"I truly believe that this is the cause of the many crashes in Paris – Roubaix" - Luke Rowe argues against tubeless tires in brutal cobbled race

Paris-Roubaix is one of the most exciting races in the calendar, but due to it's treacherous and tricky nature it is also one of the races which sees the most crashes. Luke Rowe, who has raced it on ten different occasions, believes the tire choice is behind many of them.

“Now everyone runs with tubeless tires while the year before it was fifty-fifty and the year before that everyone ran with tubulars," Luke Rowe said in the most recent episode of the Watts Occuring podcast. "Now everyone rides with tubeless tires and if you puncture, you immediately lose all the pressure".

Rowe himself was a victim of a tough crash at the 2021 Trouée d'Arenberg, as he punctured and then was hit by Mads Pedersen who was part of the attacking group. He has first-hand experience in the subject, and in a race where technology becomes increasingly more important every year, Rowe points his finger at the use of tubeless ties.

"I think many teams don't use liners (tubulars, ed.), but they are putting their own life. I truly believe that this is the cause of the many crashes in Paris – Roubaix. With liners, if you puncture the wheel, it maintains its shape and a little pressure," he added. The choice between speed and puncture protection is always a risk, and that is certain to always be a variable in the Hell of the North.

"In a race like Paris - Roubaix, tubulars are still the safest choice," Vincenzo Nibali has also argued in Squalo TV. "Because if you the wheel does not come out and you reduce the risk of falling. I know that tubeless tires are more performing: Colbrelli won his Paris – Roubaix with this technology with a small puncture, but I think we still need to improve, especially for extreme conditions such as the cobblestone".