The pinnacle of the cobbled classic is finally upon us and the third edition of Paris-Roubaix Femmes promises to live up to everyone’s expectations on April 8.
This year’s race is longer than the two previous editions at 145.4km, with the additional kilometres added onto the start in Denain. The route does not include the mythical Trouée d’Arenberg, but it does include the same 29.2km of pavé spread across 17 cobblestone sectors.
Fans lining the route can watch the race along the five-star pair of Mons-en-Pévèle and the Carrefour de l’Arbre and at the finish line at the Velodrome in Roubaix.
It will be tough to beat the first two editions won by Lizzie Deignan and Elisa Longo Borghini, both from Trek-Segafredo, but with a race as unpredictable as Paris-Roubaix, we can all anticipate full-throttle racing from start to finish.
Cyclingnews highlights the biggest talking points ahead of the 2023 Paris-Roubaix Femmes.
Learn more about the Women’s WorldTour in Cyclingnews’ definitive guide for 2023, and join Cyclingnews for live coverage of the 2023 Spring Classics. Also check in after each race for our full reports, results, galleries, news and features.
Can Kopecky do the Flanders-Roubaix double?
In an early-season interview with the media, Lotte Kopecky shied away from making big statements about her Paris-Roubaix goals.
“I dream of winning Paris-Roubaix, but it’s so hard to target this race because there’s so much luck involved. I don’t dare to say ‘I want to win Paris-Roubaix,” she said in January.
Then she burst onto the scene this spring with a victory at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Nokere Koerse. After that, among other notable performances for the rider and her SD Worx team, she went on to win her second consecutive Tour of Flanders last Sunday.
One gets the feeling that this was all a lead-up to her biggest target of the Spring Classics at Paris-Roubaix Femmes. If she pulls off the victory in the Roubaix Velodrome, she will become the first woman in history to have won the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix back-to-back.
Everything seems to be coming together for SD Worx as a whole this spring, too. Signing Lorena Wiebes was the biggest transfer of the year and she has delivered three victories so far, and will no doubt win many more races. Wiebes – who aided Kopecky in her second Flanders win – has also played a role in supporting the dominance of the…
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