"Can I have squash in mine?" asks Maddie Leech, holding out her bidon and a bottle of supermarket-brand orange cordial. The time is 10am sharp, and in a packed car park by the post office in the French town of Haveluy, Lifeplus-Wahoo are getting ready for a day across the cobbles.
Three bikes are lined up along a brick wall. One for sprinter Eluned King, one for new signing Kristýna Burlová, and one for Leech, who is wrapping her hands in blue tape. The 20-year-old can spin tales of the brutality of Paris-Roubaix. When she made her debut last year, she didn't reach the end of the first stretch of cobbles.
