5 Domestiques Who Could Win Paris-Roubaix 2018
Paris-Roubaix is such a unique race that invariably it requires a specific style of rider to win it, usually one who's primary role throughout the season is to protect their teammates.
Talking of domestiques, Philippe Gilbert (Quick-Step Floors) has been banking credits across the entire classics campaign, working for his teammates in every race bar Dwars door Vlaanderen. You can only imagine this was to curry favour as he takes aim at the 'Queen of the Classics'.
The 35-year old is very much running out of time to win all five monuments - Milan-Sanremo looks like it could evade him - and with Quick-Step claiming all but one Belgian one-day races this season, it could be the best chance he's ever going to have to claim his fourth different monument.
In the absence of a favourite lifting the famous cobble stone trophy, here are five domestiques who could step out of the shadows to claim a monument victory.
A key cog in the Quick-Step drive-train in pretty much every race this season - notably coming second at Dwars door West Vlaanderen behind teammate Remi Cavagna - Sénéchal has been rooted in a helpers role ever since his move from Cofidis over the winter.
Rowe's return to racing is nothing short of phenomenal. The Welshman was told he may never rider again professionally when he broke his leg in 20 places on his brother's stag do last August, but showed he's back to full fitness at Dwars door Vlaanderen when he instigated the breakaway and still finished 22nd.
Team Sky's resident Grand Tour work horse was once earmarked as one of the British team's principle classics men, finishing eighth and 14th in this race in 2015 and 2016 respectively, and fifth at De Ronde van Vlaanderen in 2016.
It's probably asking too much of Luke to win the race outright so soon after a major injury - there are riders in far more consistent form - but Mat Hayman is the precedent for riders who've suffered bad injuries and immediately won Roubaix upon their return.
The indomitable Stybar is the most consistent rider across the spring classics this season, finishing inside the top 10 of every race his teammates have won; E3 Harelbeke, Dwars door Vlaanderen and Ronde van Vlaanderen.
Stybar already has an impressive palmares at Paris-Roubaix - second twice (2017, 2015), fifth (2014) and sixth (2013) - but the Czech champion may never have a better opportunity to win than this year. 'The Wolfpack' have been on stellar form this spring, picking up nine of 10 Belgian one-day races and 24 victories in total so far this season, and it all stems from having so many options - riders who would normally be working in service of Elia Viviani, Fernando Gaviria, Bob Jungels or Julian Alaphilippe, or Marcel Kittel and Daniel Martin in previous seasons.
Stybar's palmares from before road cycling is what sets him in perfect stead to perform well on Sunday. A three-time cyclo-cross world champion and five-time Czech cyclo-cross champion, the 33-year old is at home on the savage cobbled trails of northern France and it's the one race this season 'The Wolfpack' may invest everything in one rider. He's been working for Niki Terpstra and Yves Lampaert over the last six races, so surely it's his turn to set his sights on victory.
The terrain of Paris-Roubaix suits a time trial specialist like Küng. 54km of flat cobbled sections are a completely different proposition to the cobbled hills of Flanders, and a rider who can drive hard, ignore pain and cope with extreme discomfort for tens of kilometres has every chance in Roubaix.
Fabian Cancellara, Küng's Swiss compatriot, won this race three times (2006, 2010, 2013) and the comparisons between the two have been pointed out more than a few times.
Küng has been ever present on the front of the peloton in this classics campaign working for Greg Van Avermaet, and like Jurgen Roelandts at Milan-Sanremo, this could be the race that the Swiss is given slightly more free reign to be up there in the final.
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| Peter Sagan is the bookies favourite for Paris-Roubaix 2018 despite only one classics victory this season at Gent-Wevelgem Photo credit: cyclingnews.com |
The 35-year old is very much running out of time to win all five monuments - Milan-Sanremo looks like it could evade him - and with Quick-Step claiming all but one Belgian one-day races this season, it could be the best chance he's ever going to have to claim his fourth different monument.
In the absence of a favourite lifting the famous cobble stone trophy, here are five domestiques who could step out of the shadows to claim a monument victory.
Florian Sénéchal (Quick-Step Floors)
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| Florian Sénéchal is mobbed by journalists after his 12th place finish at Paris-Roubaix 2017 Photo credit: velo101.com |
At only 24-years old, Sénéchal is the youngest of the seven in the cheesily monikered 'The Wolfpack' and that could work in his favour at Paris-Roubaix - Niki Terpstra won E3 Harelbeke and Ronde van Vlaanderen from a domestique role by attacking when no one else wanted to. Admittedly at E3 it was by virtue of a crash, but at De Ronde he was the only one to chase Vincenzo Nibali's attack and it turned into the winning move, apparently quite by accident - without the debut of Nibali there wouldn't have been a move at that point in the race.
