"I'd wait at the back, and then come to the front at last minute": Gianni Vermeersch outlines his ideal winning strategy for Roubaix
Cycling
With two main and two shadow favourites, the cards ahead of 2026 Paris-Roubaix are already distributed. And, unfortunately for Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe, the German team holds none of the trump cards. But that doesn't mean that they're without a chance at a nice result, just that their leaders will need to be a little more innovative in order to succeed.
Gianni Vermeersch, Jordi Meeus, Laurence Pithie, Tim & Mick van Dijkes... that's a not a lineup to be taken lightly with multiple top-10 or top-15 finishers from Roubaix velodrome in the past. The most experienced among them is the 33-year-old Vermeersch who also seems to have demonstrated the best form so far this spring and should be Red Bull's main weapon this Sunday.
"My strategy is to wait a bit further back in the peloton and then, at the last minute, come to the front with an effort of roughly thirty seconds," Vermeersch reveals in an interview with Het Nieuwsblad.
Despite having turned professional quite late - only in 2019 - Vermeersch has gathered extensive experience on how to race Monuments over his sixteen participations at the world's biggest one-day classics. And a 6th place from 2024 Roubaix has been his best result so far. "I have ridden many classics by now and can visualize courses well. The peloton often makes the same type of movement in the same places. I have a good memory for that," says Vermeersch.
There's more to cycling that just watts
Thus, Vermeersch makes a clear point that experience with cobbled races can often outweigh power alone. But it's of course not as simple when we see a rider of Remco Evenepeol's caliber turn up to his Tour of Flanders debut and walking away with a podium whereas Vermeersch himself arrived 10th. As it turns out, the truth lies somewhere in between both points of view, and a combination of strength and knowledge is vital to success. And Vermeersch hopes he has grown enough in both aspects.
"If you have to rely on cleverness alone, you won't even make it over the Monte Sante Marie in Strade Bianche," he adds. "Everyone links a rider's engine to FTP, but that value is mainly relevant for climbers or time trialists. In classics, it's about efforts of roughly three or five minutes. It's about achieving your best values even when your legs are already very fatigued. I score well on all of those things."
Gianni Vermeersch was used to a protagonist role on cobbles in assistance of Mathieu van der Poel in the past
Not quite a shape of lifetime, but it's close
Although the results this year speak for themselves, Vermeersch sometimes feels as though the collective memory of the cycling press is a bit short. He subtly points out that he pulled to have had a similar campaign five years ago too. "I always found that special, but the press seems to have forgotten it quickly," he says.
Without a clear leader like Remco Evenepoel, he has a free role. A role made for him. Improving on his 2024 result against Van der Poel, Pogacar, Van Aert and Pedersen will be no simple task, but Vermeersch sounds confident in his own ability: "In a Roubaix without bad luck, that is certainly within reach," he concludes.
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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