Matteo Jorgenson has quickly proven himself as one of the most capable riders in the peloton so far this year with notable victories at Paris-Nice and Dwars Door Vlaanderen. This weekend, the American will hope to continue his impressive form at Paris-Roubaix.
Ahead of the 2024 edition of the trip to the French cobbles however, much of the pre-race chatter has been surrounding the introduction of a chicane before the famous Trouée d'Arenberg cobblestone section, in an attempt to aide the safety of riders, forcing them to slow before they tackle the cobbles.
Reception has been somewhat mixed. Last year's winner, Mathieu van der Poel responded by asking "Is this a joke?" Whilst van der Poel will again start as favourite this weekend, Jorgenson will be one of his main rivals and the Team Visma | Lease a Bike does not share the world champion's chagrin at the addition of the chicane to the course.
"Is this what fans want to see? Riders completely covered in blood after sliding face-first at 50mph/80kph on sharp rocks in a forest?" asks the 24-year-old in a post to his X (Twitter) account with a picture of a battered an bloody rider post-crash. "I’ll take a couple of turns and some guys sliding out on pavement any day…"
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