"He could score big" - Niki Terpstra touts Joshua Tarling as outsider for Paris-Roubaix success

Can Mathieu van der Poel be stopped at Paris-Roubaix this Sunday? That is a big question heading into the third monument of the season.

Niki Terpstra, winner of Paris-Roubaix back in 2014, admits the Dutchman is the favourite pre-race, although he doesn't rule out a surprise. "History has also shown that there have been solos of fifty kilometres, just like sprints of a group. So it can go either way. But I do expect that Mathieu will find it very difficult to get rid of the good guy," the 39-year-old analyses for Wielerflits. "And that is why bombs are dropped on Carrefour de l'Arbre. Especially at the end of that strip. That will be a crucial point in the race, because after that it will not be easy to get away.”

One of those expected to challenge van der Poel is actually his own teammate, Jasper Philipsen. "That's just really nice, to be able to play with good pawns in the final," says Terpstra. "Alpecin-Deceuninck could play the game very well. Especially in Paris-Roubaix, it is very nice to have a strong team around you. And in addition, they proved last year that they can also play it well, and that in recent weeks they have shown in several classics that they know each other to win and can benefit from it themselves.”

So who are the other contenders, the outside bets to upset the odds and take the win on the historic French cobbles? "Although Joshua Tarling is young, he showed in the Tour of Flanders that he can handle the length and exhaustion well. That boy can ride very fast on the flats, so he could score big," Terpstra proposes. “Add Laurenz Rex to that. You should never write off Alexander Kristoff and John Degenkolb rode a terribly smart race last year."