No rainy Paris-Roubaix but... 2025 peloton will likely have a muddy Hell of the North
Cycling
Paris-Roubaix is perhaps the race on the World Tour calendar where rain can make the most difference. Not only visually, but the 'Hell of the North' is exceptionally dangerous when the conditions are wet, and the riders may just find that this Sunday.
Whilst this Saturday's Paris-Roubaix Femmes has no worries whatsoever regarding wet cobbles - in fact the exact opposite, as temperatures will be unusually high - the men's peloton on Sunday doesn't have the same mindset going into the race. Information will be relayed to the riders before the start, however the forecast points towards some rainfall throughout the night, which shouldn't make a dramatic difference but will likely make a few sector more treacherous, and in some sectors it should make them relatively more muddy as well.
There is no point in expecting the dramatic sights of the 2021 edition where Sonny Colbrelli, Florian Vermeersch and Mathieu van der Poel sprinted in the battle for victory unrecognizable... However most sources point towards a likelihood of some rain falling during the night - besides the strong southwestern wind which will make the average speeds significantly higher during the race. Accuweather, as of the time of writing, gives a maximum chance of 62% of rain at 3am.
Read also
😈 On the programme this Sunday: 𝑩𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑯𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑵𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒉 !
— Paris-Roubaix (@parisroubaix) April 9, 2025
😈 Au programme ce dimanche : 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒃𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒍'𝑬𝒏𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒅𝒖 𝑵𝒐𝒓𝒅!#ParisRoubaix pic.twitter.com/LZiiTBZ6h0
I wouldn't be so sure of that.....our latest model runs have light patchy rain across du Nord into the early evening. Rain isn't overly heavy overnight but enough to possibly cause utter chaos
Even light rain is tricky as it has been dry since ages and the normal roads will be covered in smeary dust that won’t get washed off fast enough. Not sure how many of the cobbled sections are open to heavy traffic during the year so that’s a different problem.
Just in
Play for FREE! Fantasy Paris-Roubaix
Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter today!
Popular news
Latest comments
- This may be the perfect time for this man to seriously reconsider his drinking habits.
santiagobenites16-04-2025 - Especially when their parents didn’t as kids. Something changed drastically a generation ago.Mistermaumau16-04-2025
- Sigh, it's hard to deal with short tempered people no matter how great their achievements. Sooner or later, someone will get hurt.
KerisVroom16-04-2025 - Are you drunk? Every one agrees Mads has never been more slim (look at his climbin)g and this maybe takes the top of his sprintUpHill16-04-2025
- Eli was attacked by a guy wearing a Belgian scarf, was that the intoxication effect?Mistermaumau16-04-2025
- Exactly, and with Mads in the running, a quartet would have been formed, TP and MVDP would have had to exhaust themselves more to shake off both Mads and Jasper although MVDP could have played his lead-out role for Jasper again (remember, it was he who broke Jasper, not Tadej and I don’t think Tadej would have risked countless attacks noticing an unbudging MVDP (who’d constantly pull Jasper with him without Jasper having to go into the red)). Any of the possible scenarios would NOT have favoured Tadej and in a 4-way sprint at the end his most likely place would then have been 4th. In the end he can count himself quite fortunate with his 2nd. Don’t think there’s a market for games for budding cycling team managers managers, so let’s just stop the ifs and buts, if MVDP hadn’t been ill at Flanders, if Jonas hadn’t crashed before the last Tour, if Primoz hadn’t underestimated Tadej on the Planche des Belles Filles, if, if if works both ways.Mistermaumau16-04-2025
- For a moment there my brain registered Patrick L.Mistermaumau16-04-2025
- Tadej, STUPOR MUNDI.
maria2024202416-04-2025 - Why the random and unnecessary disrespect to Cadel? At least he didn't cheat like Contador.Pogboom16-04-2025
- If we're playing the "what if" game - I'd go further back to Mads getting a puncture and possibly being a favourite to win the race. He would have likely beat Tadej and MVDP in a sprint at the Velodrome. He appeared to be one of the stronger riders who faced some bad luck. But, that's just cycling. Wout could have very well won Paris-Roubaix in 2023 if he hadn't punctured in the last 10km. I wish Tadej hadn't crashed or would've caught up so all these stories of how Tadej should have won wouldn't exist, I think MVDP was the stronger rider in this particular race.JBlake16-04-2025