"I crap my pants, literally": Michael Valgren seeks revenge for a tainted Paris-Roubaix debut

The 2021 Paris-Roubaix was a special race for many reasons. As the most recent edition that can be truly titled as "muddy", it wrote many incredible stories. From the unlucky Gianni Moscon, through epic sprint win of Sonny Colbreli, to Michael Valgren's, uh, abandon.

Despite his moderate success on Flemish cobbles, including a bronze medal at the 2021 World Championships in Leuven, Valgren has never participated in Paris-Roubaix until that year. With an edition uniquely placed in October rather than the traditional April, the Dane thought it would be a good time to test himself on the Hell of the North. And what an experience it was.

The race progressed normally until a halfway point when Valgren contracted sudden severe stomach problems, leaving him unable to reach the finish line.

"I shit my pants, literally. That was almost the reason I had to leave," he says in the podcast Bak Lane with Lars Bak.

For the next four years, Valgren returned to his old habit of evading the French Monument, but 2026 will be the year of his rematch. "They had some ideas about what they wanted me to race, and that was fine," he says.

Valgren expects to start his season at the Paris-Nice, with Milano-Sanremo as a back-up plan. Afterwards, he should ride the Flemish block of races with E3 Saxo Classic, Gent-Wevelgem, Dwars door Vlaanderen and Tour of Flanders, all leading up to the awaited start at Paris-Roubaix. "I'm looking forward to it. I actually think it'll be fun again. I've only tried it once. It's a crazy bike race."

And since EF Education-EasyPost are not the team with a strongest Classics lineup, Valgren can look forward to a relatively free role next to the young sprinter Madis Mihkels and former Tour of Flanders winner Kasper Asgreen.