Paris-Roubaix 2026, one day monument, April 12

[QueenStagiaire]

How are the windconditions on sunday?

South to South West, but not so strong that it means easy echelons in the opening part, fast start probably

 

[postmanhat]

Just started watching 'A Sunday In Hell' again, and had forgotten how beautiful it is

"The merciless process of elimination has begun"


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUDhvIXCtKk&list=WL&index=1

 

[QueenStagiaire]

Just started watching 'A Sunday In Hell' again, and had forgotten how beautiful it is

"The merciless process of elimination has begun"


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUDhvIXCtKk&list=WL&index=1

A race won by Marc Demeyer who I‘m sure De Vlaeminck would Claim would destroy Van der Poel

 

[pastronef]

Meteo France just gives light rain this afternoon

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Meteo France just gives light rain this afternoon

I read that as Mateo France and wondered whether there was already a new French super talent emerging who's so powerful he could control the weather.

 

[RedheadDane]

Abrahamsen taking recon very seriously!

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

 

[Coppi-Bartali]

Meteo France just gives light rain this afternoon

If it doesn't rain on Sunday, the cobbless will be dry.

It rained a little in Flanders, but as soon as the sun came out, the road dried quickly.

 

[Peyresourde]

Paris Roubaix has the single biggest problem of all the monuments, but the one that is easiest to fix:

It is too short (Monuments should be 6 hours at least).

I am not saying this only out of principal, but in this specific case it could also improve the racing. The last 160k are great, but the 100k of tarmac before are too short. This screws the break and makes the whole race less interesting.

If break formation takes 30-40k and then the fight for position starts 20-30k before the first cobble sector. Then a single rider like Dillier only needs to control for 30-50k and can easily hold any break at 2 minutes, making it pretty irrelevant.


So I would suggest adding 30-40k of distance (pure tarmac). They could also start in the north of Paris again by doing this, making the name more accurate. Then the break would have more distance to gain significant time before the cobbles. This would make the break relevant (again) and also weaken the favourite's team more by having to control a longer distance.

 

[Coppi-Bartali]

I completely agree. It's about time Paris-Roubaix adapted to modern cycling and increased its mileage.

San Remo, Liège, and Lombardy are fine. This year San Remo was a bit longer, and Flanders is tough enough with its distance. Even so, I wouldn't mind adding a few more kilometers to Flanders, Liège, and Lombardy. Monuments are agonizing races, and Paris-Roubaix is too short for the current ciclying.

I would also increase the mileage of the mountain stages in the GT races, as they used to be, but that's not a topic for this thread.

 

[Zoetemelk-fan]

I read that as Mateo France and wondered whether there was already a new French super talent emerging who's so powerful he could control the weather.

Nature is calling for Mr. France.

 

[Taxus4a]

Pogacar is here ro make history. First no belgian to win the 5 monuments. So I wont understand if he is alone with MVDP, who is better for this kind of races with just power, not power/kg...except maybe for the small climb just after Mons en Pavele) with a minute with the rest at 40 km to the line and he is colaborating. This is not a Game between Friends...I dont agree with Adrie Van der Poel, cycling is to get the fibnish line first acording to the rules. If you are with the rules you can have the strayegy you consider better dor you and sometimes is to suck wheels. This time is muxch more the justifized. The same I dontt understand so big collaboration of MVDP at Flanders, with Remco behind to collaborate with him and with 3 at the sprint he is the clear favourite. So I hope an smart race of Pogacar, brave, colaborating when necessary, taking just the necessary risk but with head.

 

[canina82]

How is the wind for tomorrow?

 

[RedheadDane]

According to Decathlon, there will be 513497 impacts on the cobbles.
That's oddly specific... did they count?

 

[TrekCyclist]

Material has really improved over the last years, much less mechanicals than 20 or 30 years ago. Has become much more predictable and possible to lay out a specific plan for the teams. I think the last years it was mainly van Aert who suffered a decisive set-back due to a puncture.

 

[BubbaChuck]

You dont wanna make pr even more selective with pog and seixas coming now.just saying or you gonna see 100km solos all the time.If you trully wanna see old competative racing its very simple really.ban carbs.

 

[search]

Material has really improved over the last years, much less mechanicals than 20 or 30 years ago. Has become much more predictable and possible to lay out a specific plan for the teams. I think the last years it was mainly van Aert who suffered a decisive set-back due to a puncture.

