On the menu this weekend: 54.5 kilometers of cobbles spread out over 29 sectors.
Paris-Roubaix – one of the oldest, hardest and best races of the season – returns this Sunday for a new episode that will once again culminate with the iconic finish on the André-Pétrieux Velodrome. The 120th edition of the “Hell of the North” is expected to be a dry and dusty one, meaning we should have a fast race over northern France’s bone-shaking and treacherous cobblestones.
The first encounter with the pavé will come 96 kilometers from the start, in Troisvilles, a mouth-watering appetizer for the big sectors of the race: Haveluy, Trouée d’Arenberg, Hornaing, Sars-et-Rosières, Bersée, Mons-en-Pévèle, Camphin-en-Pévèle – the remnants of an ancient road built by the Romans – and Carrefour de l’Arbre. The last of these is expected to play a crucial role, as shown so many times in the past, especially as it will come with just twenty kilometers to go.
Our team for the “Queen of the Classics” will consist of Kasper Asgreen, the Wolfpack’s top finisher in De Ronde, Davide Ballerini, Tim Declercq, Yves Lampaert – who came close to repeating the 2019 podium finish last year only for an incident with a spectator to bring him down just eight kilometers from the line – Belgian Champion Tim Merlier, French Champion Florian Sénéchal and Bert Van Lerberghe.
“Paris-Roubaix is one of the most atypical races of the whole season. Riding over the cobbles is something special and I think we have the team for that. Kasper proved in Flanders that his form is still improving, but also Yves has shown in the past that this is a race suiting him. Florian is one of the few riders who actually love riding on the cobbles, and we have also Davide, Tim Declercq, Tim Merlier and Bert, who are all strong for such a race and looking forward to this. Roubaix is always hectic and full of surprises, but we go to the start with a solid team and are very motivated to do a good race on Sunday”, explained Soudal Quick-Step sports director Tom Steels.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
