Paris-Roubaix men's contenders - 5 favourites and 5 outsiders

Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert will face off once again at the 2023 Paris-Roubaix
Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert will face off once again at the 2023 Paris-Roubaix (Image credit: Tim De Waele/James Arthur Gekiere/Belga/AFP/Getty Images)

The 2023 cobbled Classics season reaches its spectacular conclusion on Sunday with the 120th edition of the Queen of the Classics, Paris-Roubaix.

It will be difficult for riders to top the thrilling editions of the Tour of Flanders where Tadej Pogačar and Lotte Kopecky triumphed in Oudenaarde. However, Roubaix is the biggest one-day race of the season and brings a month of racing over the cobbles of Flanders and northern France to an end with an action packed exclamation point.

Dani Ostanek
Senior News Writer

Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, joining in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired full-time. Before joining the team, they had written for numerous major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly and Rouleur.

Dani has reported from the world's top races, including the Tour de France, Road World Championships, and the spring Classics. They have interviewed many of the sport's biggest stars, including Mathieu van der Poel, Demi Vollering, and Remco Evenepoel. Their favourite races are the Giro d'Italia, Strade Bianche and Paris-Roubaix.

Season highlights from the 2024 season include reporting from Paris-Roubaix –  'Unless I'm in an ambulance, I'm finishing this race' – Cyrus Monk, the last man home at Paris-Roubaix – and the Tour de France – 'Disbelief', gratitude, and family – Mark Cavendish celebrates a record-breaking Tour de France sprint win.