push harder on the pedals without slipping into your anaerobic zones. Simply put, 

There are multiple ways to tune your aerobic system. Longer high-intensity efforts like this will make your aerobic system more efficient and improve fatigue resistance. 

 are also a great way to raise the ceiling of your aerobic capacity, meaning you’ll be able to ride harder before you reach the anaerobic zone.

 Aerobic workout with long, high-intensity efforts

 This is a hard workout for time triallists and those who want to build a big aerobic engine

 Improving your aerobic capacity and engine, build endurance, build fatigue resistance

Manon Lloyd takes us through a Global Cycling Network training session in 35 mins of aerobic capacity boosting time trial efforts. A great workout for cyclists who want to build long term muscular leg strength.

How to improve aerobic capacity on an exercise bike

Warm up on your indoor trainer for nine minutes

Blocks of high-intensity riding for the main session

Step 3: Time for a steady warm down

Features

Racing Features

Up close with the Paris-Roubaix cobbles

, the third Monument on the cycling calendar, takes place this weekend. It is renowned for its brutal cobbles — bone-shaking, teeth-chattering, bike-breaking cobbles. But what are these iconic stone roads really like to ride? We sent 

 to northern France to find out exactly what it’s like to ride a road bike over these historic roads.

Starting at Quiévy à Saint-Python, then heading to Haveluy à Wallers, Trouée d’Arenberg, Pont Gibus, Mons-en-Pévèle, and Carrefour de l’Arbre, Conor and Hank give the full breakdown on some of the most important sectors of the race. These are the hardest cobbled sectors on the course, and the ones where it’s likely that the race will be decided.

We rode cobbles too rough for Paris-Roubaix!

As Conor and Hank find out, there's an awful lot of skill to riding these sections well. Before each section, the pros will be fighting to get to the front of the group. On the cobbles themselves, it's crucial to stick to the smoothest sections, which is sometimes the crown, and sometimes the gutter running along the side. Whatever happens, they'll be doing everything to avoid some of the enormous gaps in the road, which are almost certainly a recipe for a flat tyre.

Get yourself in the spirit ahead of this weekend’s racing by giving the video at the top of his page a watch.

10 riders to watch at Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift

Saturday brings one of the newest and toughest races of the spring: 

. Only launched in 2021 after much clamour for the women’s peloton to have their own “Hell of the North”, Paris-Roubaix immediately established itself as a race everyone wants to win.

One of the most intriguing elements of Roubaix is that, as well as being a race every rider would love to win, it’s a race that, to a degree, every rider could actually win. The cobbles of northern France are as unpredictable as they are brutal, which means the race situation can be upended in a moment, and things rarely happen as expected. In three editions we’ve seen: a long-range solo win, a closer solo attack, and a totally unexpected breakaway victory. Anything can happen and anyone can win, as long as they survive.

Spring Classics 2024 – Essential guide to the races and riders

With that in mind, it’s hard to pick out one rider as a favourite, but this deep into the Classics season, we do have a good idea of who has the legs to perform on Saturday. Here are ten of the names to keep an eye on as the peloton hits the 30km of cobbles between Denain and Roubaix this weekend.

10 riders to watch at Paris-Roubaix Femmes

 would have been amongst the out-and-out favourites for Paris-Roubaix. Despite being defeated in the last few races, we’d argue that that makes Kopecky more of a contender for Saturday, not less: she has a Classics season to save, and the fire of disappointment to spur her on. Her form is is a curious question, especially with the Ardennes – which she has specifically worked towards – coming up. Nevertheless, Kopecky is always one of the strongest riders in the peloton, and the lack of climbing in Roubaix should play into her hands, as that was her biggest challenge in the Tour of Flanders. 

Kopecky is a rider who is often successful through brute force and will, which is a valid approach in Roubaix, where a big part of winning is just getting through unscathed. She is also one of the few riders strong enough to launch a successful move on the flat, which is how we’ve seen this race won in previous years. With a motivated team around her, and a cobblestone up for grabs – this is one race 

 have yet to win – the power is in Kopecky’s hands this weekend. She just needs to get it right.

