The tears of Elisa Balsamo, who was beaten in the sprint by the world champion Lotte Kopecky in the women's race, are today's image of the Queen of the Classics, that of the Hell of the North, that is, the Paris-Roubaix which ends in the André-Pétrieux velodrome of French city on the border with Belgium. The 26-year-old from Piedmont, gold at the 2021 World Championships but also champion on the track (she won the world title in the team pursuit) seemed to have made it, but instead she was mocked by the one who now wears the rainbow jersey, Kopecky, and the tears after the arrival it was the consequence of this disappointment from which she had already recovered when she appeared on the podium, where she smiled at her rival who had beaten her shortly before. Balsamo had done well enough to get back into the leading quartet, despite a problem with her bike and also thanks to the great work of the British Pfeiffer Georgi (in the end third), and she hoped to make it in the sprint also due to the presence in the leading sextet of his teammate in Lidl Trek, Eleonora Van Dijk. Who in fact pulled for Elisa, but in the end the winning idea was found by Kopecky. Thus it was the Belgian who wrote her name in the history of this classic which for women has only existed since 2021 and which Italy won with Elisa Longo Borghini (currently absent) in 2022. 148.5 kilometers traveled today, with 17 sectors of pavé (for a total of 29.2 km) and good weather conditions, which according to the forecast should also be present on Sunday.
But for men the menu will be different, because the kilometers become 260, and the cobbled ones 56 divided into 29 sectors, two of which (the treacherous Viesly Biastre and Capelle Ruesnes) have been dusted off and added for the occasion. The decisive moment of the race could once again be, accidents permitting (the issue of the danger of tracks and bikes has also taken center stage in France), at the entrance to the Arenberg Forest, which will feature an unprecedented chicane to slow down the speed of runners. According to Mathieu Van der Poel, this trick could make the race even more dangerous, but the runners' union, which was among the first to ask for the installation of this 'slow motion', doesn't think so. The Dutch phenomenon, world champion both on the road and in cyclocross, won Paris-Roubaix last year, and does not hide his desire to do a repeat, also because this would mean achieving the Flanders-Roubaix double in the rainbow jersey, which he achieved in the story only to Rik Van Looy. On the stones he seems to have an edge over the others, but in cycling the unpredictable is always around the corner; so former world champion Mads Pedersen will try to make his life difficult, who this year has already won the Ghent-Wevelgem but will have to find the best way to manage his energy, and Jasper Philipsen who was second last year and now would like to climb one step up the podium. Also pay attention to Stefan Kung, who adapts well to this test. It's Italy? He dreams with Luca Mozzato, second at Flanders and a luxury outsider, Alberto Bettiol who seems to have returned to his best levels, and Jonathan Milan, a track Olympian who has the right size to do very well if he arrives with the leaders at the entrance to the Roubaix velodrome . But it is clear that the number one favourite, head and shoulders above the rest, remains Van der Poel.
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