"It’s the most special one day race of the year" - After surprise return is confirmed can Tom Pidcock shock again with Paris-Roubaix victory?

The INEOS Grenadiers caused a big surprise in the cycling world on Saturday afternoon as they confirmed their lineup for Paris-Roubaix with the notable name of Tom Pidcock headlining.

Pidcock, who crashed out in a pre-stage 1 recon ahead of the Itzulia Basque Country was not expected to return to racing this quickly. “It’s actually been a pretty good week,” Pidcock says of his time since the crash in conversation with the INEOS Grenadiers social media pages. “After my crash which came suddenly before the time trial and the recon, it was all a bit chaos and then I didn’t start, tried to get home.”

“I recovered, I did some more scans, I was confident nothing was wrong, there was a bit of pain but no problem,” the multi-discipline British star continued. “Then I actually had quite a good week’s training, didn’t miss too much. And now here at Roubaix, my favourite race of all, which I haven’t done as a pro yet so I’m excited.”

With Mathieu van der Poel the big pre-race favourite and the likes of Mads Pedersen, Jasper Philipsen and more on the startlist, can Pidcock send more shockwaves across the peloton with victory? “I think it’s the romance of it, the passion, the cobbles, and the way luck plays a part in the race. It’s the most special one day race of the year,” he previews, not giving anything away.