As the races do 12 months after 12 months, Paris-Roubaix and Paris-Roubaix Femmes drew the cobbled Classics season to a detailed in spectacular style on the weekend.
The pair of races, run over the merciless cobblestones of France’s Nord division, delivered ache, emotion, controversy, and pleasure in equal measure as Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) triumphed in Roubaix’s well-known Vélodrome André-Petrieux.
In Sunday’s males’s race, it was Van der Poel who defended his title with a surprising 60km solo assault, as soon as once more main residence an Alpecin-Deceuninck one-two forward of Jasper Philipsen after a day of unmatched teamwork.
A day earlier, the fourth version of the ladies’s race culminated in a velodrome dash and the now-familiar sight of world champion Kopecky elevating her arms in triumph after outpacing a small group of among the strongest ladies within the peloton.
But, as ever on the Hell of the North, there have been way more tales to inform than these of the winners. After all, these are races stuffed with tons of of non-public epics.
Our Cyclingnews crew on the bottom – skilled reporter Stephen Farrand and Paris-Roubaix common Dani Ostanek – and our ladies’s editor Kirsten Frattini, have come collectively to analyse each races intimately to summarise the large speaking factors from an epic weekend of racing.
Before turning to the Ardennes Classics, there’s way more to return from Roubaix, together with tech roundups, ultimate ideas from resident columnist Fabian Cancellara, and a top-quality gallery of the racing motion. But first, learn on for 10 conclusions from the 2024 males’s and girls’s Paris-Roubaix.
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Mathieu van der Poel – measuring greatness
If he wasn’t already thought-about as such, with a world title and 4 Monument victories to his title amongst a plethora of different achievements, then Mathieu van der Poel is unquestionably now among the many legends of biking historical past.
After final week equalling the all-time Tour of Flanders win report, this weekend noticed the Dutchman take his Monument wins tally to 6 – leapfrogging the likes of Bernard Hinault and Paolo Bettini in addition to his pal and someday rival Tadej Pogačar.
He now stands alongside names comparable to Johan Museeuw, Alfredo Binda, and Francesco Moser on six and inside putting distance of Fausto Coppi, Sean Kelly, Tom Boonen, and Fabian Cancellara.
There are a lot extra statistics to throw round, too. Van der Poel raced to the end a full kilometre an hour faster than every other winner in historical past, and his three-minute successful margin is the fifth largest of the previous 100 years.
However, it is about greater than the numbers and information. Van der Poel’s win – which all of us knew was coming effectively earlier than he even turned a pedal in anger in Compiègne, one thing nearly unprecedented at a race comparable to Paris-Roubaix – was probably the most dominant in a technology.
When the time ultimately involves look again on his profession, it should certainly stand as one of many memorable performances of this racing period, of Paris-Roubaix historical past and as one of many defining moments of his time on the bike.
In the post-race press convention, Van der Poel stated that the efficiency was “shut” to his stage on the Glasgow Worlds final summer time. It will definitely stand alongside it as one of many iconic rides of his profession, and there’ll little question be a lot extra left to return. (DO)
SD Worx ‘lastly’ style victory
It’s been a number of years of ready however SD Worx-Protime have ‘lastly’ crammed a uncommon hole of their palmarès. The Dutch crew has swept all earlier than them lately together with an exceptional 62-win season in 2023, however after three editions of the Hell of the North, glory at Paris-Roubaix Femmes had eluded them.
That all modified on Saturday afternoon, nevertheless, as world champion Lotte Kopecky stormed to victory from an elite group of contenders within the Roubaix velodrome, exhibiting off her pristine rainbow stripes on the road after upgrading on her second place two years in the past.
SD Worx have reigned on the high of the world rankings for the previous three seasons and with 14 wins already in 2024, they present no indicators of slowing down. Kopecky alone has 5 of them, even when she will not admit to being the very best rider on this planet proper now.
She attacked again and again on the pavé of the north, lastly frightening the very important choice on the entrance on the Camphin-en-Pévèle at 20km to go. With high sprinter Lorena Wiebes lurking within the subsequent group, she may afford some relaxation on the run to the velodrome – a tactical triumph – earlier than going lengthy within the ultimate dash to brush to victory.
