Cycling: On Sunday it's that time again. With Paris-Roubaix, the queen of the one-day classics awaits us. The Hell of the North was first held in 1896 and is considered the toughest race in the world. At the moment, the Quick-Step Floors team seems to be dominating everything. Will the Belgian team after the Tour of Flanders secure the next monument? We look at the profile and favorites.
Paris-Roubaix 2018: 54,5 kilometers of cobblestones in 29 sectors
At 11 a.m. on Sunday, the drivers set off in front of the castle in Compiègne. 257 kilometers await them, peppered with 29 pavé sectors. A total of 54,5 kilometers of cobblestones await the pros. The arrival at the Roubaix Velodrome is expected sometime between 17pm and 18pm. Eurosport will broadcast the entire race - and the cycling experts know that this multi-hour adventure will be worth it. Because even though the race is getting more and more exciting the longer it goes, interesting sections await us at an early stage. It is not uncommon for something crucial to happen in the pavé sectors #20 and #19. Then the peloton races across the Haveluy and Trouée d'Arenberg sectors, which are marked with four and five stars respectively. Especially in the listed forest of Arenberg, the favorites have to be careful. The finale will be heralded there 95 kilometers before the finish line – and if you want to have a say, you have to be at the front.
What is Quick-Step Floors planning?
Experience has shown that the pace is no longer slowed down after the Arenberg forest. The teams sort themselves into the group of favorites and wait for reports as to which well-known drivers have been distanced. Various alliances are usually formed because the professionals who have been left behind are of course no longer supposed to catch up. The breakaways, which will then probably still be in front, should now dramatically lose their lead. Sectors #54 Bersée and #48,5 Mons-en-Pévèle are completed with 12 and 11 kilometers to go respectively. They also have four or five stars and are therefore among the toughest sections of Paris-Roubaix. Since they are almost six kilometers long together, there will be another selection here at the latest. Strong teams, such as Quick-Step Floors, could already use their superiority here. With Philippe Gilbert, Niki Terpstra, Zdenek Stybar and Yves Lampaert, the Belgian team has four candidates for an early attack in their own ranks. It would be surprising if Quick-Step Floors didn't send at least one pro on the attack well ahead of the target.
https://www.velomotion.de/2017/04/115-paris-roubaix-greg-van-avermaet-gewinnt-die-hoelle-des-nordens/
The favourites: who can win Paris-Roubaix 2018?
Even if the Quick-Step Floors team has four strong men in the team, there are of course also a few winners from other teams. The first to mention are last year's winner Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) and world champion Peter Sagan (Bora-hansgrohe). Both have the advantage that they could also win from a sprint in the Vélodrome. Just like John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo), who won Paris-Roubaix in 2015. Unfortunately, the German doesn't seem to be in top form. Both Sep Vanmarcke (EF-Education) and Oliver Naesen (AG2R La Mondiale) are plagued by falls, but both will be there and will want to fight for a top position. We can also be excited about the two sprinters Arnaud Démare and Alexander Kristoff, who have already been able to win this year, but are still waiting for success in 2018 on cobblestones. We are keeping a special eye on cross country champion Wout Van Aert (Veranda's Willems-Crelan) and the young Mike Teunissen (Sunweb). If there is a surprise win, these two names could play a role.
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