Watch Paris-Roubaix Femmes on SBS and SBS On Demand from 2130 AEST on Saturday, with the men’s race on Sunday from 1855 AEST on SBS On Demand and 2130 AEST on SBS.
Yesterday was an important hit-out in terms of the cobbled classics with the Brabantes Pijl men’s and women’s races providing some key insights into the riders and especially teams flying ahead of the cobbled monument. There are plenty of lessons we can take from the recent races, as well as the history of Paris-Roubaix.
The Belgian semi-classic Brabantes Pijl is almost a halfway mix between the cobbled and the Ardennes classics, filled with short, punchy climbs, some cobbled and others not around a testing course on the outskirts of Brussels.
In both cases, it was dominant team performances that laid the foundations for solo wins, with Magnus Sheffield (INEOS Grenadiers) capitalising on his teammates numbers in the front group and then Demi Vollering in the women’s race doing the exact same on the back of similar work from SD-Worx.
Both teams have been the strongest teams in the classics to date. Each have their competitors of course, Trek-Segafredo in the women’s have also been strong, while Jumbo-Visma are the biggest all-round challengers in the men’s ranks.
But the strength of each in recent races has been awesome, both squads were the best positioned in the finales of Amstel Gold Races, with INEOS good enough to convert it into a win, while SD-Worx expertly played the numbers game in the Tour of Flanders to win through Kopecky.
Paris-Roubaix is a different beast from any of the races mentioned above, the experience in navigating the crinkled cobbles, the importance of luck and the attritional battle on the journey to the Roubaix velodrome separates the ‘Hell of the North’ from any other race on the calendar.
However, many traditional rules of cycling still ring true. Numbers in the front of the race count, both for shepherding team leaders through the race in the freshest possible shape, and then also for winning the race at the end.
Positioning is crucial. Whether it’s a narrow road leading into a climb in hilly Limburg for Amstel Gold, or a pinchpoint for a cobbled sector at Roubaix, slipping back ten positions is often the difference between making the decisive move of the race and not.
These are the things to watch as the race develops, and where so many of the riders are focused. 70 per cent of the peloton knows that they aren’t going to be at the pointy end of the race in the last 30 kilometres, it’s about setting things up for their team leaders so there’s a chance for them to win.
As a counterpoint, there’s always the chance for the more unheralded riders to shine on the Roubaix cobbles. Some riders just take to them, and it’s often the more grinding style of rider, the rouleur or even a stodgy domestique that has his or her day in the sun after years of working for others. For reference, see Mat Hayman, Johan van Summeren, Nils Politt, Silvan Dillier, Sebastian Turgot, Ian Stannard and Florian Vermeersch, who have all graced the podium in the Roubaix velodrome in the past ten years but rarely appear high on the results sheet in other races.
The women’s peloton is building its tradition in this regard, but for this year’s race, riders who look like they might fit the bill as potential surprise packets are Aussie Lauretta Hanson (Trek-Segafredo), Pfeiffer Georgi (Team DSM) and Mieke Kroger (Human Powered Health).
Looks can be deceiving though. Alexander Kristoff (Intermarché - Wanty - Gobert Matériaux) over on the men’s side of things has been attracting some attention with his recent form and a victory at Scheldeprijs. The big Norwegian has always looked like a man engineered to crush the Roubaix cobbles but for whatever reason, on French pave he has never been able to reproduce his results on the Flemish hellingen.
Add in a good dollop of luck required to win the race, or perhaps just avoiding the bad luck, and you can see why Paris-Roubaix is one of the most exciting races of the season to watch and theorise about in the lead-up and the aftermath. Gianni Moscon last year appeared to be on the path to the win, but a mechanical and a crash later, he was caught and ended up finishing off the podium.
The best part of Paris-Roubaix from a spectator’s perspective is that the race can change at any moment, hinging on one of a thousand different factors. It’s racing right on the jagged edge of a cobble, as unpredictable and treacherous as the famous stones that are the iconic symbol of Paris-Roubaix.
Watch Paris-Roubaix Femmes on SBS and SBS On Demand from 2130 AEST on Saturday, with the men’s race on Sunday from 1855 AEST on SBS On Demand and 2130 AEST on SBS.