SD Worx might have already received nearly every part there may be to win, they usually’ll carry on successful, there isn’t any doubt about that, however now they’ll take pleasure in one other triumph on the largest race that they had missed beforehand. (DO)
The fantastic thing about the end within the velodrome
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No one would ever counsel that Roubaix is one the wonder spots of France, however for skilled biking followers the city in northern France hosts the end of Paris-Roubaix, one of many wonders of the biking world. It’s a biking Mecca, a temple to the historical past and fantastic thing about our sport.
The concrete velodrome is crumbling and decrepit in elements, nevertheless it in some way retains the mystique amassed 12 months after 12 months of Paris-Roubaix ending on the observe. It is simply the identical as when Jorgen Leth filmed his documentary in 1976 and can hopefully keep the identical for years to return.
Standing within the observe centre on the weekend for the end of the ladies’s and males’s races was breathtaking. The hairs arise in your neck because the riders enter the velodrome after which full a lap and a half earlier than they have fun victory.
There is nothing prefer it. You are immersed within the race like no different second of the season. The race revolves round you higher than a spatial stereo impact. Apple’s new Vision Pro Virtual show goggles can by no means recreate an analogous visible or emotion.
This 12 months we obtained to expertise each of the Paris-Roubaix end state of affairs: the breathtaking thrill of Lotte Kopecky coming from behind to win a small group dash, then 24 hours later Mathieu van Poel celebrated his absolute dominance by using across the velodrome in triumph and successful alone.
Tom Pidcock described the impact of racing Paris-Roubaix at excessive velocity “as if you happen to’re on medication”. Watching the end from the observe centre was equally as intoxicating and left us on a excessive on the finish of the cobbled Classics. (SF)
Could Lidl-Trek have used former winner Longo Borghini?
There was some shock earlier within the week when Lidl-Trek opted to not title 2022 Paris-Roubaix Femmes champion and final week’s Tour of Flanders winner Elisa Longo Borghini to their squad for Saturday’s race.
With 2021 winner Elizabeth Deignan out injured, a spot within the six-woman squad was up for grabs and who higher to step in? However, the Italian and her crew caught to the plan of specializing in the Ardennes.
Instead, the crew lined up in Denain with a still-impressive squad which may rely on former world champion Elisa Balsamo in addition to Ellen van Dijk and Lucinda Brand, amongst others.
The power in depth was clearly on present on the cobbles, with race MVP candidate Van Dijk a continuing on the head of the race, driving the peloton after which working arduous for Balsamo within the latter levels.
In the top, the Italian got here away with an emotional second place within the ultimate dash, having chased again on after being dropped on Camphin-en-Pévèle, as Van Dijk took sixth.
On the day, there wasn’t way more the crew may have finished to win, having positioned two ladies within the six-rider lead group. How a lot distinction the presence of Longo Borghini may need made is unknowable. But, had she additionally been racing, may Lidl-Trek as an alternative be celebrating a 3rd victory in 4 years? (DO)
More chicanes and higher security marginal positive factors make for higher racing
After days of issues, social media polemics and uniformed reactions, the Forest of Arenberg chicane had little influence, aside from the specified impact of constructing Paris-Roubaix safer.
It diminished the velocity of the riders as they began the notorious sector of cobbles however assaults within the peloton had already occurred on earlier sections of cobbles and so a gaggle of 40 or so riders rode into the Forest collectively, with no hazard of crashing.
The creation of the chicane was no joke however concrete proof that what UCI president David Lappartient dubbed ‘security marginal positive factors’ could make racing safer.
Sprinting into the Forest of Arenberg on a protracted straight strategy street at 60kph had turn out to be a second of crash voyeurism. But with security now extra necessary than a gladiatorial present, it has turn out to be anachronistic.
Does sprinting into the Forest of Arenberg actually make Paris-Roubaix higher? Or does it simply fulfill these in search of the blood and ache of high-speed cobbled crashes?
Mathieu van der Poel nonetheless attacked and dragged a small group clear within the Arenberg however little or no blood was left on the cobbles.
The resolution to introduce a chicane proved that security could be improved and turn out to be an even bigger precedence with out affecting the standard of the racing. The riders requested for it and race organiser ASO was not afraid to place apart custom and make the modifications.
