"Nowadays the weight is less of an issue" - The technological advancement that allows Tadej Pogacar to fight for Paris-Roubaix, according to a former winner

Paris-Roubaix is a classic that's been made unique due to the amount and roughness of its cobbled sectors. Historically speaking, the heavier riders almost never had competition in these roads due to their ability to absorb the bumps and vibrations better when comparing to lighter riders. So, how is Tadej Pogacar able to be a main favourite for victory? It comes down a lot to the tyres the riders now race in.

In the 2025 editions of the Hell of the North, Pogacar (reportedly with a weight of 66Kg) was by far the lightest rider on the Top10. Markus Hoelgaard, weighting 74, was the lightest - whilst Florian Vermeersch with 85Kg was the heaviest. In a sport where being as light as possible is often the key, Roubaix provides a different challenge and turns the tables around.

That is one of the major reasons why historically, there haven't been many Grand Tour winners winning Paris-Roubaix, and vice-versa. Without the climbs, W/Kg is a number that is rather irrelevant in the north of France; where positioning abilities, endurance and tactical knowhow are usually king. But weight has become less of a factor because of tubeless tyres.

These can be ran at lower pressures which provide the riders with more comfort riding over the cobbled sectors. Furthermore, more and more the teams use significantly wider tyres so as to be able to tackle the sectors in the best possible way. It is not uncommon for, nowadays, have teams do recons and equipment testing months in advance to Roubaix - perhaps the only road race that requires this type of specific preparation.

It is a day where equipment choices are vastly different from the average road race. 2001 winner Sevais Knaven argues that the tyres have a massive difference on how the riders feel the third monument of the season in their body.

"For sure, the tubeless tyres helped Pogacar to be up there. I’m not saying it's only that, because he's the best rider in the peloton, but it is super nice to see him being there in action and for him it is a big goal to try to win it. But for sure the tyres help," Knaven said in an interview with Cyclingnews.

"When you were very light and you were riding in the past you were bumping a lot more. Then, as a light rider, it was more of a disadvantage than for a heavy rider. I'm happy with that. It's nice to see that nowadays the weight is less of an issue".

This doesn't change the trend that the heavyweight classics specialists will still largely fill up the list of favourites for this Sunday's race, but it doesn't limit it to them exclusively. Three-time winner Mathieu van der Poel will be tasked with battling Tadej Pogacar once again; with the duo being the two main favourites in a stacked field that also includes peak form Wout Van Aert, Filippo Ganna, Mads Pedersen, Florian Vermeersch, Jasper Stuyven, Matej Mohoric and more.