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Sunday, April 13, 2025
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Les Woodland's book Paris-Roubaix: The Inside Story - All the bumps of cycling's cobbled classic is available in print, Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.
Current racing:
- April 12-13: Paris-Roubaix
Upcoming racing:
- April 15 - 18: Giro d'Abruzzo
- April 18: De Brabantse Pijl
Latest completed racing:
- April 7 - 12: Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco
- April 8 - 11: Region Pays de la Loire Tour
- April 9: Scheldeprijs
- April 6: Ronde van Vlaanderen
- April 5: GP Miguel Indurain
- April 5: Volta NXT Classic
- April 4: Route Adélie de Vitre
- April 2: Dwars door Vlaanderen
- April 2: Paris - Camembert Lepetit
- March 24 - 30: Volta Ciclista a Catalunya
- March 30: Gent - Wevelgem
- March 30: La Roue Tourangelle
The race organizer posted this on Saturday, April 12:
The 122nd edition of Paris-Roubaix was introduced this Saturday in front of the Château de Compiègne, the city from which the race is set to start on Sunday at 11:10 CEST. Despite the mild rain expected during the night, the Hell of the North will be ridden in dry conditions, with tailwinds in the first part of the race to ensure a very fast run towards the cobbles. Speeds will be lower than usual ahead of the Arenberg Forest, though, as there is a new approach to this sector meant to reduce risks for the riders. Both Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogacar are poised and eager to make history - the former eyeing a third straight victory, the latter hoping to become the first Tour de France winner to triumph in Roubaix since Bernard Hinault in 1981. There is a cohort of rivals who want to upset them, with Wout van Aert, Mads Pedersen or Filippo Ganna all coming into the race in excellent shape and with high expectations.
THIERRY GOUVENOU ANTICIPATES “A DRY PARIS-ROUBAIX”
Like every cycling fan, every team staffer and every rider, the organizers of Paris-Roubaix spend the week ahead of the event “eyes fixed on the weather forecast.” Some spectators dream of a wet edition, yet most participants hope for a dry one. “In theory, there will be some rain overnight and early in the morning, but it will be mostly dry during the day,” says race director Thierry Gouvenou. “I believe the cobbled sectors will be quite dry by the time the riders hit them, but there might still be some wet parts and that may cause some risks. There will be tailwinds in the first half of the race and some large sections of crosswinds in the second one, and that will be quite demanding for the riders. The start will be quite fast and there will hardly be any quiet moments throughout the day.”
The speed will be slower than usual, though, in the approach to the Arenberg Forest, which has been modified this year. “The traditional approach is a descending false flat on a large, straight road. Riders would usually reach 60 or 65 kph right before entering a three-meter-wide cobbled track,” describes Gouvenou. “It was a scary moment for everyone. At the request of the riders association, we have found a solution to reduce the danger at that point by including four corners right before entering the cobbled sector. That way, the peloton will be slower and stretched out so it is not too crowded nor too hectic riding into the Arenberg Forest. This is very important from a safety point of view.”
MATHIEU VAN DER POEL, AIMING FOR HISTORY: “RIDING ON INSTINCT”
Already a victor at this race in 2023 and 2024, Mathieu van der Poel is chasing a number of records this Sunday. As a matter of fact, only two other riders have managed to win three straight editions of the Hell of the North in the race’s rich history: Octave Lapize (1909, 1910, 1911) and Francesco Moser (1978, 1979, 1980). “Paris-Roubaix is one of the special races I work for all winter long, hoping to win it again,” says the Dutch rider, who believes he is ready to take on Tadej Pogacar and all the other cyclists challenging for the title he is defending. “I always try to race on instinct and it’s especially the case in Roubaix, where anything can happen. I’m one of the favourites, but this is a race where many riders can win. It’s good that Pogacar is here. He will for sure be in the mix. We already saw in the Tour de France that he is good on these cobbles.” Van der Poel is not Alpecin-Deceuninck’s sole contender, as Jasper Philipsen has been second in his teammate’s two victories in the Vélodrome André Pétrieux. “We have to play our cards,” says Philipsen, “and Mathieu sure is our best one.”