Another rider for whom a cobblestone would be a very welcome addition to an already pretty full trophy cabinet is 

. The widely-accepted GOAT of women’s cycling has won pretty much everything there is to win in the sport. Unfortunately for her, they keep adding new races, which she needs to win to keep her palmarès so extraordinarily complete. Paris-Roubaix is one of those races and one she’ll be hoping to win before her career ends. After coming second in the inaugural edition, she then unluckily caught Covid before the second edition of the race, but came back to take 10th in 2023. 

Being the best of the rest behind Lizzie Deignan in 2021, Vos knows she can do well here, she just needs things to go her way. Fortunately, the Dutchwoman seems to be in the form of her life at present, 

 so far this season, and happily admitting that things are going very well for her right now. Winning Roubaix is never easy, but if Vos is going to do it, this year seems like possibly her best chance.

Marianne Vos – I had to let go on the Paterberg at Tour of Flanders

 have won two of the three editions of Paris-Roubaix Femmes so far, but they’re without their former champions this weekend, with Lizzie Deignan nursing a broken arm and Flanders winner Elisa Longo Borghini sticking to her plan to skip Saturday and focus on the Ardennes. In their absences, Lidl-Trek have a few options, including former podium finisher Lucinda Brand, but their likely leader will be 

, who has been on scintillating form so far this Classics season. The Italian doesn’t have the best record here – an unfortunate DSQ and twice outside the top 50 – but she does have experience, having ridden every edition, and of course the expertise from her team.

Balsamo is also in good shape, having won the 

 so far this season, as well as taking runner-up spots in Ronde van Drenthe and Gent-Wevelgem. Balsamo isn’t a rider who’s built for a solo move like her successful teammates, but is definitely capable of infiltrating – or surviving in – the move that goes to the finish, where you would back her to beat most riders, bar perhaps Lorena Wiebes. Survival, and some good luck, will be key to Balsamo’s success and if she’s there in the finale, her chances of victory are high.

Lidl-Trek women's team embrace latest tech trends for Paris-Roubaix

For all its unpredictability, and its place at the end of a turbulent cobbled Classics season, it can feel surprising that riders build their campaigns around Paris-Roubaix, but many do and 

 is one of them. The Dane is the definition of a rouleur, and her TT strength combined with her sprint makes her the perfect kind of rider to do well at Roubaix, and so far she’s taken 11th and sixth in the velodrome. Norsgaard brings an extra level of hardiness and sustainable power that the likes of Balsamo and Wiebes can’t quite match, which should see her survive longer into a tough race than them, and hopefully still have a sprint at the finish. She’s also a very aggressive racer, alongside her 

 team, who have animated the Spring so far but without a big result, so we wouldn’t be surprised to see her getting stuck into the action on Saturday, and very possibly delivering a good result.

As the only former winner on the start line, 

 deserves a spot on this list. Her results this year so far have been relatively quiet, but the same was true before her win in 2023. Furthermore, Roubaix is a race where fortunes and form can change quickly, and previous results don’t necessarily tell you much. The other thing that plays in Jackson’s favour is the power of confidence. She knows what it takes to win this race, which sectors are crucial, where to push and where to save energy, but she also knows she can win it, a privilege that very few riders in the peloton share.

In a race that can strike fear into many, that ability to know you can survive is a calming, confidence-boosting asset. As a new team, born from the ashes of the EF Education-TIBCO-SVB squad, EF Education-Cannondale are taking on their first Paris-Roubaix but with bags of experience both on the bikes and behind the scenes, and a lot of success so far this season. Lightning rarely strikes in the same place twice and all the teams will be weary of letting another breakaway go, but Jackson doesn’t necessarily need that and should be in the frame anyway on Saturday.

As Jasper Philipsen proved in the men’s race last year, even sprinters can go well in Roubaix, provided they are made of tough stuff. And while toughness is certainly something 

 has, she’s not had great results here so far. Then again, neither have SD Worx-Protime. The team doesn’t seem to have got the measure of this race yet. However, they’re determined this year, and Wiebes could prove a handy backup option to Kopecky.

Unlike Kopecky, Wiebes wouldn’t have to attack – the hardest task on the gruelling cobbles – but rather ‘just’ stay with the front group. Of course, this isn’t easy either, but Wiebes is a hard rider to drop, and if she can hold on towards the end, her sprint in the velodrome will be vicious. Whether Wiebes gets a chance or has to sacrifice her hopes for her team, as we saw to an extent in Flanders, remains to be seen, but the peloton will be looking at her as a threat, and she shouldn’t be counted out.

