Mathieu van der Poel at the start: "I love this weather and it is going to be pretty epic"

Mathieu van der Poel has talked at the start of Paris-Roubaix today and will be eyeing the win at the velodrome.

In an interview with CyclingPro, he has talked about his feeling for the day: "It's a bit like a love and hate relationship thing. I love riding but it's just really hard race, it's really suffering on the cobbles but it's really really special and I think it's something unique it's not comparable to any other race."

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"For bike handling skills I prefer the rain, but I prefer this weather just to race, I love sunny conditions," he said. Last year in his debut, he faced grim weather conditions with the cobbled sectors muddy after strong rain. This year the conditions will be the opposite, however he seems unbothered by that change.

Asked if he's learnt something extra for this year's race, the Dutchman replied: "Not really. Having a good race last year, just the legs were a bit empty at the end. I hope they have something left to sprint at the velodrome."

"I haven't done many races after the injury, I'm pretty hungry, you need a bit of luck aswell I think. I'm really excited, as I said I love this weather and it is going to be pretty epic... I think Roubaix is one of the classics that many riders can win so it's going to be exciting," he concluded.