After so many different crashes and severe accidents, certainly it’s now time to make comparable modifications in each different race to safeguard the riders and in the end the standard and fantastic thing about our sport. (SF)
Alpecin-Deceuninck’s excellent teamwork
It was Alpecin-Deceuninck day at Paris-Roubaix. The Belgian crew got here to France with the highest two finishers from 2023 in Mathieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen and bore the burden of expectation that one other cobblestone trophy can be heading their approach on Sunday.
They duly delivered on that promise, taking management of the race and blowing the peloton aside within the crosswinds earlier than inserting 4 males within the lead group earlier than Van der Poel’s triumphant assault at Orchies 60km out.
The world champion was unmatched, matching all pre-race predictions as he simply left his rivals behind. But so was his crew, with maybe lesser-known names comparable to Timo Kielich, Edward Planckaert, and Gianni Vermeersch all taking part in very important roles within the success.
All three had been engaged on the entrance after the crew had blown the peloton aside in crosswinds 150km out, whereas afterward, Vermeersch and Philipsen caught to the wheel of any rider daring to make a transfer following Van der Poel’s assault.
Philipsen had the power left to make the choice within the chase, too, and will then comply with wheels earlier than the inevitable dash to second. As races go, there have been few examples of teamwork as profitable because the masterclass Alpecin-Deceuninck displayed on Sunday. (DO)
A uncommon hole in Marianne Vos’ palmarès
Always a pre-race favorite at within the 4 editions of Paris-Roubaix Femmes, Marianne Vos nonetheless hasn’t been in a position to pull off the elusive victory on the Hell of the North.
The closest she has come to the win was ending second place within the inaugural version behind solo champion Lizzie Deignan. However, she didn’t get one other probability to enhance on that in 2022, as she examined optimistic for COVID-19 the morning of the occasion. In 2023, when the break received the day, she got here tenth.
In a profession that has seen Vos stand on the winner’s step of the rostrum in almost each main race on the worldwide calendar and by which she has only recently secured her 250th street victory, Paris-Roubaix marks a uncommon hole in her palmarès.
Vos had a formidable run-in to the race, which indicated that she is again to her finest after late 2023 surgical procedure on her iliac artery. Indeed, it appeared that this may very well be her 12 months to hoist the cobbled trophy above her head, topped Queen of the Classics, particularly after successful Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Dwars door Vlaanderen.
As she raced into the successful breakaway and onto the velodrome in Roubaix with Lotte Kopecky, Elisa Balsamo, Ellen van Dijk, Pfeiffer Georgi and Amber Kraak, she gave the impression to be in competition because the dash ignited onto the ultimate straightaway.
A quick dash then pale within the ultimate metres as Kopecky stormed to the victory, adopted by Balsamo, and he or she was nipped on the line by Georgi, ending what she steered was a disappointing fourth place – “When you’re using for victory, and also you end fourth, it hurts.”
Vos has had a profession that she outlined as a group of “recollections of various highs and lows,” and at 36, she seems as formidable as ever. The biking world can be watching to see her toe the road at subsequent 12 months’s Paris-Roubaix as she contests the Hell of the North in an try to assert that, to date, elusive title. (KF)
The highs and lows exterior of Alpecin-Deceuninck
There’s no denying that Alpecin-Deceuninck had been the crew of Paris-Roubaix 2024, controlling the race, breaking issues aside after which organising a dominant victory, however what of the others?
Several squads impressed through the 260km experience by way of hell, with Lidl-Trek, Groupama-FDJ, and UAE Team Emirates among the many most notable rides on the day.
Of course, the injury-depleted Lidl-Trek scored a podium by way of Mads Pedersen, whereas Mathias Vacek additionally performed a key function going deep into the race engaged on behalf of the Dane. One wonders how the presence of the absent Jasper Stuyven and Alex Kirsch – plus Jonathan Milan, who crashed out early on – might have modified the race.
Groupama-FDJ have the revelation of the spring in Laurence Pithie and the New Zealander was unfortunate to crash out of the chase with 30km to go. Stefan Küng can be disenchanted to drop out of the rostrum chase within the ultimate kilometres, however fifth and seventh is a powerful end result for the French crew.