Sénéchal could be the perfect foil for Quick-Step to play on Sunday. Send the Frenchman up the road, be that in the break or following an attack later on, and he can provide a platform for Gilbert, Stybar or Terpstra to counter attack. No one will be paying that much attention to him as Terpstra's forays have already proved and should Gilbert be marked to death, Sénéchal has the strength to take the win himself - he came 12th last year.
Luke Rowe (Team Sky)
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| Luke Rowe thrived on the cobbles of northern France in 2015 Photo credit: pinterest.com |
Team Sky's resident Grand Tour work horse was once earmarked as one of the British team's principle classics men, finishing eighth and 14th in this race in 2015 and 2016 respectively, and fifth at De Ronde van Vlaanderen in 2016.
It's probably asking too much of Luke to win the race outright so soon after a major injury - there are riders in far more consistent form - but Mat Hayman is the precedent for riders who've suffered bad injuries and immediately won Roubaix upon their return.
Zdenek Stybar (Quick-Step Floors)
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| Zdenek Stybar finishes second behind Greg Van Avermaet in 2017 Photo credit: velon.cc |
Stybar already has an impressive palmares at Paris-Roubaix - second twice (2017, 2015), fifth (2014) and sixth (2013) - but the Czech champion may never have a better opportunity to win than this year. 'The Wolfpack' have been on stellar form this spring, picking up nine of 10 Belgian one-day races and 24 victories in total so far this season, and it all stems from having so many options - riders who would normally be working in service of Elia Viviani, Fernando Gaviria, Bob Jungels or Julian Alaphilippe, or Marcel Kittel and Daniel Martin in previous seasons.
Stybar's palmares from before road cycling is what sets him in perfect stead to perform well on Sunday. A three-time cyclo-cross world champion and five-time Czech cyclo-cross champion, the 33-year old is at home on the savage cobbled trails of northern France and it's the one race this season 'The Wolfpack' may invest everything in one rider. He's been working for Niki Terpstra and Yves Lampaert over the last six races, so surely it's his turn to set his sights on victory.
Stefan Küng (BMC Racing)
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| Stefan Küng's TT prowess sets him up well for Paris-Roubaix Photo credit: velonews.com |
Fabian Cancellara, Küng's Swiss compatriot, won this race three times (2006, 2010, 2013) and the comparisons between the two have been pointed out more than a few times.
Küng has been ever present on the front of the peloton in this classics campaign working for Greg Van Avermaet, and like Jurgen Roelandts at Milan-Sanremo, this could be the race that the Swiss is given slightly more free reign to be up there in the final.
Daniel Oss (Bora-Hansgrohe)
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| Daniel Oss (right) was GVA's primary lieutenant in 2017 Photo credit: lequipe.fr |
On a sliding scale, Bora have rather the opposite problem of Quick-Step: they only have one option. The name value of Peter Sagan on its own is enough to make him the prime target for everyone to mark, but his team boss's reluctance to let anyone else have a go to justify the Slovakian's multi-million pound salary means they only have one card to play.
At De Ronde, no one was willing to work with Sagan because they knew he would beat them in the sprint at the end. Oss did take charge at the front in the last 40km but never engaged with Sagan, suggesting the directeur sportif in the team car simply instructed him to work on the front with no end goal. Once Oss was finished, Vincenzo Nibali attacked, leading to the race winning move from Terpstra. It was a complete tactical mess from Bora who despite having former De Ronde winner Marcus Burghart in tow too, can't seem to work in the same dominating fashion as Quick-Step.
Oss - who was Greg Van Avermaet's primary domestique in the Belgian's 2017 win - possesses just the tools to thrive in Roubaix. With everyone focusing on Terpstra, Gilbert, Sagan, Kristoff and GVA, Oss is the kind of rider who can ghost away from a group while the rest try not to let the rainbow jersey out of their sight.
Prediction
1. Zdenek Stybar (Quick-Step Floors)
2. Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates)
3. Philippe Gilbert (Quick-Step Floors)
4. Greg van Avermaet (BMC Racing)
5. Sep Vanmarcke (EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale)
6. Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo)
7. Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo)
8. Niki Terpstra (Quick-Step Floors)
9. Wout van Aert (Veranda's Willems-Crelan)
10. Gianni Moscon (Team Sky)
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