Ganna prepared for Paris-Roubaix chaos after long recon ride: "Legs feel good"

Filippo Ganna has had a fantastic spring so far. He already showed himself to be very strong in Tirreno-Adriatico with a stage victory and second place in the GC, but his one-day races were even more impressive. The Italian from INEOS Grenadiers will start in Paris-Roubaix on Sunday. With his qualities, he should be considered one of the big contenders, even though he does not have much experience in the Hell of the North.

Ganna has competed in Paris-Roubaix four times. In 2018, he finished outside the time limit, and in 2019, he did not make it to the finish line. In 2022, he turned 35, but he enjoyed his most tremendous success two years ago. He finished sixth, 50 seconds behind winner Mathieu van der Poel. He was left wanting more, and the dedicated time trialist hopes to do even better this year. His preparation has been excellent: second in Milan-Sanremo, third in the E3 Saxo Classic, and eighth in the Tour of Flanders.

L'Équipe accompanied the Italian giant on his recon of the last real cobblestone classic of the year. With his Dutch coach, Dajo Sanders, close behind, he flew over all the cobblestone sections he will also cover on Sunday. "The plan was to go through all sectors at a good pace but not too fast," said Sanders. "Then, we selected five sectors where he had to work hard. Not at his maximum, but still not bad. At the beginning, you see peaks to simulate the race, where you attack each sector at full speed."

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"Important to refresh my memory"

A good exercise before the real challenge on Sunday. "It was important to refresh my memory," says Ganna, who is not an expert by experience in northern France. It is also difficult that you only fly over the cobblestones once a year. "In Belgium, you always race on the same roads: the composition is different depending on the race, but here, it's only once a year."

Once he finished his recon, the Italian said it was not his favorite race to ride. "It was pretty tough. I immediately remembered what the cobblestones of Roubaix looked like: always the same chaos," he laughed. His legs are fine, but the rest of his body is still unused to it. "It's mainly my arms that hurt because of the vibrations. This is a part of the body that we generally don't use that much. But my legs are fine."

Coach Sanders was very satisfied with the final steps in the preparation. "It was a training session to get the engine going again after Flanders. With some intensity, but it was not the intention to let the engine run out of steam. When Ganna is asked if he is in his best shape ever, he characteristically does not want to comment. You have to ask his coach," he says. And what does he think? "I would say so," says the Dutchman. Opponents, watch out because Filippo Ganna is ready!

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