Key points:
 170 riders will start the 119th edition of Paris-Roubaix tomorrow, right in front of the Château de Compiègne, three years after the race’s last Spring edition. The sun is expected to greet the riders as they head for a 257,2-kilometer ride that includes 54,8 km worth of cobblestones.

 The much-anticipated duel between Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert might catch some eyes tomorrow, even though the Belgian rider’s build-up for the Hell of the North has been hindered by Covid-19.
 Ineos Grenadiers have arguably been the most powerful team of the Classics season and is lining up quite a packed squad, with ITT world champion Filippo Ganna as the leader on paper … and many cards to play like Dylan van Baarle, Michal Kwiatkowski and American young gun Magnus Sheffield, who comes to Roubaix fresh off winning De Brabantse Pijl.
 Many outsiders will try to upset the favorites by making it into the break, as several underdogs did indeed manage to do over the last few editions. Amongst them we find Groupama-FDJ’s Stefan Küng and Valentin Madouas, and also Trek-Segafredo’s Mads Pedersen, who will try to emulate what his female teammate Elisa Longo Borghini did at Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift on the eve of the men’s race.

WARM WEATHER … AND SOME WIND
Over at the team presentation held on Saturday, the weather forecast for tomorrow’s race was by far the most widely discussed topic. After last year’s cold, rainy edition, sunshine is expected to cast over the peloton all the way from Compiègne to Roubaix. The temperatures, however, will remain around the 20ºC and won’t reach those 27ºC we experienced back in 2007, when Stuart O’Grady triumphed on Summer-like conditions. Most riders are happy with the promise of a blue sky, but some aren’t. Par example, Bahrain Victorious’ Matej Mohoric. “I would have preferred some rain in order for the race to be more demanding skills-wise,” he asserts, while Greg van Avermaet echoes the peloton’s general feeling that it will be “nice” to race on warm weather: “It’s the one there was when I won in 2017 so yeah, I love this weather.” Another factor that will come into play is the wind, which will blow from the east. According to race director Thierry Gouvenou, this will favor the attackers. “There will be tailwind at the exit of the hardest cobbled sectors. Therefore, it will be harder for the groups to come back together. Riders shall not miss the cuts.”

WVA vs MVDP: an anticipated duel
The rivalry between Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel has long become a fixture to some of the most exciting races of the cycling season, both on the road and on the fields – but it is yet to be staged to its bigger extend on Northern France’s cobblestones. It’s only last year that we first saw both riders starting Paris-Roubaix. The Dutchman managed to sprint for the win and cross the finish line on 3rd place, while the Belgian fell out of contention due to some bad luck with 70 kilometers to go and had to settle with 7th. As for this year, Van Aert is on the back foot after catching Covid-19 as recently as two weeks ago. “I’m here with a big question mark over my shoulders,” says the Jumbo-Visma rider. “I feel good right now, but it’s hard to say what my current level is. I’m just happy to be on the start line, as I didn’t want to miss this beautiful race. But this year it will be more difficult than ever for me.” On the other side, Van der Poel shows a remarkable confidence on his possibilities. “I’ve felt in good shape these last few weeks,” asserts Alpecin-Fenix’s leader. “My goal is to win, as it always is.” Will this much-anticipated duel on the Hell of the North take place tomorrow?

Strength in numbers for Ineos Grenadiers
Ineos Grenadiers has long been deemed as a stage-race team, yet this season it has proven its prowess on one-day races time and again. Last Sunday, Poland’s Michael Kwiatkowski won his second Amstel Gold Race, while on Wednesday it was USA’s Magnus Sheffield who raised his arms in victory at De Brabantse Pijl. Both of them will take the start tomorrow along with Netherland’s Dylan van Baarle, who stood second at the podium of the Tour de Flanders two weekends ago. “I love all the Classics, but Roubaix is the most special one for me,” says the Dutchman. “We are in a good place, as we have shown these last few weeks that we are able to play a major role on these races.” Italy’s Filippo Ganna is touted as the team’s leader, yet the promising Magnus Sheffield does also catch some eyes too. And not only because the American is just 19 years old and thus the youngest rider of this year’s race – also because of his power and his recent victory in Belgium. “I am still on shock after that,” he admits. “It’s crazy to think I’m already racing the professional Paris-Roubaix, only three years after participating on the junior version. Sometimes I have to remember myself where I am in order to enjoy the moment I’m living. This race is not a playground, though. It separates men from boys. My role will be to remain in contention for as long as possible, supporting our leaders. We want to have strength in numbers on the final kilometres.”

