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Tadej Pogačar (1200) is the most complete cyclist of the modern era. In the last 12 months, he has won the Giro d’Italia, the Tour de France, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Il Lombardia, the UCI World Championships road race, and, this past Sunday, the Ronde van Vlaanderen — just to name his most notable victories. The old classifications that divided riders between Grand Tour specialists and classics experts do not apply to the Slovenian: he is the best across almost every terrain.

But there’s one race he has never competed in: Paris-Roubaix. The risk of crashes and accidents is higher in Roubaix than in any other race, which is why most Tour de France contenders skip it. However, Pogačar fears nothing. On paper, it's the worst possible terrain for him: flat and featuring the dreaded cobblestones, yet he's already listed by the bookmakers as one of the top favorites — second only to the winner of the last two editions, Mathieu Van Der Poel (800).

 
Women’s race: route and favorites

With all the attention on the Pogacar - Van Der Poel showdown in Sunday’s men's race, the women’s race on Saturday is somewhat flying under the radar — but it also promises high drama and an exciting battle for the cobblestone trophy.

The race totals 148 kilometers and includes 17 cobbled sectors — the same final 17 used in the men’s event. For another year, the women will skip the five-star Trouée d’Arenberg, but will still tackle iconic sectors such as Mons-en-Pévèle and Carrefour de l’Arbre.

Lotte Kopecky (1200) starts as the favorite to defend her title from last year. Lorena Wiebes (1200), Marianne Vos (1000), Elisa Balsamo (1000), Elise Chabbey (1000), Chloe Dygert (800), Blanka Vas (800), Puck Pieterse (600), Chiara Consonni (800), Emma Norsgaard (400), Alison Jackson (200), Ellen Van Dijk (200), Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (200), Katia Ragusa (200), Cat Ferguson (200) and Eugénie Duval (200) could all be contenders.

 
Men’s race: route and favorites

Sunday’s men’s race covers 259 km and includes 30 cobbled sectors, totaling 54 km of pavé. The race usually comes to life in the Trouée d’Arenberg, 90 km from the finish line.

As mentioned earlier, Tadej Pogačar (1200) is making his debut and is already one of the two main favorites, alongside Mathieu Van Der Poel (800). Mads Pedersen (1200), Wout Van Aert (1200), Filippo Ganna (800), Stefan Küng (800), Jasper Philipsen (1200), Soren Waerenskjold (600), Jasper Stuyven (400), Florian Vermeersch (200), Dylan Van Baarle (200), and Nils Politt (200) are also key names, though many teams have yet to confirm their final line-ups.

 
Photo: © Paris-Roubaix