As much as Paris-Roubaix is about skill, luck and form, it equally awards enthusiasm. Enthusiasm for the race, for its pavé and for the depths to which riders must plunge in order to come out the other side with a cobblestone on their mantelpiece. One rider whose love for the race perhaps stands above all others is 

 – the daughter of 2004 Paris-Roubaix winner Magnus Bäckstedt. Six years ago, the 19-year-old rode her final mini-Paris-Roubaix as a 14-year-old and was worried that it might be her last competitive pedalstrokes over the cobbles.

Such was her love for the race that her and a friend wrote an email to the ASO asking for the elite women to finally be given their own race. It may have taken three years but the peloton got given their first crack of the whip in 2021 and last year, Bäckstedt made her return. It wasn’t to be on the day, but the 19-year-old is one of the most exciting talents in the world and will no doubt compete for the win here in the near future.

There are four riders on the start list who have notched up two top-10 finishes in the race’s three editions to date. Among that number is dsm-firmenich PostNL’s 

, who continues to go from strength to strength as she matures as a rider. Still only 23 years of age, the British national champion has quickly become one of the most dependable riders in the bunch, both as a loyal teammate to Charlotte Kool in the sprints and chasing her own ambitions in the classics.

The floodgates opened for Georgi in 2023 with victories at Classic Brugge-De Panne, Dwars door de Westhoek and Binche Chimay Binche pour Dames complementing her second national title. Georgi can perhaps be best described as a stubborn rider, rarely letting a bad moment spell the end of her race, and ninth and eighth-place finishes at the last editions of Paris-Roubaix are a testament to this. Her best hope for a victory would be a lone attack.

 is not a rider that one would assume would thrive in the Spring Classics, but the UAE Team ADQ sprinter is not an ordinary rider. Resilient beyond her stature, the Italian has a knack for being in the right place at the right time and that is a skill which is very hard to teach. A winner of Dwars door Vlaanderen two seasons ago, it goes without saying that Consonni is a fearsome opponent in a small sprint, but she is equally capable when the going gets tough.

In last year’s Paris-Roubaix Femmes, the 24-year-old was part of the small group that sprinted for secondary placings behind the successful breakaway. It wasn’t to be their day, but with a ninth-place finish, Consonni showed herself to be more than capable of going the distance. With a resilient streak and a fast finish, Consonni will always stand a chance in this race. All she needs is for a winning move to fall her way.

 is not a perennial winner, but the 31-year-old is a rider who pops up with a big performance from time to time. With her diesel-like engine, gritted determination and a handy sprint when needed, Brown is a rider tailor-made for Paris-Roubaix Femmes. Though things haven’t fallen her way to date. A couple of solid if not unspectacular performances have resulted in 12th and 13th-place finishes over the past two seasons.

Credible standings in such a difficult race they may be, but for a rider of Brown’s ilk, much more is possible. The Australian has made a habit of picking off her moments over the past few seasons, with plenty of stage victories to her name and a win at the Oxyclean Classic Brugge-De Panne on her palmarès. Paris-Roubaix is a race for the tough, and in Brown, FDJ-SUEZ boasts one of the peloton’s strongest roulers.

A beginner's guide to Paris-Roubaix 2024

The third Monument of the season, and the ‘Queen of the Classics’ is just days away, with the men’s and women’s 

The so-called ‘Hell of the North’ is one of the most iconic races of the season, tackling the brutal cobbled roads of northern France in what is an always challenging and unpredictable spectacle. Here’s everything you need to know about this one-of-a-kind race.

welcome to hell. That’s the message that greets the riders when they line up for the start of this epic one-day race, and it couldn’t be any more appropriate. With 29 sectors of bone-rattling cobblestones to navigate over the course of 260km in the men’s race and 17 sectors over the course of 148km in the women’s, it’s no wonder Paris-Roubaix has earned itself so many daunting nicknames.

The race is not a descent into hell for all, however, and for those who are successful on the cobbles, it’s almost a journey into the divine. Henri Pélissier said this after taking his first of two victories in the event in 1919: “This wasn’t a race. It was a pilgrimage.”

