. Van Aert-Van der Poel, the match continues

Rivals since childhood, the Belgian Wout Van Aert and the Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel continue their duel on a Monument that neither of them has yet managed to tame. In the absence of Tadej Pogacar and the climbers, scalded by the prospect of having to stick to more than 50 km of rebellious cobblestones, they are the two big favorites.

On paper, the race suits Van Aert, a fantastic rider, slightly better than Van der Poel, who is more comfortable in the Flanders mountains. But the Belgian, second in 2022, does not arrive, according to him, in the best conditions, slightly injured in the left knee and ribs.

Van der Poel, third in 2021, exudes serenity. On the other hand, his team is undoubtedly less well equipped than that of his rival who can count not only on the Frenchman Christophe Laporte, levitating in recent weeks, but also the outgoing winner Dylan van Baarle, chipped from Ineos during the off-season.

The duo Wout van Aert (L) - Mathieu van der Poel (R) wrestle at the E3 Classic race on March 24, 2023 in the Harelbeke © region Nico VEREECKEN / BELGA / AFP / Archives

. Behind the infernal duo, several ambitious

Paris-Roubaix is the most unpredictable of the classics, so many hazards of the race (falls, punctures, equipment problems, ...) are numerous. This data whets the appetite of full-bodied riders such as the Italian Filippo Ganna and the Swiss Stefan Küng.

The first, winner in Roubaix in hopes in 2016, prepared his case like never before, skipping the Tour of Flanders, after his second place in Milan-Sanremo.

Küng, like Ganna, struggled for a long time in Paris-Roubaix before clinching a third place last year that encourages him to aim higher on Sunday.

Other outsiders include Denmark's Kasper Asgreen and Mads Pedersen as well as Christophe Laporte, France's best chance, twenty-six years after the last French winner, Frédéric Guesdon, in 1997.

The Swiss Stefan Kung during the 2022 edition of Paris-Roubaix where he finished 3rd on April 17, 2022 in Roubaix © Thomas SAMSON / AFP / Archives

. On the cobblestones, the mud

On Tuesday, the organizers expected optimal conditions. But since then, it has rained a lot and the cobblestones remained Saturday covered with mud in places. "There is a lot of mud, a lot of dirt and cobblestones that are wet. I hope it will improve by Sunday, otherwise it will be dangerous," Küng said on Friday.

The reconnaissance of the teams took place in trying and perilous conditions. On Wednesday, the Italian Vittoria Guazzini (FDJ-Suez) even suffered a fracture of the pelvis after a heavy fall.

If the weather is announced dry for this weekend, with even beautiful clearings on Sunday, and that we should therefore escape the terrible conditions of the 2021 edition, the cobblestones will have trouble drying in some sectors, which promises a very lively race.

The Paris-Roubaix 2023 race route on Sunday 9 April, the 120th edition of the Vincent LEFAI / AFP cycling © race

. A little bit of pressure

After the hydraulic fork, the bike without seatpost and other finds, a new innovation arrives at Paris-Roubaix with an integrated system to adjust the tire pressure in the middle of the race.

Two teams, Jumbo-Visma and DSM, have indicated that some of their riders (Dylan van Baarle, Christophe Laporte and Edoardo Affini for Jumbo) will use for the first time in racing this revolutionary tool to meet the challenge posed by alternating asphalt roads and paved sectors (54.5 over 256.6 km).

By means of a wireless handlebar control, the rider will be able to slightly deflate his hoses when passing the cobblestones. Before reinflating them by finding the bitumen thanks to tanks placed in the hubs and mechanical valves.

. Five years ago, the Goolaerts drama

Five years ago, on April 8, 2018, the young Belgian rider Michael Goolaerts, 23, was found lifeless on the second of twenty-nine cobbled sectors, near Viesly. Helicoptered to a hospital in Lille, he died in the evening. The autopsy confirmed the hypothesis of the heart attack that caused his fall.

A stele was erected on the spot and the area was renamed after him.

The stele paying tribute to the young Belgian rider Michael Goolaerts, who died of cardiac arrest on one of the cobbled sections of Paris-Roubaix, April 8, 2018 © Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP / Archives

Wout Van Aert was particularly touched by the tragedy of his friend with whom he was racing in the Vérandas Willems team.

Since then, he dreams of "winning for him" in Roubaix, says their former sporting director Michiel Elijzen. "His passing left a deep impression on him. Everyone deals with this type of event in their own way, but I am convinced that for Wout, it is an additional source of motivation," he told La Dernière Heure newspaper.

© 2023 AFP