TADEJ POGACAR, AIMING FOR LEGEND: “PARIS-ROUBAIX REPRESENTS A CHALLENGE”
It has been a hot topic of conversation in professional cycling ever since, on February 10th, he posted a video on Instagram riding over the cobbles in the Arenberg Forest. Will Tadej Pogacar dare to participate in Paris-Roubaix? Time gave us an emphatic “yes” as an answer. “It represents a challenge for me and I’m looking forward to taking it on,” says the rider unanimously regarded as the current best in the world - the one who has managed to overcome every expectation since turning pro, the one who has been either first or second overall in all last five editions of the Tour de France while collecting 17 stage wins and spending 39 days in the Yellow Jersey, the one who has claimed 8 Monuments already at age 26.
“We are here to win,” Pogacar asserts alluding to his team strength-in-depth, with two Paris-Roubaix podium finishers like Nils Politt (2nd in 2019) and Florian Vermeersch (2nd in 2021) at his service. If he earns the cobblestone trophy, he will be the first rider to have won both Paris-Roubaix and the Tour de France since Bernard Hinault (1981). How does the UAE Team Emirates kingpin intend to do it? “You can speak all day about tactics but anything can happen in this race. It’s really hard to predict. The legs will matter, but I think lots of guys can win.” In the past, some Tour de France specialists were scared to enter this race due to the risk of getting injured. “Every race is dangerous,” says Pogacar to put hazard into perspective. “High speed crashes can happen anywhere.”
A DEEP, BOLD FIELD OF CHALLENGERS FOR THE TWO BIG FAVORITES
By Wout van Aert’s own assessment, Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogacar are the two biggest favorites in this 2025 Paris-Roubaix. “They have shown they are a bit better than the rest this campaign,” admits the Visma | Lease a Bike leader, who has stood twice on the podium of the Vélodrome André Pétrieux. “They have dropped us, their rivals, a few times in the last few weeks… But the Classics in Flanders are way more hillier than in Northern France.” The flat profile of the Hell of the North is also a good fit for Denmark’s Mads Pedersen, who finished 3rd last year. “I would say that, of all the Classics, this is the one that suits me the best,” points out the Lidl-Trek powerhouse. “The race dynamics? They are really hard to call, as they depend on the wind and on how the race develops - but for sure it will be a big battle.” There are several other riders hoping to upset the two men to beat, like Ineos Grenadiers’ Filippo Ganna or Groupama-FDJ’s Stefan Küng, whose brave tactics might prove beneficial if the race is as hectic as it usually is. After all, everyone says luck is key in Paris-Roubaix … and fortune favours the bold.
HOW MUCH WILL THE THREE DEBUTANTS ENJOY THEIR FIRST BALL OVER THE COBBLES?
France’s Unibet Tietema Rockets and Switzerland’s Tudor Pro Cycling Team and Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team are all three entering Paris-Roubaix for the first time this year. We have to go back to 2009 in order to find an edition of this event with more debutant teams. In that year, Tom Boonen claimed the third of his four cobblestone trophies and Filippo Pozzato and Thor Hushovd stood with him on the podium, both sporting two outfits which were new in the Hell of the North - Katusha and Cervelo Test Team.
Will this year’s newcomers enjoy similar luck? Marco Haller, from Tudor, entertains big ambitions after featuring in the breakaway of three out of the last five editions of this race. “I am going to be a bit more passive this year, as my shape is very good and I am focusing on getting a good result,” says the Austrian rouleur. “I know that following the accelerations from Pogacar or Van der Poel would be quite difficult, so I’ll try to survive until the Arenberg Forest and then make my move.” Q36.5 will be spearheaded by Belgium’s Frederik Frison, a veteran with five editions of this race already under his belt. As for Unibet Tietema Rockets, Slovakia’s Lukas Kubis is the man to watch after scoring nine top10 results in these first three months of the season, including one victory in the Cholet Agglo Tour. In his pre-race interview, Kubis spoke of “following the footsteps of Peter Sagan,” one of the best riders in this century and winner of this race in 2018.
ECO-FRIENDLY TRAVEL TO THE RACE
Coming to the famous Roubaix velodrome without driving and needing to find a parking space is a great choice! Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift encourages spectators to travel to the race by train or other modes of public transport. Thanks to the partnership with TER Hauts-de-France, certain train tickets can be purchased half-price. To make life easier, a QR code has been created, which fans can scan to get the details of the easiest route and best mode of transport to reach Roubaix, or other key points on the course of the race, from their location. Orchies, Templeuve and Baisieux are amongst the towns on the route that can be reached by train.
