LIVE Paris-Roubaix 2025 | Van der Poel, Pogacar, van Aert, Pedersen, an exciting race and some rain?!

We saw a Dutchman celebrating in the Hell of the North in the last three editions. Dylan van Baarle won the 2022 edition, followed by Mathieu van der Poel in the previous two years. In 2023, after Wout van Aert had a flat tire at a critical point last season with a bizarrely long solo ride towards the velodrome in the northern French city.

In 2021, Van der Poel was also the great animator in the legendary rainy edition won by Sonny Colbrelli. A huge surprise, just as Matthew Hayman in 2016 was a surprise. That is also what Paris-Roubaix is all about: the winner does not always have to be the strongest. En avant!

2024 Mathieu van der Poel
2023 Mathieu van der Poel
2022 Dylan van Baarle
2021 Sonny Colbrelli
2020 Not ridden
2019 Philippe Gilbert
2018 Peter Sagan
2017 Greg Van Avermaet
2016 Matthew Hayman
2015 John Degenkolb

Paris-Roubaix is not about the elevation gain but the cobblestones. The first cobbled sections for the men appear after just under a hundred kilometers when the peloton will start the first of a total of 29 cobbled sections. As always, the organization assigns a level of difficulty, ranging from one to five stars. There are three with five stars: Trouée d'Arenberg (also known as the Forest of Wallers), Carrefour de l'Arbre, and Mons-en-Pevele.

Nowadays, you must pay close attention to kilometer zero in Compiegne because, in the flattest Monument, the early breakaway can sometimes go a long way. On sections like the Trouée d'Arenberg, it is better to be ahead of the chaos than behind it, which will be emphasized during the briefings in the various team buses. After one hundred kilometers, the riders reach cobblestone section one, following each other rapidly.

Traditionally, the finale begins at the mythical Trouée d'Arenberg, although it has also sometimes erupted at Haveluy a Wallers in recent years. The reason for this? So, things are already somewhat settled before the Forest, making the most intense phase of the race somewhat more controllable. Incidentally, the run-up to the dreaded Forest has changed again this year, with a chicane just before it and the addition of two lanes.

After Trouée d'Arenberg, the race is not expected to slow down for a moment because, in the phase up to Mons-en-Pevele (the next five-star section), there will be seven sections over a period of just fifty kilometers, all with at least three starts.

Only after Mons-en-Pevele do the cyclists get to tackle some easier stretches, but the Camphin-en-Pévèle (four stars, twenty kilometers from Roubaix) and the often crucial Carrefour de l'Arbre (five stars, eighteen kilometers from the finish) put an abrupt end to that. After the 'Carrefour,'' three more straightforward stretches before the Roubaix Velodrome exist.

Weather
There is even a chance of rain on Sunday, although that is still anyone's guess at the moment. The temperature is expected to be around 20 degrees Celsius, and there will be a moderate tailwind all day so that we can expect a fast edition.

Times
Start: 05:25 AM EDT
Finish: approximately 10:15 AM EDT

Regarding top favorites, we are looking at the men who have dominated the spring so far. Based on the past two years, Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) stands out just a bit above the other contenders. Due to a previous illness, the Dutch rider was not at the top of his game in the Tour of Flanders, but an extra week will certainly do him good. Jasper Philipsen also has the number two of the past editions as a fast man by his side, together with Gianni Vermeersch.

The fascinating factor this Sunday will be Tadej Pogacar. A Tour de France winner participating in Paris-Roubaix? Historic! After the Tour of Flanders, he - who did a lot of recon last week - was already looking ahead to the race. "I'm in good shape and already looking forward to it, but we have a strong team. He said two guys had already finished second in that race, and it would only be my first time participating," referring to Nils Politt and Florian Vermeersch. "But we are in good shape, as you can see. That sounds promising."

It has been in the Belgian media all spring and so on: Paris-Roubaix is the Monument that Wout van Aert is best at. "In the past, I have often felt good there. It wasn't always easy, but that's typical Roubaix. I'm looking forward to Sunday. In the middle of the week, I will do two more good training sessions, and then it's time to look forward to the next classic', said the leader of Visma | Lease a Bike - which also has former winner Dylan van Baarle - and the much-discussed tire pressure system in Oudenaarde.

What Van Aert says also applies to Mads Pedersen of Lidl-Trek. The number three in the Tour of Flanders is still chasing that Monument and may have the strongest team available. Strong ox Jonathan Milan is there, Flanders' fifth Jasper Stuyven is participating, and the qualities of men like Edward Theuns and Mathias Vacek also stand out on the cobbles of northern France.

INEOS Grenadiers also has a project for Paris-Roubaix. With time trialists Filippo Ganna and Joshua Tarling, they have two leaders who should be well suited for the race, and both have their sights set on it. Connor Swift is also a man to watch, given his performance in races with many unpaved roads.

Are there more? Indeed, because it is Paris-Roubaix, after all! Fast riders like Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ), Taco van der Hoorn, Laurenz Rex (Intermarché-Wanty), Max Walscheid (Jayco AlUla), Ivan Garcia Cortina (Movistar), Stefan Bissegger (Decathlon AG2R), Alec Segaert (Lotto) and Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X) will be hoping for a role in the finale. That certainly applies to the brothers Tim and Mick van Dijke, who showed their potential last year with impressive performances.

There are also a lot of men with a sprint in their legs. Jordi Meeus, Laurence Pithie (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Davide Ballerini, Mike Teunissen (XDS-Astana), Alexander Kristoff, Soren Waerenskjold (Uno-X), Biniam Girmay, Hugo Page (Intermarché-Wanty), Hugo Hofstetter (Israel-Premier Tech) and certainly also Tim Merlier of Soudal Quick-Step: will all be at the start in Compiègne with confidence.

Top favorites: Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates-XRG)

You can follow Paris-Roubaix on Sunday via Eurosport/HBO Max (from the start at 04:30 AM EDT) and NOS Sport (NPO 1) and Sporza (VRT 1), which will include enough airtime for the Hell of the North in the afternoon program between the other sports.