Van Hooydonck does not consider van der Poel, van Aert or Pogacar to be favorites for Roubaix: “He's a truck on cobblestones"

Tadej Pogacar is making his debut, Mathieu van der Poel won the last two editions, and Wout van Aert would love to win his first one... The big three names for Paris-Roubaix may be familiar, but in an article about Pogacar's chances in Roubaix in HLN, Nathan Van Hooydonck introduces a fourth name.

The fact that Pogacar will participate in the French cobblestones was already a huge surprise. His weight is somewhere in the region of 60 kilos, and according to Van Hooydonck, this puts him at a significant disadvantage on flat, bumpy roads. "I'm not completely ruling him out, but it will be much more difficult for him to drop the others than in the Tour of Flanders. There are no hills where he can use his weight to his advantage."

"Small, light riders will tend to jump on the cobblestones," explains the former Belgian professional cyclist - who, in addition to his role as an analyst, is still involved with Visma | Lease a Bike. "Whereas heavier riders will automatically press their bikes down more due to their weight, which means they are more stable on the cobblestones and slide more. For someone who weighs 65 kilos, it's more of a constant struggle and hard work on the bike."

Read more below the photo.

In the Tour of Flanders, Pogacar managed to ride off the others

Ganna weighs the most and could be the big favorite?

In his search for the absolute top favorite, Van Hooydonck does not come up with van der Poel, van Aert, or Pogacar. And he does not mention Mads Pedersen of Lidl-Trek either. An Italian from INEOS Grenadiers should do well on Sunday. "Filippo Ganna is my top favorite. He is like a truck on cobblestones: once he gets up to speed, he doesn't stop." Ganna has already participated four times but often encountered obstacles along the way. In 2023, he finished sixth despite his bad luck.

If everything goes to plan on Sunday, Ganna has the best chance of winning, according to Van Hooydonck. "Uphill it's about watts per kilo: the lightest rider who can pedal the hardest goes up the hill the fastest. On the flat, it's about absolute wattage: the more power you have, the faster you go. Weight is much less of a limiting factor. Or, to put it the other way around, ten kilos of extra muscle is more of an advantage. Big, muscular athletes are often stronger."

And according to Procyclingstats, Ganna weighs about 83 kilos...

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