We posted the report from winner Joao Almeida's UAE Team Emirates with the results.
Here's the report from GC third-place Max Schachmann's Team Soudal Quick-Step:
Maximilian Schachmann became only the third German rider this century to conclude the Itzulia Basque Country – one of the most prestigious stage races in the world – on the overall podium, capping off an excellent week that saw him take the opening stage individual time trial, as well as spending three days in the yellow jersey.
Though he held the lead in the early stages, Max Schachmann finished third.
The most important race to take place in the Basque Country came to an end for the third year in a row in the city Eibar, on an up-and-down course that comprised seven classified climbs and an elevation gain of more than 3700 meters, again without the iconic Arrate, which has been removed after the organisers decided to revamp the route of the final stage. This time, the last ascent was Trabakua, but the climax of the stage came on Izua, the gruelling climb that featured around 40 kilometers from the finish, and where the big attacks were launched by the general classification contenders.
Both Maximilian Schachmann and Ilan Van Wilder got distanced there, but fought hard to limit the damage, and after being joined by their Soudal Quick-Step teammates Gianmarco Garofoli and Mauri Vansevenant on the wet descent, they began trading pulls at the front to reduce the gap to the yellow jersey group. The climbing continued in the final hour of the race, and this rugged territory made for another breathtaking chase, one that concluded in Eibar with the victory of Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates).
The incredible effort put in by our riders helped Schachmann successfully defend his place in the standings, thus sealing a remarkable third in the Basque Country – the season’s 15th World Tour race. The 31-year-old was joined in the top ten by his teammate, Ilan Van Wilder, who showcased a great fighting spirit to finish sixth overall. Soudal Quick-Step’s amazing consistency throughout the week was underlined by the victory the Wolfpack recorded in the team classification, which our squad wrapped up in Eibar.
“We took a win, some other podiums and even had a couple of stages in the yellow jersey. I am happy I could finish in the top three, it makes me proud, not only on a personal level, but also because it came as a result of some outstanding teamwork. The same teamwork and determination that could be seen today on this complicated stage, and which helped both myself and Ilan defend our positions in the general classification and take home the team standings. It was a well-deserved result for the entire squad after a hard week that will give us a lot of confidence for the next races of this spring”, said Max after his first GC podium of the season.
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Here's the Tour of the Basque Country report from Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet's Team Groupama-FDJ:
Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet saved the best for last. On Saturday, in the closing stage of the Tour of the Basque Country, the French climber showed his stamina after a short but grueling day around Eibar. After Romain Grégoire’s breakaway, the leader of Groupama-FDJ took advantage of the last climb to launch a counterattack behind two favorites who had gone earlier. A crash in the last three kilometres stopped him a bit, but the Frenchman was then given the same time as the second group, therefore securing the top 10 overall (8th).
The famous “up and down” stage of Eibar, with seven classified climbs and 3,700 metres of elevation gain spread over 153 kilometres, was on the menu this Saturday to conclude the Tour of the Basque Country. An ideal profile for the climbers, but an equally interesting profile for turning the general classification over. “We were all behind Guillaume today, because we know he likes this kind of stage,” explained Benoît Vaugrenard. “We also know that breakaways rarely go all the way on this stage, but we decided to put a good climber in front, to potentially be useful in the final.”
The start line for the final stage of the Tour of the Basque Country.
In the first major climb of the day, Romain Grégoire went for it and then joined a breakaway of around twenty men. “If the breakaway had got a big lead, he could have tried to get a big result, but we knew this stage was a bit too difficult for him,” added Benoît. What’s more, the breakaway never really enjoyed a significant gap over the peloton, which kept it under three minutes throughout the first half of the race.
Halfway through the race, and after the first five climbs, the breakaway was down to eleven riders, and the Groupama-FDJ’s puncher was still there. However, the peloton came back at full speed as the Izua climb (4 km at 9%) approached, and Romain Grégoire was caught while the rain appeared. As for Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet, he managed to keep up with the yellow jersey’s pace, although he was unable to follow Joao Almeida and Enric Mas as they attacked towards the summit. He then found himself a second group of favorites heading towards the final climb, at Trabakua (3.3 km at 6.8%). He gave a few turns at first, before he decided to give it a go when the slopes came, going solo in counterattack!
