After last year's muddy battle, the 119th edition of Paris-Roubaix is expected to remain dry. Nevertheless, the so-called Hell of the North will be tough.
The favourite is a Dutchman who has already triumphed in the Tour of Flanders. A place in the top ten is possible for German riders.
The route:
Before the riders reach the famous Roubaix race track, they have to cover a tough 257.5 kilometres. The good news: the race is completely flat. The bad news: there are 30 sectors with the roughest northern French cobblestones, almost 55 kilometres in total. Rolf Aldag, head of sport at Bora-hansgrohe, once said that every rider should have ridden Roubaix once. But that would be enough.
The German professionals:
John Degenkolb and Nils Politt know how to make the race a success. Degenkolb won in 2015 - 119 years after Joseph Fischer - and Politt finished second in 2019. So far this year, the duo are still a long way off top form. Politt is probably the most likely to achieve a strong result. The man from Cologne finished fifth in the Tour of Flanders and then put in another training block after the Tour of Flanders. "I'm hoping for a fast race," said Politt.
The favourites:
It would not be the first time that there has been a surprise winner at Paris-Roubaix. The circle of favourites is correspondingly large, with Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel, winner of the Tour of Flanders, a step ahead of everyone else. Also hoping for a triumph in the Roubaix velodrome are Denmark's Kasper Asgreen, his compatriot and former world champion Mads Pedersen, Italy's time trial world champion Filippo Ganna and France's Christophe Laporte.
The weather:
Last year's mud race went down in history. At least the weather is not causing the pros any inconvenience this year. With a maximum temperature of 19 degrees and sunshine, there is even a tailwind at times.
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