Yves Lampaert and Tim Merlier headline our squad for the third Monument of the season.
It’s the race where champions are born. The race created more than seven years before the Tour de France, in 1896, the same year as the first modern Olympic Games, held in Athens. The race which has a mystical attraction and whose long, hellish cobblestone roads – some of them tracking back to the glory days of the Roman Empire – make for an attritional and spectacular type of racing all the way to the legendary velodrome where the winner is crowned.
Paris-Roubaix holds its 122nd edition this Sunday, a 259.2km journey that will include 30 cobblestone sectors, including Troisvilles, Haveluy, the mythical Trouée d’Arenberg, Mons-en-Pévèle – the longest segment of the day – and Carrefour de l’Arbre, the site of the famous Battle of Bouvines, which brought to an end the Anglo-French War more than eight centuries ago. In total, 55.3 kilometers of pavé for the six hours that the peloton will spend in the “Hell of the North”, which this year could come with some rain – a special guest not seen since 2021.
Soudal Quick-Step goes to the start in Compiègne with a seven-man squad consisting of Ayco Bastiaens, Yves Lampaert – who finished third at the 2019 edition – Luke Lamperti, European Champion and Scheldeprijs winner Tim Merlier, neo-pro and Monument debutant Andrea Raccagni, Bert Van Lerberghe and Jordi Warlop.
“The wind coming from the south-west could make it a very fast race again. There aren’t many changes in the course, and once we hit Arenberg, the action begins. Yves knows the race by heart, he’s very experienced and has had a lot of good results there in his previous nine participations. Tim and Bert also know these roads, while the other guys will give their best to support them. Paris-Roubaix is an honest race, an elimination race, with many selections happening once the bunch hits the first cobblestone segment after almost 100 kilometers. We are motivated and we hope to do something nice on Sunday”, said sports director Tom Steels.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
