Wout van Aert at the start of Roubaix: "I saw a photo of the wet cobblestones and I was a bit shocked"

Wout van Aert and Team Visma | Lease a Bike are aiming for victory at Paris-Roubaix, something they have been seeking for many years. Albeit lacking some riders they hoped to have present, the team can still dream big after the Belgian put in a storming ride at the Tour of Flanders and is back to his best form.

However, this morning there was a buzz at the Visma camp after the rain that fell overnight changed the sector significantly from what had been the case yesterday at Paris-Roubaix Femmes. "I saw a photo of the wet cobblestones and I was a bit shocked. It was very wet. But it can still dry up a lot today," van Aert said in a pre-race interview with Sporza.

However the weather on the day is not all about the rain, but also the wind. Tail and crosswind all the way from start to end. "It is favourable, even for echelons. We will be at the first sector very quickly."

Visma is starting the race with wheels that have a tyre pressure-adjusting system, something which allows the riders to race with a high pressure on the tarmac, but reduce it into the cobblestones to get more grip. This is done instead of changing bikes, as has happened in the past with other riders. Whether it was the key to success or not can't be said, but the team did win the women's edition with a fabulous performance from Pauline Ferrand-Prévot.

However, van Aert had already decided to race with it beforehand. "I didn't need yesterday's race to decide. I already knew that the system was very good and I was planning to start with it anyway. The feeling is good and with those very hard tyres we have an advantage towards the first sectors. That can give an extra percentage".

And van Aert will most of all look to avoid the bad luck, and hope that his near-crash in Arenberg during the recon of the course was the most he'll have. "The Trouée d'Arenberg? I hope I've had my bad luck there already."