Jumbo-Visma completed its reconnaissance on the cobblestones of Paris-Roubaix on Thursday.
The preparatory work is now over, now it is only a countdown for the Dutch cycling team and hope for a fresh Wout van Aert, a reborn Dylan van Baarle and a portion of luck. Immediately the curtain falls on Van Aert’s spring. Less than 48 hours from the start of the 120th edition, these are the five question marks for Sunday.
Did Van Aert digest the Ronde?
He drove past the press without looking back and straight to the bus. Not his habit. Van Aert finished fourth in the Tour of Flanders on Sunday. He hoped for more and expressed his disappointment. De Ronde left its mark. Physical in the first place: Van Aert crashed and complained of knee and rib pain on Thursday.
But did he manage to leave the mental sacrifice behind? “On Monday I realized that I had been beaten by stronger riders,” says Van Aert. “Sunday was a big disappointment. Beforehand I was confident that I would be able to follow if the better riders raced. That was ultimately not the case. That’s no disgrace either.”
Van Aert managed to put it into perspective and looks ahead. “I accepted it and turned the page. That’s also the best. A new match is coming soon. One where we have a great chance to win with the team. So we have to give the maximum again. As a professional you have to be able to quickly put such a disappointment aside.”
Christophe Laporte supported his leader. “I feel good and if you ask me, Wout is still feeling good, but you might want to knock on his door for that. What happened in the Ronde is no longer relevant on Sunday. It is a different course that bears no resemblance to the Flemish classics. Mathieu was the better in the Ronde, but there are no hills in Roubaix.”
Does Van Baarle fulfill his role?
In addition to Van Aert and Laporte, Jumbo-Visma will play Edoardo Affini, Tim van Dijke, Timo Roosen and Nathan Van Hooydonck on Sunday. The latter already left for the hotel at the start in Compiègne on Thursday. He struggled with a mild cold and trained individually to avoid the choppy weather.
Dylan van Baarle is also back on Sunday. He missed the Ronde due to illness, but was able to train fully again in recent days. On Thursday, after the reconnaissance with the team, he immediately continued cycling and completed a few extra training kilometers. It goes without saying that the winner of last year’s Paris-Roubaix on Sunday can again claim a leading role, as a finisher, but also as a lightning rod or super servant.
“Dylan was back to normal during the recon and he gave a good impression,” said Laporte. “He hasn’t raced since the E3 Saxo Bank Classic, but he said he could train well, so he will be there.”
Sports director Maarten Wynants is also counting on Van Baarle to help color the race on Sunday. “He can certainly be a game changer. After all, Dylan is last year’s winner. He is not immediately a top favorite after his illness, but can play an important role. We missed him on Sunday. If he’s with Nathan (Van Hooydonck, ed.) could join that flight and he would have survived the Kwaremont, it would not have been easy to leave him behind.”
Will we get dry and mud-free cobblestones?
Slippery and slippery. At Jumbo-Visma, everyone remained upright on Thursday, even though the strips were miserable: wet, a lot of puddles and a good layer of mud here and there. If the weather forecast is correct, today will be the last precipitation in northern France. The cobblestone strips then have more than 24 hours to dry. “A wet Roubaix is fun for five minutes, but after that it becomes a stressful and dangerous affair. So give me a dry race,” said Laporte.
Van Aert supported his teammate. “I hope for completely different circumstances on Sunday. It should turn out to be a dry edition. On the other hand, I do not expect a dusty Roubaix because there will still be puddles left and right, and they will also contain some mud. Still, it promises to be good conditions to race in.”
Does tire pressure system provide benefits?
It was the topic of conversation on Thursday at the Jumbo-Visma bus. Christophe Laporte, Dylan van Baarle and Edoardo Affini completed their exploration with Gravaa’s KAPS system, which allows them to adjust their tire pressure without any restrictions during the race. Van Baarle briefly switched to normal wheels when his front wheel was not running smoothly, but still switched to the rims with which he could change the pressure in his tires.
A button on the handlebar allows riders to switch to different tire pressures during the race. Sports director Maarten Wynants also tried it out. “We needed someone else to go over the cobblestones kamikaze style to really test it thoroughly. (laughs) I also tried ten different settings, where the guys will opt for two to four different tire pressures on Sunday. It really does provide an advantage and it worked well,” says Wynants. “I would race with it and I am convinced that some guys will also start with it on Sunday.”
Unlike Van Aert, Laporte seems inclined to use the system. “I have not made my decision yet,” says the Frenchman. “It works and it doesn’t just give you an advantage on the cobblestones because you can ride with softer tires. On the asphalt you have an advantage just as much because you can switch to harder tires there. At the same time, the disadvantage is that your bike is a bit heavier (240 grams per wheel ed.) .”
Has spring Jumbo-Visma already succeeded?
Sporting manager Merijn Zeeman remained ambitious even after the victory in Dwars door Vlaanderen, the fifth semi-classic that Jumbo-Visma attracted. The spring of the cycling team stands or falls with a victory in the Tour of Flanders or Paris-Roubaix. The redeeming victory did not come in Oudenaarde on Sunday. The resit follows in the Hel van het Noorden. Van Aert is the most advanced man, but with Laporte, Van Baarle and Van Hooydonck, Jumbo-Visma has several irons in the fire. Will one of them succeed in making Zeeman’s dream come true?
In any case, Van Aert does not intend to knit an extension to his spring. “That will certainly not change. I may not have raced much, but I did use a lot of energy. With a view to the summer, I am keen to take a break.”