123rd Paris-Roubaix Returns Sunday with Aligned Races

The Hell of the North returns on Sunday with the 123rd edition of Paris-Roubaix, pitting elite cyclists against 258.3 kilometers of punishing northern French roads from Compiègne to the Roubaix velodrome. The men's race features 30 cobbled sectors totaling 54.8 kilometers, including notorious stretches like the Trouée d'Arenberg and Carrefour de l'Arbre, while the women's event, in its sixth year, spans 143.1 kilometers from Denain with 20 sectors covering 33.7 kilometers of pavé. Both races coincide for the first time, starting at 10:05 a.m. BST for the men and 1:45 p.m. BST for the women, promising massive crowds but sparking debate over visibility.

Tadej Pogačar enters as the men's favorite, aiming to claim his first Paris-Roubaix victory and complete a sweep of cycling's five Monuments after triumphs at Milan-San Remo and the Tour of Flanders. The Slovenian, supported by UAE Team Emirates, will ride a Colnago Y1Rs with 35-millimeter Continental tires and a 1x drivetrain, optimized for the dry, dusty conditions forecast. Defending champion Mathieu van der Poel seeks a record fourth consecutive win, leveraging his positioning and sprint for Alpecin-Deceuninck. Other threats...