“At the briefing, we say we could try to break away in the final, on the last hills, and he did it more or less where we had planned,” said Benoît Vaugrenard. “It was really well done, and he was really strong. When he attacked, everyone was at the limit, and his attack was really sharp. He made just one and ultimately it was the right one. We were a bit scared at first because he didn’t take much of a lead, but he was ultimately very strong and he managed to hold on, with the help of Aranburu later on.”
Some forty seconds behind the leading quartet, and around thirty seconds ahead of the rest of the GC contenders, Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet worked with the Spanish champion through the final hills of the course. He then headed towards the finish line, a few kilometers further down, but found himself on the ground after slipping on a wet road just under three kilometres from the finish. The French climber was caught by the third group before the finish, crossing the line in 19th position, but was subsequently given the same time as Aranburu, 21 seconds ahead.
“I’m still a bit frustrated that I couldn’t finish it off and get a good result on the stage,” smiled Guillaume. “Besides the general classification, it was a great day. I was going quite well, just like the last two days. I’m pretty satisfied with the day and the improving form over the week.” “We know Guillaume’s endurance, and today was just that,” commented Benoît. “The weather was also good for him. We could see that he was improving over the past two days. We decided to really support him, because he deserves it, and this final eighth place is a great reward for him and the team.”
Thanks to an aggressive and combative race, Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet gained five places in the general classification on this final day. This is his first top 10 in a WorldTour stage race since 2023. “The week’s balance is good,” concluded Benoît. “We came with several objectives, which wasn’t easy. We fought for a sprint in the second stage with Thibaud (4th), the third stage left us with regrets with Romain (2nd), and we concluded today with Guillaume in eighth place. Sometimes, one rider stands out, but I’ll say that the team as a whole was really excellent, and it was a real pleasure to spend this week with them.” While Romain Grégoire will now head to the “Ardennes” Classics, Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet will first make a detour to the Franche-Comté triptych next weekend. “While the idea this week was to go for the overall, next week it will be to put my hands in the air,”Guillaume said. “There will be three opportunities, so I hope to win at least once.”
And here's the Basque Country Tour report from Team Baharin Victorious:
The 2025 edition of Itzulia Tour of the Basque Country finished with its traditional Eibar showdown; a stage which looked brutal enough on paper, as it included 4,000m of climbing. But add to that rain throughout, and it became even more challenging. Top finisher for Bahrain Victorious was Santiago Buitrago who was top 20 on the day and 13th overall.
Santiago Buitrago (shown at the Tour of Valencia in 2025) was the team's best finisher. Sirotti photo
Sports Director Neil Stephens reflected on what has been a testing week:
“Probably we didn’t achieve what we really hoped to. We were trying to get on the final GC podium and get at least one stage win. I think it’s realistic to say that the flat time trial at the start really didn’t help us. I think we were right out of the game for the General Classification. Then we tried to get the guys going, to get them to fight for each stage, however once again luck wasn’t with us when Pello Bilbao crashed. Still he tried everything he could in front of his home crowd on stage 5. Here on stage 6 everyone gave it whatever they could and they really tried hard. So we’re walking away without great results, but with the satisfaction we give it our best.
"Unfortunately it wasn’t the ideal finish, but we’ll be back to fight again.”
Next up for the team is the most prestigious of monuments, Paris-Roubaix on Sunday.
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We posted the race organizer's report with the results.
Here's the report from winner Pauline Ferrand-Prévot's Team Visma | Lease a Bike:
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot claimed an impressive victory in Paris-Roubaix. Following a powerful team performance, the French rider launched an attack with 25 kilometers to go and soloed to the win. It marks her first victory for the team, which had identified this race as one of its main goals for the season.
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot solos across the finish line.
In the French cobbled classic, all eyes were quickly on the important cobbled sections, which prevented any large, dangerous breakaway from forming. On the first sectors, the riders from the yellow-and-black team – who were riding on a new tire system from Gravaa – immediately made their presence felt, with Marianne Vos, Ferrand-Prévot, Linda Riedmann, Imogen Wolff, and Sophie von Berswordt all in the front during the first selection.