Stefan Küng: “I dream of victory”
Groupama-FDJ has long relied on Arnaud Démare as its leader for Paris-Roubaix. This year, though, there is a new kid on the block to carry the French hopes on his shoulders: Valentin Madouas, who scored an excellent 3rd place on the Tour of Flanders and will debut tomorrow in the Hell of the North. “I feel very good, duly recovered from Amstel Gold Race,” says Madouas. “I asked to line up in Roubaix right after my podium in Flanders because I felt my legs were relatively fresh. I’ve been granted a free role by my team, which has some other cards to play.” Amongst those, Switzerland’s Stefan Küng, who has also delivered some remarkable results this year (5th at Tour of Flanders, 8th at Amstel Gold Race) and approaches tomorrow’s appointment with optimism. “This is the climax of the Classics season,” he affirms. “I dream of victory. I hope for my legs to be up to the task while my eyes follow the moves of the two biggest favorites, Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel.”

Secrets and successes of the Roubaix break
“Paris-Roubaix is the most beautiful race to go on the breakaway,” said Silvan Dillier on an interview with L’Équipe. Alpecin-Fenix’s Swiss national champion did indeed feature on the break of the 2018 edition and that enabled him to cross the finish line second… as Bora-Hansgrohe’s Nils Politt did on the following edition, and as Lotto-Soudal’s Florian Vermeersch did last year. Furthermore, in 2016, Australia’s Matthew Hayman set the foundations for his win by making it into the day’s breakaway. “This might sound too obvious, but Paris-Roubaix does not start on the cobbled sectors,” asserts Sebastian Langeveld, road captain for EF Education-EasyPost, who has taken part on 13 editions of the race. “Depending on the wind, the breakaway group that might go away on the tarmac has a great chance of getting pretty far into the race. As for tomorrow, I expect the first two hours of racing to be very fast and for a relatively big group to get up the road, as there will be tailwinds that sometimes will blow from the sides.” Another rider with some expertise to share on this domain is Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl’s Tim Declercq, a powerhouse that has featured in the breakaways of four out of the last six editions of the event. “My role at the races is usually to be at the front of the bunch, trying to let go a break that is easy to control,” explains ‘El Tractor’. “This task is way more difficult at Paris-Roubaix, because the roads we ride at the start are very wide and there are attacks right and left – and also from the back of the bunch. I try to follow as many guys possible, as that way it is easier to make it into the front group… But usually, by the time the break is established, I have spent so much energy that I devote myself to working for a teammate that is up there too and has better legs than me.”

Double act for Trek-Segafredo ?
Trek-Segafredo women’s team put on an excellent show on Saturday at Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift, with Elisa Longo Borghini taking the win from a solo break while her teammates Ellen Van Dijk and Lucinda Brand frustrated every attempt from their rivals to counter the Italian national champion’s long-range attack. Brand even landed a podium placing to buckle up the act. Now it’s time for their male counterparts to try and emulate their feats. “This is not just ‘one of the objectives’ of my season – it is ‘the’ key objective of my season,” says Denmark’s Mads Pedersen, spearhead of Trek-Segafredo’s bid. “My shape has been very good these past few weeks, so I hope to be on the mix and racing for the win tomorrow. I don’t think I’m the biggest favorite at the start line – just one of the them. I want to do my own race while watching out for the strong guys, but I am aware that this is a tough, open race, where surprise contenders usually come along.”