Like the Tour of Flanders that falls just a week before, Paris-Roubaix is one of the races on the cycling calendar that captures the real essence of bike racing. It’s a race that captures a rider’s heroism, their bravery in the face of adversity and – most of all – their sheer mettle and will to win at all costs. From broken bikes to broken dreams, we’ve seen it all on the cobblestones that lead towards the famous finish in the Roubaix velodrome.

Spring Classics 2024: Essential guide to the races and riders

The race is one of cycling’s oldest, with the men’s race debuting back in 1896, and by far one of the most prestigious, earning it the nickname, the ‘Queen of the Classics’. It’s often compared to the other cobbled Monument, the Tour of Flanders, but in reality the two are very different.

Not only are the cobbles a lot smoother in Flanders, they’re also raced over several times throughout the year, diluting the spectacle somewhat. The cobblestones in Paris-Roubaix, on the other hand, are 10 times as savage and are usually reserved for this one weekend in April – and occasionally a controversial inclusion in the Tour de France – making for a truly special day of racing.

Over the last century, the route has been tweaked as older roads are resurfaced and organisers seek out new and even more hellish cobblestone sectors to send the riders over. While some sectors chop and change over each edition, the real brutish ones remain fixed on the route.

Sectors like the Trouée d'Arenberg, Mons-en-Pévèle and Carrefour de l'Arbre are to Paris-Roubaix what the Col du Galibier, Alpe d’Huez and Mont Ventoux are to the Tour de France; they define the race and sort the contenders from the pretenders. Each cobblestone sector is assigned a star rating, with one star marking the easiest sectors and five stars the most brutal.

The Carrefour de l'Arbre is the final five-star sector of cobbles in both the men’s and women’s races, falling within the last 20km. If a rider hasn’t managed to break free of the leading group by this point, it’s up to the Roubaix Velodrome to decide the winner. Riders complete one-and-a-half laps of this outdoor velodrome at the end of the race, making for one of the most iconic and exciting finishes seen anywhere in the world.

The women’s race follows an almost identical route to that of the second-half of the men’s race, picking up the men’s route just after the Trouée d’Arenberg sector and following it all the way towards the iconic finale in the Roubaix Velodrome. No fewer than 17 sectors feature on this 148.5km route which, when added together, amount to 29.2km on cobblestones.

25: Vertain to Saint-Martin-sur-Écaillon, 2.3km ***

21: Maing to Monchaux-sur-Ecaillon, 1.6km ***

15: Tilloy to Sars-et-Rosières, 2.4km ****

14: Beuvry-la-Forêt to Orchies, 1.4km ***

12: Auchy-lez-Orchies to Bersée, 2.7km ****

8b: Templeuve (Moulin-de-Vertain), 0.5km **

1: Roubaix (Espace Charles Crupelandt), 0.3km *

Paris-Roubaix history and previous winners

While the men’s race is one of the oldest on the annual cycling calendar, the women’s is one of the newest, having hosted its inaugural edition in 2021, making this year only the fourth edition, compared to the men’s 121st. The first-ever women’s race was originally due to take place in April of 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic it was postponed.

These postponements only heightened anticipation for the event, with many touting it as a turning point for not only women’s cycling, but the sport in general. The race didn’t disappoint and duly delivered everything that was expected of it, and then some. Great Britain’s Lizzie Deignan won the inaugural race with a heroic solo performance fitting of such a landmark edition – writing her name into the race’s history books as not only the first ever female winner, but also the first British winner, male or female.

Since then, her Trek-Segafredo – now Lidl-Trek – team won again with Elisa Longo Borghini in 2022, before Canada’s Alison Jackson took a memorable win from the day’s early breakaway in what was an exciting and unpredictable finale to the race in 2023. Classics superteam SD Worx-Protime have yet to win the race, with Marianne Vos also missing a cobblestone that would arguably complete her already extraordinary palmarès.

Despite being a French race, the men’s Paris-Roubaix winners list is dominated by the Belgians, with the neighbouring nation taking 57 victories in the event, most recently through Philippe Gilbert in 2019. The French may have 28 wins to their name but it has been 27 years since their last one, which came courtesy of FDJ’s Frédéric Guesdon in 1997.

