As we build up to Paris-Roubaix on Sunday, the conversation revolves around the battle between Tadej Pogačar and Mathieu van der Poel. The pair, after all, have shared the past 10 Monument titles between them, and just fought out the Tour of Flanders in a duel.
Whereas Pogačar has remarkably turned Flanders into something of formality in recent years, Roubaix remains the domain of Van der Poel, winner of the past three editions in a row and bidding to become the joint record holder with four.
The pair’s status as the leading lights of the 2025 edition is only underlined by their battle last year, when they rode away from all the rest. Pogačar came unstuck that day, but his second place on debut, in an event most Grand Tour winners wouldn’t even consider racing, was just the latest extraordinary step in his ongoing quest to conquer anything and everything this sport has to offer.
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Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech)
With three victories in a row, Mathieu van der Poel has Paris-Roubaix in the palm of his hand, and he’s the favourite to secure a fourth title that would take him level with Tom Boonen and Roger De Vlaeminck as the most successful rider in the great history of the Hell of the North.
Van der Poel is a thoroughbred Classics rider who has all the ingredients to further enshrine his status as a legendary figure of the race. He has the engine for the attritional grind, he has the accelerations and the ability to stack them up, he has all the bike handling skills as an eight-time cyclocross world champion, he has a foil in the form of Jasper Philipsen, and he has a fearsome sprint finish.
Not that he’s needed the latter – in each of the past three editions, he has soloed his way into the Roubaix velodrome. However, the emergence of Tadej Pogačar as not just a Flanders threat but a Roubaix threat might bring that last weapon into play. The pair rode away from the rest 12 months ago and it was only a handling error through a cobbled corner that saw Pogačar lose contact.
This is a crucial weapon for Van der Poel, who, if a similar…
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