Mathieu van der Poel. Tadej Pogačar. Wout van Aert. All three will line up this Sunday for Paris-Roubaix, and one thing is certain—no amount of hype will protect them once the wheels hit the stones.

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It’s the most brutal Sunday in cycling. A 259-kilometer warpath across northern France. Thirty sectors of jagged pavé. No chicane this year to ease into the Arenberg Forest. This is Roubaix in full chaos mode.

And yes, the titans are here. But so are the spoilers. So are the bruisers. And history says: expect the unexpected.

The Big Three For Paris-Roubaix 2025

Let’s start at the top. Tadej Pogačar is making his long-awaited debut in the Hell of the North. He recced the race with Tim Wellens back in February and hasn’t been shy about his obsession with the Queen of the Classics. He’ll be wearing the rainbow jersey, but this isn’t a World Championship course—it’s a battlefield. Can the Slovenian superstar truly contend on terrain that’s ended so many hopes before? We’re about to find out.

Then there’s Mathieu van der Poel, back to defend the crown he won in dominant fashion last year. With Jasper Philipsen and Silvan Dillier at his side, Alpecin-Deceuninck is stacked. And MVDP? He’s already taken Milano-Sanremo and E3 this spring. He’s the man to beat—but Paris-Roubaix doesn’t always reward the favorite.

Wout van Aert hasn’t had the spring he’d dreamed of. His Tour of Flanders didn’t deliver the breakthrough, and neither did Dwars door Vlaanderen. But Roubaix? It’s the race he may be best suited for. The long, flat cobbles reward pure power—and van Aert has it. Alongside Dylan van Baarle and Matteo Jorgenson, Visma-Lease a Bike has the depth. But do they have the timing?

The Spoilers In The Shadows

Beyond the big three, the field is packed with danger men. Filippo Ganna was immense at Sanremo and will relish a drag race over the cobbles. Mads Pedersen has the engine and a stacked Lidl-Trek squad including Jasper Stuyven and Jonathan Milan. Jasper Philipsen could even pull rank at Alpecin if the conditions turn tactical.

Tim Merlier, Arnaud Démare, Biniam Girmay, Stefan Küng, Matej Mohorič, Alexander Kristoff, Laurence Pithie, Oier Lazkano—these are not background actors. These are riders who thrive in chaos, and if Sunday turns into a survival match, they could find themselves right in the mix.

This Race Doesn’t Care

Paris-Roubaix doesn’t care about scripts. It doesn’t care about rainbow jerseys or Monument résumés. It cares about legs. Nerve. A bit of luck. And whether you can ride 5-star cobbles at 50kph with dust in your eyes and blood in your mouth.

This is the race where flat tires crush dreams, where bikes break and riders bend, where a forgotten name can write history while the favorites fade.

Pogačar. Van der Poel. Van Aert. The showdown we’ve been dreaming of is on—if they make it to the velodrome.