Mathieu van der Poel eyes Arenberg at the start of Paris-Roubaix: "It will always be a critical moment to be in front"

Mathieu van der Poel was the most sought out figure at the start of Paris-Roubaix; carrying the World Champion stripes, the defending champion may be able to do the Flanders-Roubaix double successfully this spring as he comes into the Hell of the North with form, calm and good form.

"Of course it's really special, last week it was a big goal to win Flanders with this jersey. I had maybe I had a bit of decompression but it just lasted a few days because we had to be ready again today," the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider said in an interview with Eurosport this morning in Compiègne.

Van der Poel is a big favourite to the race, and already in the first kilometers saw some of his main rivals such as Jonathan Milan, Nils Politt and Alberto Bettiol hit the floor. Key to his recent consistency and good form is the lack of crashes and injuries; and he will hope that continues today in France as he looks to revalidate his title - alongside Jasper Philipsen who was second last year.

After his initial comments on the change before the Trouée d'Arenberg, naturally he was asked about the key sector in the race. He replied: "Last year actually the move was already done before the Arenberg, so it depends on how they race. I expect a hard race, it will always be a critical moment to be in front."