Paris-Roubaix 2025, Van Der Poel: "I'm feeling better: I think I can defend the title"

Rome, 12 April 2025 - The last two editions of the Paris-Roubaix they had as master Mathieu van der Poel, ready to seek the historic hat-trick Sunday April 13: and yet, the march towards theHell of the North it was anything but simple and not only because of the new entry in the start list called Tadej pogacar.

Van Der Poel's statements

 As his had already stated Alpecin-Deceuninck, the Dutchman has been recovering from a difficult few days due to a long-standing illness, which apparently dates back to the immediate post Milan-Sanremo 2025. "Participation in the E3 Sax Classic It only made things worse, and by the following Monday I wasn't feeling well. I was given antibiotics and during the Tour of Flanders I wasn't at my best yet, even though I managed to defend myself quite well. After the Round I've dropped again. It's not a surprise: the effort of last Sunday had taken its toll and in the following days I hadn't yet fully recovered". The situation, it seems, is going much better for Van der Poel. "A few days have passed since then and today I feel much better, to the point of thinking I have what it takes to defend the title." pogacar permitting. "If I take part in a race, I always do it to win, but Sunday's could be more unpredictable than expected. Tadej he is always a rival for victory, but he will not be the usual one: I think of Wout van aert, Mads pedersen e Jasper stuyven, who will be able to perform at the highest level". Yet, even theItaly dream with Filippo Gana. "There Paris-Roubaix could be the ideal race for him": this is the conclusion of Van der Poel, which could also have an internal rival.

Philipsen's statements

Curiously, the two victories of the son and grandson of art, those of 2023 and 2024, saw their teammate settle into second place Jasper Phillipsen, himself recovering from some ailments caused in this case by a fall, that of the Nokere Koerse 2025. "That accident still causes me some problems: a bit of whiplash, some muscle pain and occasional headaches. All this is not an excuse, because I am getting treatment and things are better, but I still don't feel totally comfortable. At Ghent-Wevelgem and at the Scheldt Prijs I regained confidence and then, even at home, I worked hard to be ready for Sunday". The runner of theAlpecin-Deceuninck, intercepted by the agency Belgian, despite all the problems, he is still confident that he can play a good game Paris-Roubaix 2025. "It's not like the Tour of Flanders, where there is one wall after another. Here it is more about surviving the cobbled sections and positioning yourself well. And I like the route. If I were to finish second again behind Van der Poel, I would consider it a victory: for me what matters is the good of the team".