Lisa Brennauer sees a top ten finish in the third edition of the Paris-Roubaix women's race as a great success for the German riders.
Three favourites
"Romy Casper is in great form, scratched the top 20 in Flanders and loves this terrain. I wouldn't put it past her to finish in the top ten. Or Mieke Kröger with a solo ride," the Olympic track cycling champion told the ARD "Sportschau" programme. Brennauer ended her career last summer, finishing fourth in 2021. She sees Flanders winner Lotte Kopecky (Belgium), defending champion Elisa Longo Borghini (Italy) and Marlen Reusser (Switzerland) as favourites this year.
A little bit of luck plays "a much bigger role" in the track conditions than in other races. Brennauer certainly didn't miss the tough cobbled sections in retirement. "It's a kind of love-hate relationship. The race itself is cruel, the strain, the conditions there. Just thinking about the 2021 race with all the mud and sludge," said the 34-year-old.
No Forest of Arenberg at the women's Paris-Roubaix
It had previously become known, that the organiser ASO did not include one of the most difficult passages in the women's course, the infamous Arenberg forest. The ASO described it as too dangerous, as the section, which is over two kilometres long and has a maximum difficulty rating of five stars, is not far enough away from the start. "It's too dangerous when a closed peloton arrives there," said Franck Perque from the ASO. "If we want to go that way in the future, we'll have to put some other cobbled sectors in front of it to divide the peloton."
The start is in Denain, which is just ten kilometres from the Arenberg forest. In the men's race on Sunday, it is well over 100 kilometres from the start in Compiègne to this section. The Arenberg sector is so dangerous because the first 500 metres are downhill, the cobbles are very bad and the men reach speeds of 60 km/h at the start.
The women's race has been extended from 125 to 145 kilometres this year. Over a total of 17 sectors, 29.2 kilometres of cobblestones have to be tackled, including the Mons-en-Pévèle and Carrefour de l'Arbre, which also have a five-star rating. For the men, there are 29 sectors with 54.5 kilometres of cobblestones over 257 kilometres.
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