"My bike went into crash mode on the Arenberg" - Despite bad luck, Fred Wright puts Great Britain back on the Top10 of Paris-Roubaix

It's been nine years since a Briton had finished in the Top10 of Paris-Roubaix, back when Ian Stannard was third in 2016. Fred Wright has re-inserted the nation back on to the top positions of the Hell of the North after a strong ride that was also marked by bad luck.

"I avoided the big crashes and whatnot early, in the first part. It was pretty hectic on that first sector, but I managed to survive OK," Wright told CyclingWeekly. However, the chaos began with almost still 100 kilometers to go. "My bike went into crash mode on the Arenberg, which was probably the worst thing that could have happened".

"I positioned myself well, after missing the split on the sector before, and then I was in my biggest gear churning away getting passed by everyone and I thought the race was over. Thanks to the headwinds, it allowed me to come back slightly a bit more into the race. I changed bikes and then it was just about keeping believing. I'll take a top 10, that's alright in the end."

Thanks to a great race and great legs, the Bahrain - Victorious rider managed to go through the riders and groups throughout the race and had better legs than most in the final hour of racing.

"There was one point coming towards the end, coming into the Carrefour [de l'Arbre] where I was thinking 'actually, I need to go here', because I was feeling better than this group. I attacked my group in the same place Pauline attacked yesterday, and that worked alright actually".

In the velodrome, there was enough of a gap over the group behind to secure a Top10. Wright was the strongest in the last man standing sprint for ninth place, finishing very well in the third monument of the season. "I've got to start doing a bit better [...] I'm happy with that though," he concluded.