The 3 potential winners of Paris-Roubaix 2025 that fly under the radar
Cycling
Paris-Roubaix 2025 is here. This Sunday marks one of the most exciting editions of the Hell of the North. Not only because of the debut of Tadej Pogacar and his new chapter in the rivalry with Mathieu van der Poel, but also because of the huge number of contenders for the victory.
The favorites are clear. In addition to the two aforementioned greats of cycling - Mads Pedersen, Wout van Aert, Jasper Philipsen, Jasper Stuyven and Filippo Ganna are in the conversation. But the list doesn't stop there.
There are also a few other riders who are not at all far from the aspirations of the riders already mentioned. Here are names like Stefan Kung, Dylan van Baarle, Nils Politt, Iván García Cortina, Kasper Asgreen, Matej Mohoric, Gianni Vermeersch, Jonathan Milan, Joshua Tarling, Biniam Girmay....Together with CiclismoAlDía we look at a few names with serious ambitions in the Hell of the North that go by under the radar.
1. Stefan Kung
The Groupama - FDJ star is in outstanding form. He was one of the best riders in the Tour of Flanders, finishing 7th. Before that, he was 9th in Dwars door Vlaanderen and 6th in the E3 Saxo Classic. In addition, Küng already knows what it's like to stand on a Paris-Roubaix podium. He was 3rd in the 2022 edition. In fact, he has been Top 5 in the last 3 editions counting his two 5th places in 2023 and 2024.
2. Nils Politt
A big advantage that Tadej Pogacar will count on is the presence in UAE's lineup of Nils Politt - and Florian Vermeersch. The German was 2nd in Paris-Roubaix 2019, and 4th in last year's Paris-Roubaix. It's one of his favorite races. Despite being a potential domestique for the Slovenian, in a race like this you never know what can happen. At a given moment Politt may have to take the initiative, and it would be very daring not to take him into account in the fight for victory.
3. Dylan van Baarle
The winner of Paris-Roubaix 2022 cannot be forgotten. The Visma - Lease a Bike rider is not the team's top contender, considering that Wout van Aert will start as leader. But the 32-year-old Dutchman is still a serious contender to be in the fight, especially after talking about having the same legs as three years ago. Visma has always attacked as a team, and in the Hell of the North it doesn't look like it will be any different. At one point, his bid for victory in the velodrome could be put on a par with Van Aert's.
Original: Jorge Borreguero
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- l don’t live in europe, i live in southern california. can someone explain why this stuff happens to van der poel and seemingly ONLY van der poel? i don’t need anyone to say it’s wrong or awful or whatever. i’m looking for a real cultural explanation of this phenomenon from someone who has a much deeper understanding of the forces at play than i do. thanks in advance.OCexile15-04-2025
- A MVDP victory certainly did not seem "inevitable" before the crash, with TP, MVDP and Philipsen leaving the peloton behind.. Pogi attacked to drop Philipsen, with Mathieu understandably unwilling to help, and he was surely attempting to put MVDP on the limit later by attacking again, until the crash derailed his efforts. Still the gap was manageable, and he was slowly trimming it down, but then a mechanical forced him to change bikes and that was the final straw. Kudos to TP for making it exciting, rather than just a walk in the park for MVDP.FredMan15-04-2025
- nice idea, but as analysis point out over and over, mvdp is more willing than anyone to lose a race in order to win it. why do you think smart riders like wout, ganna and mads end up doing his dirty work over and over? because he’s almost impossible to manipulate.OCexile15-04-2025
- I don’t really think Tadej would have felt comfortable relying on his team at PR more than his instinct.Mistermaumau15-04-2025
- Still think Mads was a little overweight this year.Mistermaumau15-04-2025
- As everyone discovered to their amazement at Amstel 2019 when they’d more or less written him off ;-)Mistermaumau15-04-2025
- Thanks :-)Mistermaumau15-04-2025
- You've got to take your pulls, but do them easier and shorter than he does. Just enough to keep him happy. And if Pog attacks, sit up and let MVDP close it down.acem8215-04-2025
- The above photo was not from the Tour.awp15-04-2025
- I do, Col de Finestre in 2015. Mikel Landa was the first to summit that day.awp15-04-2025