Over the past two decades, Soudal Quick-Step has conquered the cobblestones of Paris-Roubaix six times. However, the well has run dry for The Wolfpack in recent years. As the Hell of the North approaches, former team boss Patrick Lefevere admits the drought is simply down to the overwhelming dominan...

Mathieu van der Poel faces a big decision tonight ahead of his defence of his Paris-Roubaix crown: will he race the Canyon Aeroad CFR, the trusty race bike thats borne him to dozens of victories, or the new Canyon Endurace CFR? He raced the Aeroad at the 2026 Tour of Flanders last week, having debuted the new Endurace at the E3 Saxo Classic, so is well placed to weigh up the benefits of both bikes. That he reverted to the Aeroad at Flanders doesn't cement that as the only option for Paris-Roubaix, even if its supposedly a precious 1W faster than its new sibling. He and his teammates have been spotted testing both options in the run-up to the race, and the demands of Roubaix are a far cry from Flanders not to mention sponsor commitments. So what will he race? Lets analyse his options, with an option for you to vote below. Tame the cobbles, or punish them? We were given an Endurace to photograph by the team. Ash Quinlan / Our Media Its telling that van der Poels team wouldnt allow us hands-on access to his bike, supposedly because they dont yet know which bike hed be riding. A team representative stated that Mathieu has the choice ahead of tomorrow, suggesting the choice sat between Canyons entire range of race bikes still remains. Immediately discounting the now-ageing and relatively un-aero Ultimate, neither the Aeroad or Endurace bike is without compromise. van der Poel has been testing the Aeroad in recent days on the cobbles. DIRK WAEM / BELGA MAG / Belga / AFP via Getty Images According to Canyon, the Aeroad remains marginally more aerodynamically efficient than the new Endurace, but it cant match the new Enduraces 35mm tyre clearance. This is important, given the trend towards wider tyres at Roubaix. The ferocity of the Queen of the Classics cobbles is unmatched, and has seen van der Poels key challenger, Tadej Pogaar go to extremes with a 35mm tyre up front on his Colnago Y1RS. Will van der Poel look at Pogi's tyres with envy? Ash Quinlan / Our Media Van der Poels Aeroad can, officially, only accommodate 32mm-wide tyres while leaving the requisite 6mm clearance to the frame. Could that 1W loss in aero effiency be worth it for wider tyres? A huge marketing win? The media feeding frenzy would be wild should van der Poel win on an endurance bike. Ash Quinlan / Our Media Its also worth remember Canyon is intimately linked with the Dutch racer van der Poel is an incredibly important marketing billboard for the company. Could the brand have some sway in his decision? Read more: The new Canyon Endurace CFR is good, but I dont think it's an endurance bike Naturally, a win on the brand new bike would be a marketing golden goal, but wouldnt they also just settle for a win no matter the bike? Muddying the waters is the fact that teammate Jasper Philipsens Endurace CFR race bike that we photographed has the same 32mm wide tyres fitted as his number two bike a Canyon Aeroad. This indicates that even Philipsen isnt 100 per cent sure what the best option might be come race day, and might not feel extra-wide tyres are for him. He's ridden the Aeroad to dozens of victories will he switch for Roubaix? Simon von Bromley / Our Media Also, we witnessed van der Poel returning from his final training ride on an Aeroad, running standard-for-Roubaix 32mm tyres. We then spotted a further backup Aeroad being worked on with the same tyres. However, in a game of tech subterfuge, its not out of the question that van der Poel and his team could pull a shock on race day, starting him on the Endurace CFR (thereby giving him the option to switch during the race), or keep the Endurace CFR on standby for just before the toughest part of the race gets going. Well be on the ground to confirm his choice on race day but what do you think? Vote below!

The tension is building as the cycling world turns its eyes to the rough and dusty roads of northern France. This Sunday marks the 123rd edition of the Paris-Roubaix, a race known for breaking bikes, bodies, and dreams. Riders have spent months preparing for the bone-rattling cobblestones, but no am...

The spring cycling season is rapidly coming to a close, and for some of the biggest teams in the professional peloton, the pressure is reaching a boiling point. If a top-tier squad arrives at the final cobbled Monument of the year without a massive victory to their name, the entire season can feel l...

A long-awaited legal fix to give council officials direct access to collision data is expected to progressed in the first half of the year, the Minister of State covering road safety has said.The Road Safety Authority (RSA) has not shared crash location data with local councils directly for a decade. GDPR was used as the reason why the RSA stopped sharing the information.As previously covered, GDPR came into force across the European Union in May 2018, but the RSA appears to have only begun working on the issue with the Data Protection Commissioner in 2022 years later, the problem has not been fully resolved. The Department last year promissed the legal changes which are now planned to happen in the coming months. The confirmation comes from junior transport Minister Sen Canney in reply to a parliamentary question from Social Democrats TD Jen Cummins.Deputy Cummins asked: If Dublin City Council and the other Dublin local authorities currently have access to collision location data from 2019 onwards; the reason the Road Safety Authority ceased sharing this data with local authorities in 2020, given that the Data Protection Commission stated in April 2024 that GDPR should not prevent the proportionate publication of anonymised crash-location details; to explain the way in which local authority road engineers are expected to identify and redesign dangerous junctions for cyclists and pedestrians without access to this data; and to provide a specific date by which the National Vehicle and Driver File Bill 2025 will be enacted to restore this access.In a written reply, Minister Canney said: Collision data are collected by members of An Garda Sochna at the scene of road traffic accidents. These data were previously shared with local authorities, via the Road Safety Authority, to enable them to identify locations of interest (accident blackspots) that would benefit from safety improvements. Due to the presence of personal information in the data, legal advice related to GDPR has meant that local authorities stopped receipt of collision data since November 2023.As well as sharing of the data, the local authorities have identified an issue with the legal basis to process the data, once received. The National Vehicle and Driver File Bill 2025 will, once enacted, provide a legal basis for local authorities to receive and process the collision data, he said.He said that, as an interim measure, the Department of Transport has been undertaking detailed collision analysis on the regional and local road network to identify locations of interest.As part of this process, when locations of interest are identified, the Department notifies the affected local authority, and, in turn, the councils can apply for funding of low-cost safety schemes for these locations.He added: The General Scheme of the National Vehicle and Driver File Bill 2025 has been approved by Government and is with the Office of Parliamentary Counsel for drafting. The passage of this Bill is a Programme for Government commitment and will amend the Roads Act 1993 to provide a basis for the resumption of direct sharing of road traffic collision data with local authorities. The Bill will be published in the coming weeks with enactment targeted for the first half of 2026.

All the information on how to watch Paris-Roubaix for free from anywhere in the world as Tadej Pogaar and Mathieu van der Poel head for cobbled duel.

When a Grand Tour specialist drops into the middle of the cobbled classics, things don't usually go this perfectly. But Remco Evenepoel showed he can easily handle the chaos of one-day racing by grabbing a podium spot at the Tour of Flanders. Now, the management at Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe is fig...

Good morning and welcome to the most anticipated day on the cobbled Classics calendar, Paris-Roubaix, the Hell of the North. The race is underway, and we will be bringing you full live coverage, with updates every minute as the action unfolds across the brutal sectors of pav. Stay with us as we fol...

Is an endurance bike with space for extra wide tyres really a racing gravel bike, and is a cross bike just a gravel bike with narrower tyres?