Preview: Paris-Roubaix Femmes is SD Worx-Protime's race to lose

Gruber Images, Cor Vos

This is it. It's time for one of the most iconic races of the spring: Paris-Roubaix Femmes. Why is it so iconic? I'm so glad you asked. This race is as predictable as the lottery, and just as hard to win. Sure, sometimes you can predict a rider who will land on the podium, but you can also have an edition like in 2023 when Alison Jackson came out of nowhere to take a historic win from the early breakaway.

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It's a race that anyone can win, but only a select few actually do. A race that rewards the bravest, the most daring. It is cycling in its purest form. Those who want to win must be good at bike handling, they must have top equipment, they must dedicate time and effort to course recons and knowing the route, they must have teammates willing to sell their souls to see them succeed. And at the end of the day, everything can go right and they can still fall short. Because that is bike racing. Paris-Roubaix is bike racing.

The women line up on Sunday to test themselves against the relentless cobblestones of France, and each other. This year, the race takes place on the same day as the men's event, and the impact of that shift will only be apparent after the fact. Organizers have also added three new sectors of cobbles, for a total of 33.7 km of cobbled roads in a 143.1 km race. One of the new additions – Haveluy à Wallers – is sure to do some damage... if SD Worx-Protime hasn't done enough damage already.

Hell, in stereoWhat Roubaix feels like when you’re in it, and when you’re watching it happen to someone else.Escape CollectiveGeorgie Howe

The Basics

When : Sunday, April 12 @ 14:35 CEST (expected finish 18:20 CEST/12:20 EDT/+1 3:20 AEDT)

Where : Denain to Roubaix (143.1 km)

Live coverage : 🇦🇺 SBS @ +1 day 02:00 AEDT, 🇪🇺 HBOMax @ 17:00 CEST, 🇬🇧TNT/Discovery+ @ 16:00 BST, 🇺🇸 Peacock 🇨🇦 FloBikes @ 8:00 PDT

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The favourites

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: Lotte Kopecky, Lorena Wiebes ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: Franziska Koch, Marianne Vos ⭐️⭐️⭐️: Zoe Backstedt, Elisa Balsamo ⭐️⭐️: Letizia Borghesi, Vittoria Guazzini ⭐️: Lieke Nooijen, Alison Jackson, Lara Gillespie, Charlotte Kool, Pfeiffer Georgi

Honourable mentions: Cat Ferguson, Nienke Veenhoven, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, Emma Norsgaard, Lucinda Brand

A full startlist is available here.

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