In my last post, From Flanders to Roubaix, I covered some of the bigger names that could be in with a chance of winning Paris-Roubaix on Sunday. The likes of Cancellara, Chavanel, and Phinney are the obvious choices for the win in The Hell of the North, but in this post I will look at some of the less well-known names to look out for when you watch the race. These aren’t necessarily the riders who will win in the famous velodrome, but they could well surprise a few people by making an appearance in the front group or popping up from nowhere to sneak into the top ten or even higher.
Bob Jungels
At only 20 years old, Bob Jungels will be the youngest rider in the peloton when it leaves Compiègne on Sunday morning. The young Luxembourger won the U23 version of this race last year along with other prestigious events such as the Flèche du Sud and Le Triptyque des Monts et Châteaux. He has also hit the ground running in his first season at the sport’s top level, crossing the line at the GP Nobili in splendid isolation in March, before being very narrowly beaten into second place in the time trial at the Circuit de la Sarthe on Wednesday by Luke Durbridge. If the Schlecks fail to return to their previous levels, then this is the man to take up the Luxembourg cause, and, should Cancellara falter, perhaps Jungels could seize an unlikely opportunity.
Damien Gaudin
Gaudin is another former winner of the U23 Paris-Roubaix, taking the title in 2007 despite spending most of his time on the track. Since then results on the road have been thin on the ground for the Europcar man, however there have been sign of a renaissance this year. Wins in the Paris-Nice prologue and the GP Cholet-Pays de Loire show that Gaudin seems to be in the best form of his life. The last man to win the GP Cholet-Pays de Loire and go on to win Paris-Roubaix was Marc Madiot in 1985. I doubt Gaudin can do the same, but he would dearly love to make his mark on the race.
Matthieu Ladagnous
I tied Matthieu Ladagnous to Sebastien Turgot in my last post, but they are separated here as I feel Ladagnous is still an outsider as he has not had the breakthrough result that Turgot achieved last year. Like Damien Gaudin, Ladagnous served his apprenticeship on the track before turning his attention to the road, and has also taken a while to string together a decent set of results. After a late puncture robbed him of a top ten in Paris Roubaix last year, the Frenchman has quietly notched up eighth overall in the Dreidaagse De Panne, sixth in Gent-Wevelgem, and fifth in the Tour of Flanders. With a bit more luck, I wouldn’t bet against Ladagnous being prominent on the cobbles on Sunday.
Egoitz Garcia
Like Juan Antonio Flecha, Egoitz Garcia is one of that rare breed of Spanish riders who thrive on the cobbles. The Cofidis rider really hit the ground at the very start of this season, with fourth places in the Challenge Mallorca, two more top tens in the Tour du Haut Var, and, most impressively, tenth in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, finishing alongside the likes of Sylvain Chavanel, Jurgen Roelandts, and Geraint Thomas. I doubt that Garcia will still be in contention come Roubaix, but he definitely has the ability, if not the experience, to get himself in a good move, gaining some television exposure for the sponsor if nothing else.
Marco Bandiera
In a similar manner to many of the other riders in this post, Marco Bandiera is a talented rider who has spent a few years working hard as a domestique and has only recently began to put some results together for himself. The Italian rider is no stranger to the front of a major classic, having worked hard for Tom Boonen for the past two seasons. However, now at IAM Cycling, he has been given more of an opportunity to ride for himself, with an eighth place in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad finally fulfilling some of the promise that he showed on the Italian amateur circuit. Bandiera will probably be required to support Heinrich Haussler, but is very capable of seizing an opportunity for himself.
Stay tuned for the second part of this blog tomorrow, in which I will look at another six riders who could surprise a few people on Sunday
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