With 50 kilometers to go, the race truly ignited. After a crash involving Ferrand-Prévot and Riedmann, Kopecky launched an attack, with Vos managing to bridge across in impressive fashion. Then, with 35 kilometers remaining, Ferrand-Prévot and Von Berswordt were also able to rejoin the lead group.
At the 25-kilometer mark, Ferrand-Prévot made her move, heading into the crucial Carrefour de l’Arbre with a gap. On the decisive cobbled sector, the French rider continued to extend her lead, and the chasing group was unable to close the gap — allowing Ferrand-Prévot to solo to a commanding victory in Paris-Roubaix.
"When I got back to the front group after my crash, I decided to attack, and I quickly saw that I had a nice gap", Ferrand-Prévot reflected. "Initially, the plan was to ride for Marianne, because I hadn’t been feeling great over the last few days. But once I had the advantage, I gave it everything. For it to turn out this way is just amazing."
The French rider already has several major wins to her name, but this one means a great deal to her. "I don’t quite realize yet how big this victory is, but I’m incredibly happy. My teammates did a fantastic job, and we really raced as a team today. That makes the win even more special and definitely adds some extra shine."
Here's the Paris-Roubaix Femmes report from second-place Letizia Borghesi's Team EF Education-Oatly:
Letizia Borghesi and Alison Jackson sent it over the cobbles today to finish second and fifth at Paris-Roubaix.
Letizia attacked out of the first chase group in the final kilometers of the cobbled Monument and held her gap all the way to the finish in the Roubaix velodrome to finish second. A few seconds later, Alison Jackson thundered around the boards to finish fifth on the line.
Letizia was ecstatic with her breakout ride.
“This was the big goal for me this winter,” she said. “I always thought I had the skills to do it. It was hard and I had to chase, but now here at the end, it's amazing. Finally, I see myself where I thought I could be this year. It is just incredible. The team did an amazing race. I had a flat in the beginning. It was so hard to come back. And then, in the second half, we had Alison. At the end, I still had energy and wanted to attack in the finale and try to take a big podium.”
The podium, from left: Letizia Borghesi (2nd), Pauline Ferrand-Prevot (1st), & Lorena Wiebes (3rd)
Second place at the Hell of the North was Letizia’s prize for her courage. Alison could not be prouder of her teammate. After a monster effort to match the favorites’ attacks over the hardest cobbled sectors, Alison joined Letizia in the front group and the two worked together to stay out of the crosswinds and hit the final sectors of stones at the front of the pack. Riding into the final kilometers in the outskirts of Roubaix, the two matched attack after attack, before Letizia sprinted away on the run into the velodrome, just before the red kite marking one kilometer to go.
“The whole team is really stoked with Letizia’s second place,” Alison said. “It was a really good play from the whole team. In the finale, Letizia and I just had to play the game. I think we really worked together well and communicated well, looking for the opportunity. Leti really wanted it and went for the counter attack at one kilometer to go. I just sat in behind the chase, cheering her on, as she went solo into the velodrome. And then I came into the velodrome with a rear flat, but I still wanted to go for the sprint, because there was still a podium place available. We were really happy with this team performance. It really takes a team and that's what we showed out there today. Happy days!”
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And here's the Paris-Roubaix Femmes report from Pfeiffer Georgi's Team Picnic-PostNL:
The Hell of the North awaited the Women’s peloton on Saturday afternoon for the fifth edition of the race. Having finished in the top ten of every edition so far and a brilliant third place in 2024, Team Picnic PostNL headed into the day motivated to put in another strong performance, with Franziska Koch and Pfeiffer Georgi as finishers. Some good team riding by the squad saw Koch and Georgi well positioned for the opening sectors where a fast tempo split the bunch to pieces, and the duo made it into a front group of around 30 riders at that point.
However, disaster struck for Georgi and the team as a puncture forced a bike change just before the crucial cobbled sector of Orchies at around 50 kilometres to go. After a big fight back and chase, Georgi returned to the ever-diminishing leading group as they entered the last 25 kilometres.
Pfeiffer Georgi wins the 2023 British Road Championship.
Georgi focused on following the wheels and trying to recuperate as much energy as possible, anticipating the battle for the podium from her group. However, on the Willems à Hem sector of cobbles Georgi slipped out and crashed. Remounting, she fought all the way to the velodrome to take 13th place on the day with Team Picnic PostNL.
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