‘Most special one-day race of the year!’ – Pidcock can’t wait for Paris-Roubaix

Tom Pidcock will make his professional Paris-Roubaix debut after recovering from a crash earlier this week.

He later shared that he had injured his hip and could not bear weight on it, but initial scans showed no fractures.

“I recovered really quickly, did some more scans until I was confident nothing was wrong,” Pidcock said in a video shared by Ineos Grenadiers on social media.

“A bit of pain’s no problem. I actually had quite a good week training, I didn’t miss too much.”

Pidcock is yet to compete at Paris-Roubaix as a professional, but he has won the race twice at a youth level.

He triumphed at Paris-Roubaix Juniors in 2017, before winning the under-23 race in 2019.

“Roubaix is probably my favourite race of all,” Pidcock said. “I haven’t done it as a pro yet, so I’m excited.

“It’s the romance of it, the passion, the cobbles and the way luck plays a part in the race. It’s the most special one-day race of the year.”

Defending champion Mathieu van der Poel is among the favourites for tomorrow’s race, alongside his Alpecin-Deceuninck team-mate Jasper Philipsen.

The Dutch rider warned his rivals yesterday that the best is still to come for his Alpecin-Deceuninck team.

Coverage of the women’s race starts at 14:00 UK time on Saturday, April 6.

The men’s race gets underway at 09:30 UK time on Sunday, April 7.