Elsewhere, UAE Team Emirates could be pleased with Nils Politt’s fourth place, whereas Tim Wellens additionally made his presence felt with assaults and work on the entrance.
On the opposite hand, it was one other Classics day to overlook for Soudal-QuickStep, who now have not received a cobbled race since Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne in 2022. Yves Lampaert was their high finisher in thirty sixth after an nameless day for the Belgian crew and certainly a rethink is required for future campaigns.
Ineos Grenadiers could be happy with Tom Pidcock’s seventeenth place after his very late call-up, although they may be questioning ‘What if?’ after younger expertise Josh Tarling’s disqualification.
Finally, the ‘superteam of the Classics’ lately, Visma-Lease A Bike, conjured up spectacular and surprising rides from twins Mick and Tim van Dijke, who made their presence felt on the entrance with top-20 placings regardless of the severely weakened crew the Dutch squad had been pressured to area. (DO)
Will the ladies at some point tackle the Arenberg?
The success of the Paris-Roubaix Femmes has helped the much-needed drive in direction of equality within the sport. However, the distinction in race routes and the absence of the long-lasting and sometimes necessary Forest of Arenberg sector of cobbles makes it simple to say that the ladies’s race isn’t but the equal of the boys’s race.
But the lengthy, cobbled sector is without doubt one of the most harmful within the males’s race, so is it actually wanted within the ladies’s race? Is race route equality actually wanted whether it is detrimental to the standard of girls’s racing?
Some riders wish to see Paris-Roubaix Femmes move by way of the Forest of Arenberg in an indication of equality, however others together with Ellen van Dijk and Pfeiffer Georgi, who completed third this 12 months, aren’t satisfied because of the risks of the cobbles and the way it may influence the entire race.
With the beginning of Paris-Roubaix Femmes in Denain, the Forest of Arenberg would come very early within the race, maybe creating an excessive amount of of a range too early within the race.
Race director Franck Perque advised RTBF that he’s not in opposition to at some point together with the Forest of Arenberg if the beginning location modifications.
However maybe the very best change for Paris-Roubaix Femmes is that if these racing and struggling on the cobbles, the riders, have a say on what’s finest for them and their sport. Why does ladies’s racing need to be the identical as males’s racing?
Perhaps a distinct, extra thrilling ladies’s route may even create higher racing by avoiding the historic limitations of the boys’s route. (SF)
The lacking males
There’s no denying that Sunday’s males’s race was shorn of a number of high contenders, even when few, if any, of them had been ever prone to match Mathieu van der Poel’s astonishing successful effort.
Of course, the large miss was Wout van Aert, Van der Poel’s everlasting rival and his closest competitor eventually 12 months’s race sadly taken out of each Flanders and Roubaix by his crash at Dwars door Vlaanderen.
It’s unfair to everyone to take a position what may need occurred if Van Aert had been racing, so let’s hope the pair can be absolutely match to resume their cobbled Classics rivalry subsequent spring.
But wanting past Van Aert, there have been loads of main names lacking from the beginning line, together with his personal teammates, Dwars winner Matteo Jorgenson and former Roubaix winner Dylan van Baarle.
Elsewhere, Lidl-Trek had been down the injured Jasper Stuyven, whereas Ineos Grenadiers did with out Filippo Ganna and the concussed Jhonatan Narváez. Lyme illness noticed Arnaud De Lie name an early finish to his Classics marketing campaign, whereas his Lotto-Dstny teammate and former podium sitter Florian Vermeersch is recovering from a leg break, and Bahrain Victorious missed Matej Mohorič following his crash at Flanders.
Van Aert apart, maybe the one title within the peloton who may match this Van der Poel is that different famous person, Tadej Pogačar. The 2023 Flanders champion has by no means raced Roubaix, in fact, however is there any race he cannot flip his hand to? Earlier this spring he stated, “You’ll see me in Paris-Roubaix at some point for positive.” We’re all eagerly awaiting that day.
Compiègne by no means welcomes a full complement of contenders as crashes, accidents, and sickness take their toll through the cobbled Classics. Here’s hoping for a shorter absentee listing come subsequent April. (DO)