Küng (before he crashed anyway) and Teunissen also dropped out of the chase group with mechanicals.

Astana in general had issues though, I think, which also make sense, as it was the first Paris-Roubaix for XDS.

 

[BubbaChuck]

For people who shittalk carbs,lest ban them for a year.and see what happens.

 

[vappa]

How is the wind for tomorrow?

The one I checked shows (cross)tailwind the entire time

 

[canina82]

The one I checked shows (cross)tailwind the entire time

Wind from SW, right? If so we might have crosswind in all 5 stars sectors

 

[search]

The race will apply a live-timecut, by the way, for those falling back too far behind the 8% threshold. According to Gouvenou it became necessary, as as they had problems with some idiot riding miles behind, only doing the race for social media.

Whether this influenced the Tour de France wildcard selections or not, he did not mention.

 

[Eddy Evenepoel]

Paris Roubaix has the single biggest problem of all the monuments, but the one that is easiest to fix:

It is too short (Monuments should be 6 hours at least).

I am not saying this only out of principal, but in this specific case it could also improve the racing. The last 160k are great, but the 100k of tarmac before are too short. This screws the break and makes the whole race less interesting.

Maybe theoretically, but everything points to this being wrong given we’ve had winners from the early break in the last 15 years with both Vansummeren and Hayman (and O’Grady before that?). And it’s the one monument where the early break regularly get top results, like when Vermeersch was second or Rutsch and Hoelgaard in the top 8 last year.

 

[buddy buddy buddy]

I read that as Mateo France and wondered whether there was already a new French super talent emerging who's so powerful he could control the weather.

finally someone to take over from the great and sadly missed Francois Lefrancois

 

[QueenStagiaire]

I think 100 kilometers is pretty good for the break, sometimes it‘s too short with the Long fight for the break, but when the break goes earlier, it is beneficial to the break that it isn‘t MSR where you have to do over 200 kilometers while everybody chills behind. The cobble part of the race is bad for chasing which is the Main advantage in Roubaix.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Paris Roubaix has the single biggest problem of all the monuments, but the one that is easiest to fix:

It is too short (Monuments should be 6 hours at least).

I am not saying this only out of principal, but in this specific case it could also improve the racing. The last 160k are great, but the 100k of tarmac before are too short. This screws the break and makes the whole race less interesting.

If break formation takes 30-40k and then the fight for position starts 20-30k before the first cobble sector. Then a single rider like Dillier only needs to control for 30-50k and can easily hold any break at 2 minutes, making it pretty irrelevant.


So I would suggest adding 30-40k of distance (pure tarmac). They could also start in the north of Paris again by doing this, making the name more accurate. Then the break would have more distance to gain significant time before the cobbles. This would make the break relevant (again) and also weaken the favourite's team more by having to control a longer distance.

Good point. Flanders was a decent amount longer this year than PR - if anything, it should be the other way around considering the bergs in Flanders.

 

[Brullnux]

Paris Roubaix has the single biggest problem of all the monuments, but the one that is easiest to fix:

It is too short (Monuments should be 6 hours at least).

I am not saying this only out of principal, but in this specific case it could also improve the racing. The last 160k are great, but the 100k of tarmac before are too short. This screws the break and makes the whole race less interesting.

If break formation takes 30-40k and then the fight for position starts 20-30k before the first cobble sector. Then a single rider like Dillier only needs to control for 30-50k and can easily hold any break at 2 minutes, making it pretty irrelevant.


So I would suggest adding 30-40k of distance (pure tarmac). They could also start in the north of Paris again by doing this, making the name more accurate. Then the break would have more distance to gain significant time before the cobbles. This would make the break relevant (again) and also weaken the favourite's team more by having to control a longer distance.

In an era of watts-fests, do we really need races to become even harder and more attritional? It's not like anybody finishes Paris-Roubaix with energy to spare. Adding 30km would make it as long as Milano Sanremo and multitudes harder.

I see your point re the break, but I think what is more likely is that the makeup of the break is weaker as big teams will be more cautious, or that the break goes after a very, very extended fight (making Paris-Roubaix even more attritional). Back in the days of Terpstra attacking out of a fifteen man group maybe that made sense, but nowadays? Wouldn't it just lead to even longer solos and tactical battles than end after the first hour?