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.
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.
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.
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.