Two of Belgium’s most esteemed Classics riders stand on top of the winners list with four victories each: ‘Monsieur Paris-Roubaix’ himself Roger De Vlaeminck and his successor Tom Boonen. Boonen is one of only two riders to have won this race and the Tour of Flanders in the same year twice, the other being his arch racing rival from the 2000s and 2010s, Fabian Cancellara.

Over the past 10 editions of the men’s race, three have been won by a solo rider and three have ended in a sprint between just two riders. The largest group we’ve seen enter the velodrome to contest the finish together over the last 10 editions was six, back in 2015.

In the women’s race, the first two editions were solo winners – Deignan from a long way out, and Longo Borghini from 34km to go – whilst 2023 came down to a sprint between the breakaway after the peloton failed to close down the early move. These results emphasise how incredibly attritional this race can be, and just finishing it is considered a career-defining achievement by many riders.

How many will reach the finish together in the men’s and women’s races this year? Who’ll emerge victorious once the dust has settled? And can a French rider finally end their nation’s two-decade-long winless drought? All will become clear on Saturday and Sunday.

See the Paris-Roubaix 2024 start list on the race page.

10 riders to watch at the Tour of Flanders

Almost all of the Belgian cobbled Classics are done, and the big day, the culmination of it all, is nearly here. Sunday brings us the second Monument of the season in the form of the 

, one of the biggest races of the year, both in terms of attention and anticipation, and in prestige, legend and importance.

 is the jewel in the crown of the Belgian Classics, and all talk this week is about 

. What will happen, who will be there, who will win? Thanks to some untimely crashes, we have an idea of who won’t be there – most crucially Belgian favourite 

, whose whole race plan is up in the air after breaking several bones in 

 – but who will be there in the key moments is harder to say.

Our top 10 riders to watch at the Tour of Flanders

In both the men’s and women’s races, there are key favourites, and they both happen to be reigning world champions: 

. But in Flanders, even when there are favourites and predictions, nothing ever goes quite as expected. Lots of riders are going to start on Sunday thinking they could win, and many of them will be in the action and get close, but only two riders will win. Here are 10 names we think you should look out for as the battle on the Belgian ‘bergs unfolds.

Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck)

The two-time Flanders winner hasn’t been off the podium this decade and has the chance of becoming just the seventh rider to ever win three editions of the race. Already the out-and-out favourite a week ago, the 29-year-old’s stock has only risen having seen several of his rivals head to hospital or limp towards Sunday after that crash in Dwars door Vlaanderen on Wednesday.

The Van der Poel rules: How to beat cycling's best Classics rider

Some will point to the manner of his defeat in Gent-Wevelgem as proof of his vulnerability when stretched to the limit, but it’s worth remembering that the performance came just a couple of days after his incredible exploits in E3 Saxo Classic. Those rides catch up with you, even if you’re Van der Poel, but come Sunday he’ll be rested and recovered. He’ll only have half of the Lidl-Trek team to deal with that caused him problems in E3, Visma-Lease a Bike’s busted Classics team, and a handful of fringe riders who weren’t even close to him at the Flanders dress rehearsal at E3.

This is Van der Poel’s race to lose but with that comes an increased sense of pressure and responsibility. As Dwars door Vlaanderen illustrated, almost anything can happen in high-pressure situations, and while Van der Poel is well-equipped for such scenarios, no race is over before the start flag has even been raised.

Much like Mathieu van der Poel, Lotte Kopecky is likely the outright favourite for the women’s Tour of Flanders, even if she herself would rather win next week’s Paris-Roubaix.

Lotte Kopecky: I’d rather win Paris-Roubaix than a third Tour of Flanders

The fact is, she’s the two-time winner, and last year looked near unbeatable in this race. Her Spring so far would suggest she’s in even better form than she was then, so it’s hard to imagine who could beat her if the race is hard. Her SD Worx-Protime squad was a little off the boil in Dwars door Vlaanderen on Wednesday, but that wasn’t their A-team, and they’re bringing in more experienced riders in Marlen Reusser and Lorena Wiebes on Sunday, so it’s unlikely they’ll loosen their grip as they did earlier this week.

