Paris-Roubaix 2024: The most important facts in brief
- Date: 7 April 2024
- Distance: 260 km flat, including 55 km of pavés
- Key points: Trouee d'Arenberg, Carrefour de l'Arbre, Mons-en-Pevele
- Start: Compiegne
- Target: Roubaix, Velodrome André Petrieux
- Track, TV broadcast & live stream
- Chicane planned in front of Arenberg forest
- This is how Paris-Roubaix went: Re-live the race
- To the men's race report
The TOUR favourites by stars*
* Tim Wellens, Joshua Tarling, Mikkel Bjerg, Max Walscheid, Oier Lazkano, Laurence Pithie, Thomas Pidcock
** Christophe Laporte, Ben Turner, Jonathan Milan
*** John Degenkolb, Dylan van Baarle, Stefan Küng
**** Nils Politt, Mads Pedersen, Jasper Philipsen
***** Mathieu van der Poel
* The more stars a driver receives, the stronger he is rated
Paris-Roubaix 2024: Will Mathieu van der Poel manage the double?
After Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) became the record winner with his third triumph in the Tour of Flanders - six other riders have also achieved this - the Dutchman wants to complete the legendary spring classic double in Paris-Roubaix. This year, he will once again start as the top favourite - but not as clearly as in Flanders. This is because there are no mountains on the way to Roubaix like in Flanders, it is a more tactical race in France and luck plays a much bigger role than it did a week earlier.
Three candidates with four stars
In a man-to-man duel, it will be difficult to stand up to van der Poel. However, there are a few candidates who are capable of doing so. First and foremost Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) and Nils Politt (UAE Team Emirates). Pedersen exposed himself early in the Tour of Flanders, too early as it turned out in the end. His breakaway attempt backfired and the Dane had no chance in the end. In addition, Pedersen was still was hampered by his crash injuries from Dwars door Vlaanderen, where Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike) also went down.
Pedersen's chances are better at Paris-Roubaix. On the one hand, he should no longer be feeling the effects of his injuries as much, and on the other hand, he can be assessed more favourably on the flat course in northern France than on the hills around Oudenaarde. The same applies to his team-mate Jonathan Milan. The Italian track and sprint specialist did not play a role in Flanders. In two participations, he has twice abandoned Paris-Roubaix early. His top performance at Gent-Wevelgem, when he pipped van der Poel and paved the way for Pedersen to win, and his two stage victories at Tirreno-Adriatico have earned him a place in the TOUR favourites.
Paris-Roubaix more to Nils Politt's taste than Tour of Flanders
The situation for Politt is similar to that of Pedersen and Milan. Paris-Roubaix suits the German much better than the short, explosive climbs of the previous week. Nevertheless, Politt has already finished third on the podium there. This shows just how good the Cologne native is at the moment. In 2019, Politt was already second at Paris-Roubaix, which he still struggles with a little, as he says revealed in the TOUR interview. If Politt comes through without any defects or other major mishaps, he will be one of the first candidates that van der Poel will have to fear. His UAE team also has two riders in its ranks, Tim Wellens and Mikkel Bjerg, who can also finish in the front ranks in Roubaix.
But Alpecin-Deceuninck is also in the luxurious position of having another favourite in its ranks in Jasper Philipsen. The Belgian sprinted to second place on the Roubaix circuit in 2023, making it a perfect double victory for Alpecin-Deceuninck. One option would be to use the tried and tested tactics used in Milan-San Remo has led to success: Van der Poel attracts the attention of the competition and Philipsen takes the win in the end.
Visma | Lease a Bike badly shaken
This means that Alpecin-Deceuninck nominally has the stronger riders than Visma | Lease a Bike. The Dutch team will be heavily decimated at the start. In addition to the cancellation of Wout van Aert, the team will also have to do without Matteo Jorgenson at short notice. Dylan van Baarle (winner of Paris-Roubaix 2022) and Christophe Laporte are still among the favourites, but are not on the top shelf. Both have recently been suffering from health problems. Van Baarle was already back in action at the Tour of Flanders (83rd place), while Laporte has not raced since Milan-San Remo in mid-March.
Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ), on the other hand, is in good form. The Swiss rider had bad luck with a crash at the Tour of Flanders and missed out on a top place. The 30-year-old is extremely fast and copes well with the cobbles. Only in the sprints does he have to make concessions against riders like Politt, Pedersen, Philipsen or van der Poel. Nevertheless, after finishing third in 2022 and fifth in 2023, he is hoping for the big time this year.
John Degenkolb's chances at Paris-Roubaix 2024
John Degenkolb (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) still has unfinished business with Paris-Roubaix - even though he won the race in 2015. Last year, the German rode in the group of favourites for a long time, but a crash cost him all chances of victory. There is hardly another rider who knows the Queen of the Classics as well and can read it as well as Degenkolb. The 35-year-old recently emphasised to TOUR that he still has what it takes to ride at the front in the big races - He can be trusted to do it. However, Degenkolb will start with a small handicap: a bad knee that he suffered in a crash during the course inspection.
Another German who is doing well at Paris-Roubaix is Max Walscheid (Team Jayco-AlUla). The 30-year-old rode a very good race in 2023 and finished eighth. 20th place at the Tour of Flanders suggests that Walscheid's form could be peaking at the right time.
The Spaniard Oier Lazkano (Movistar) is just as fast as Walscheid. The 24-year-old finished third at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne and was also among the front runners at last weekend's Ronde up to the Koppenberg. There could be more in it for him in Roubaix.
Laurence Pithie, Thomas Pidcock, Joshua Tarling and Ben Turner
Alongside Lazkano, Laurence Pithie (Groupama-FDJ) is one of the discoveries of the 2024 spring classics. The 21-year-old New Zealander has often kept up with the front for a long time, but the really big result is still missing - 15th place at Milan-San Remo and 26th place at Gent-Wevelgem, where he was the only one to keep up with Pedersen and van der Poel for a long time. Perhaps he'll be able to hit the big time at Paris-Roubaix.
Finally, we take a look at the Ineos Grenadiers team. The British team surprised everyone with the last-minute nomination of Thomas Pidcock. The all-rounder crashed during the opening time trial of the Tour of the Basque Country and abandoned the race before the start. However, his injuries were not as serious as initially feared, so Pidcock decided at short notice to start at Paris-Roubaix. It is the 24-year-old's first start at Paris-Roubaix. The Olympic mountain bike champion is therefore something of a grab bag. With his riding skills, he is capable of pretty much anything.
With Joshua Tarling and Ben Turner, Ineos Grenadiers also has two other promising candidates at the start. Turner was third in the 2023 World Time Trial Championships at the age of 19. The 1.94 metre tall youngster is therefore extremely fast. However, he may still lack the experience for the big coup in Roubaix, but he has outsider chances. His team-mate Ben Turner, who is four years older and finished eleventh at Paris-Roubaix in 2022, gets one more star, whereas Tarling missed the time limit last year.
