John Degenkolb has been there, done it, and got the t-shirt at Paris-Roubaix. The 2015 winner is one of the veterans of the cobbled Classics peloton and still a name people look to in Compiègne, even if he heads towards the twilight years of his career.
But still, it had been some time since the German was at the sharp end of the Hell of the North before his ride on Sunday afternoon. A top 10 in 2017 was his best result before racing to seventh at this, his 11th participation.
