OPINION | 5 riders who are bigger favourites than Tadej Pogacar to win Paris-Roubaix 2025

Tadej Pogacar will make his debut next Sunday, April 13 at Paris-Roubaix in the only Monument without climbs and the only one where he is not one of the favorites to win the race. The Slovenian wants to go down in history by winning every major race on the cycling calendar in Eddy Merckx style and to do so he will have to raise his arms at least once in his career in the 'Hell of the North'.

He will arrive at the start of Compiègne with morale sky high after his exhibition at the Tour of Flanders, where he dropped Mathieu van der Poel and the rest of the competition. That said, if he gets a reading of De Ronde that can serve him for Roubaix is that he will have a very difficult time to win considering the form of those who will be his rivals.

Of all those on this list, he is the only one who has not yet shown that the pavé is his specialty (although he has performed here in the past), but his start to 2025 is going so well that it is impossible not to place him on this list. He comes with more watts than ever and without climbs we believe he can hold the wheel of the best. Then, in a hypothetical sprint in the velodrome he would be faster than Pogacar.

The only one on the list who, given what we've seen lately, could lose to Tadej Pogacar in a sprint finish (someone who loses to Powless can obviously lose to Pogacar). However, we put him here because pavé is his natural terrain, because we know he has a Roubaix in his legs and because if he avoids bad luck and crashes he has the strongest attacking block (Visma was with 3 up in Flanders) to play strategically to blow the race and try to finally get his second Monument.

Second only to Mathieu van der Poel in the last two seasons. If you arrive in a group he is the fastest. In Gent-Wevelgem he had Pedersen's pace and only a puncture prevented him from fighting for the victory. He is in form and will be key in Alpecin's strategy.

The man of the moment if Pogacar and van der Poel didn't exist. He is in the best moment of his career, holding more than ever in the bergs to the only 2 riders with better legs than him. In Gent he showed he has an extraordinary level on the pavé and it's hard to think they can drop him on the flat. Then, he is faster than both of them in a hypothetical final finish at 3.

Once again he would be Pogacar's nightmare. The winner of Paris-Roubaix in the last 2 editions has shown to have extraordinary legs at the beginning of the season. He couldn't beat the Slovenian on the Kwaremont, but it's impossible to think that if he couldn't drop him on Cipressa or the Poggio you can drop VDP on flat pavé. Needless to say who would be the favorite in a head-to-head sprint...