The only thing that takes away from Kopecky’s status as the favourite is that she and her team are adamant that she is not the only leader, but rather Reusser, Wiebes and Vollering will also be given their chances, depending on how the situation plays out. The problem is, though, that SD Worx often dictate the situation, so if they don’t set a hard pace and keep their rivals at bay, they could be taken advantage of, and then be put in a situation where the ‘safe’ scenario – make it hard and attack with Kopecky – is out of reach, and they have to react in a bigger group.

Therefore, it’s not hard to imagine that, despite all the talk, they may just do what they know, and what works: make it as hard as possible and their strongest rider, which should undoubtedly be Kopecky, will win.

 lined up for Dwars door Vlaanderen with his confidence sky-high and his status as a Tour of Flanders favourite firmly secured. He wasn’t a five-star rider in the same vein as Mathieu van der Poel but he was certainly the next best thing, having pulled the Dutch rider apart to win Gent-Wevelgem a few days previously.

That sumptuous Lidl-Trek performance had commentators and fans purring ahead of the much anticipated Flanders clash but in the blink of an eye, Pedersen’s hopes came crashing down after he was involved in a fall that took down a host of Flanders contenders with 67km to go in Dwars. As he sat on the tarmac, confused, lost, and desolate, it didn’t take long to realise that even if no bones were broken, the Gent-Wevelgem winner’s Flanders hopes hung by a thread.

That he remounted and even managed to soft pedal back to the Lidl bus was a triumph in itself given the loss of Jasper Stuyven and Alex Kirsch in the same crash but 48 hours on from that seismic event the Dane has yet to train, with only a light ride completed on Friday.

Mads Pedersen: 'Pain in the ass that we lost Jasper Stuyven for Tour of Flanders'

He’ll ramp up the effort again on Saturday, all being well, but no one, not even the man himself, knows how his body will stand up to the rigours of Flanders on Sunday. When on form, the rider is electric to watch, but the loss of his teammates, coupled with the bumps and bruises from Wednesday, is sure to have some effect come race day. It’s brutal and cruel but the inevitability within cycling is that everything can flip in the briefest of moments.

 would have been a serious contender for any race she started, such is the Dutchwoman’s ability and palmarès. In recent seasons, though, that ever-present status has slightly waned, both due to a couple of health setbacks for Vos, and the increased level in the women’s peloton.

This year, though, the 36-year-old seems close to being back to her very best, recording her 250th career win on Wednesday, and beating SD Worx on their Classics turf not once, but twice so far in 2024. Flanders is a race she has only won once, back in 2013, as its volume of climbing is slightly outside of Vos’ usual comfort zone, but in the form she’s in now, it’s hard to see the short, sharp bergs troubling her too much.

Marianne Vos: I expect SD Worx-Protime to be extra sharp at Tour of Flanders

Knowing her sprint as they do, other teams will be keen to try and drop Vos on the climbs and make it hard for her, but it’s not a simple task to distance the multiple-time world champion. If Vos can make it to the finish in the lead group, you’d bet on her beating any riders bar Lorena Wiebes and Elisa Balsamo in a sprint, and her chances of being in a selective move are arguably higher than theirs.

Eleven years after her first and only win here, could Vos add a second Ronde to her already astonishing list of achievements? We think so.

Since their Opening Weekend, nothing has gone right for the Dutch squad in the Spring Classics, other than 

’s performances of course. Wout van Aert has crashed out of contention and will be on the sidelines for weeks, if not months, 

with his Giro d’Italia participation in the balance

, while bad luck has befallen Dylan Van Baarle, Jan Tratnik, Tiesj Benoot and Christophe Laporte at various points this spring.

Post finish line crash adds 'insult to injury' for Jorgenson and Visma at E3

Over the winter, team boss Richard Plugge implied that punctures could be avoided in the cobbled Classics and that they are to blame for not winning a Monument in 2023, but such ambitions look quixotic when you’re struggling to even make an eight-rider roster.

Luckily for Plugge and his impregnable tyres, the team has arguably the deepest roster in the world and in Jorgenson they have one of the fastest developing Classics riders in the sport. His win in Dwars door Vlaanderen provided the best possible tonic after Van Aert’s fall, and the American finds himself in the role of team leader on one of the best all-around Classics teams in the world.

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