8 riders/teams looking for a performance at Paris-Roubaix 🇫🇷
The cobbled Classics are almost over, and here are riders from the men's and women's pelotons who will be desperate to salvage a result
Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift is tomorrow, with the men’s race on Sunday. I’ll have post-race analysis from both races, but ahead of that, I’ve selected eight riders and teams who will be fighting harder than most for a top performance.
This isn’t to say that those selected are having poor seasons, but they may have underperformed on the cobbles or not quite met their own high standards, and this weekend is their final chance to claim something before the cobbled season ends for another year.
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Daniel 🫶
Dylan van Baarle (Visma-Lease a Bike) 🐝
It’s been a tough 12 months for the former Paris-Roubaix winner, who had just 20 days of competition in 2024 and then crashed and fractured his collarbone at the Tour Down Under at the start of this season.
Van Baarle made it back for the Spring Classics, having suffered through Tirreno-Adriatico and chipped in with a few short cameos since the start of the main component of the cobbled campaign, but the results have been lacking. That’s partly down to the crash in January and the fact that he’s been used much earlier in races than in previous seasons, but a result or at least a rousing performance in Roubaix is sorely needed.
At 32, Van Baarle is far from finished, but it’s a contract year, and teams will want to see that the Dutch rider can still reach those high notes rather than rely on past glories.
It’s a good thing he’s so versatile and can hang on for the Giro d’Italia, or even later as his form builds, and while there will be a market for his signature due to his experience and value, a strong ride on Sunday wouldn’t go amiss. For the neutrals, it would also be great to see the former champion back to his best.
Josh Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers) 🏴
When I spoke to Tarling on the start line of E3 Saxo Classic a few weeks ago he was bouncing with enthusiasm. He’d just come off a great block of racing that included a TT win at the UAE Tour and several key rides at Paris-Nice, where he and Ineos Grenadiers were on song.
Since then, it’s not quite worked out for the young Welshman. He was in the break at Dwars door Vlaanderen before abandoning and was taken off the roster for the Tour of Flanders but is still expected to race Paris-Roubaix. The cobbled Classics are races Tarling loves, so to see him miss them or not shine in the way he hoped is sad to see, but assuming he’s healthy and makes it to the start line on Sunday, he can still impact the race.
Filippo Ganna will start as Ineos Grenadiers’ pre-race leader, but that doesn’t mean Tarling can’t impress - either in an early break or by aiding Ganna through some of the most tricky sectors of cobbles. The 21-year-old will be keen on ending his Classics campaign on a high before turning his attention to his Giro d’Italia debut next month.