Mathieu van der Poel misses 'partner in crime' Pogacar for Paris-Roubaix

For all the talk of a cobbled Classics' 'Big Three' over the past month of racing, that number will be reduced to a duo at cobbled closer Paris-Roubaix with Mathieu van der Poel standing atop the favourites list alongside his eternal rival, Wout van Aert.

The pair, who have been battling on road and cyclocross bikes for over a decade, head a packed field of contenders for the 257km Monument on Sunday.

That other member of that famous trio who dominated the headlines at the Tour of Flanders and E3 Harelbeke, Tadej Pogačar, won't be racing, however, despite various pundits urging him to do so in recent days.

His absence means it's one obstacle down for Van der Poel as he seeks his first cobblestone trophy on his third start in Compiègne. But, to the contrary, the Dutchman said he could have been a "partner in crime" on the cobbles.

"I think he's always a partner in crime and he already showed that he's good on the cobbles as well in the Tour de France last year when he was also in front here," Van der Poel said in audio released by his team in lieu of a press conference.

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"I think it's always nice to race with strong competitors but there will be enough strong riders on Sunday."

Pressed on who might be among the top contenders for glory in the Roubaix velodrome, Van der Poel named several riders. "The usual suspects, I think," he said.

"Filippo Ganna will be really good. Mads Pedersen. Wout van Aert, of course. In Roubaix, you can name like 10-20 riders who can win the race. Given the circumstances, you need a bit of luck as well.

"For sure I'm among the favourites but it's really difficult to pick out one top favourite for the race."

As ever, the Paris-Roubaix weather has been a topic of conversation in the lead to the weekend, with rain falling in northern France in the latter half of the week. Some teams opted to hold their course recons earlier while the cobbles were still dry, though plenty ventured out in the wet, on Thursday and Friday.

The rain is set to hold off for the weekend, though there despite the dry conditions, the famous sectors – including the forest-covered Trouée d'Arenberg – should still be muddy and slippery, to various extents.

"Actually, I enjoyed the wet editions as well but I think [the forecast] gives some dry weather conditions," Van der Poel said. "Maybe there will still be a bit of mud. Today it was still muddy in some places, but it won't be like it was two years ago.

"I think we will have some different circumstances during the race. It was still quite wet and muddy, but of course, it's never bad to do it again because you only ride here once a year. It's difficult to know every section by heart."

Of the men who will be taking on Roubaix this weekend, Van der Poel proved the strongest at last week's Tour of Flanders, finishing second behind Pogačar. The race – along with E3 – marked the second time in recent races that he managed to drop Wout van Aert on the cobbled bergs.

The flat cobbles of Roubaix are a different proposition altogether, though Van der Poel should have the mental upper hand going into the race – in addition to Van Aert's complaints about his knee after his Flanders crash. Van der Poel said he hopes his legs are as good as they were last Sunday.

"They're quite OK," he said. "In Scheldeprijs already they felt pretty good. Yesterday I took a day off and today we did a slightly longer recon. I think that should do for Sunday.

"I think the Tour of Flanders suits me a bit better than Paris-Roubaix but for sure it's a hard race as well, so I hope I have the same legs on Sunday.

"I think I have a good shape so it's always fun when you're riding good," he added, when asked if he was enjoying his racing more this season.

"I think the problems with my back are also getting better, almost solved. This was maybe why I didn't reach my full potential last year. I also chose together with the team to do a bit less racing and to be fully focussed on the races I do."