Since it was launched in 2021, the women’s Paris-Roubaix has enjoyed its own dedicated day on the calendar, taking place on the Saturday before the men’s race on Sunday, and affording the event sole attention on the day.
In 2026, however, that pride of place will come to an end, as the UCI calendar confirmed some time ago that both the men’s and women’s races would now take place on Sunday, April 12 – with the men’s under-23 and junior races all taking place that day, too.
It’s a format followed by most big one-day races, including the Tour of Flanders and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, which has sometimes meant for early starts for the women or poor viewing figures, though Flanders Classics has experimented with the format in recent years, with the women’s race now usually after the men’s race.
Though there may be some costs saved – fewer road closures and only one day of policing – the Frenchman did admit that packing all four races into one day would require more vehicles and staff, as races will be going on simultaneously.
“It was already pretty good on Saturday, but now people will watch the men’s race and then the women’s race,” he said.
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