Tadej Pogačar heads into this weekend's Paris-Roubaix in search of a win in the only race that has so far eluded him. If the current world champion can cross the line first in Roubaix's famous outdoor velodrome he will not only have won all five monuments, but will be the current reigning champion in all five. A feat never before achieved in cycling.
While there are many things that can go wrong over the 30 cobbled sectors of the race (20 in the women's race), Mathieu van der Poel will once again be the Slovenian's main rival. Pogačar broke Van der Poel on the climb of the Oude Kwaremont at the Tour of Flanders last weekend, but without the gradient, the pendulum swings back in favour of the Dutchman, winner of the past three editions.
2026 brings both men's and women's races together on the same day for the first time; done for security and financial reasons, according to the race organisers ASO. How this will affect TV coverage remains to be seen, but on the plus side, you won't have to carve an entire weekend out of your calendar to watch both.
One of the oldest, most prestigious, and most popular races on the calendar, the 'Hell of the North' – or 'Queen of the Classics' – can be in turn dusty and dry, or wet and muddy, but it is always a spectacle. The race is infamous for its pavé, or cobbles, which are divided into sectors and given a star rating from one to five depending on their severity - dictated by length and how rough the cobbles are..
Paris-Roubaix 2026: Key details
Date |
Sun 12 April 2026 (men's and women's) |
Total distance |
258.3km (men's), 143.1km (women's) |
Start location |
Compiègne, France (men), Denain, France (women) |
Finish location |
Roubaix, France |
UCI ranking |
WorldTour |
Edition |
123rd (men's), 6th (women's) |
Cobbles |
30 sectors (men's), 20 sectors (women's) |
Last winner |
Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) (men's), Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Fra) (women's) |
TV coverage (UK) |
TNT/HBO Max |
TV coverage (US) |
NBC/Peacock |
The men's race has not started in the French capital of Paris since 1965, but rather a few miles north in the town of Compiègne. From there, the riders embark on a gruelling 260km ride to Roubaix, on the boarder with Belgium. The women's race starts in Denain, around 60km south of Roubaix, and follows a winding parcours taking in 17 of the most famous sectors.
The finish is unique, with a short sector of easy, municipal cobbles leading riders onto Roubaix's outdoor velodrome where they complete a lap and a half before crossing the finish line. The race comes a week after the Tour of Flanders, is the third monument of the year and is the climax of the Northern cobbled Classics season.
This will be the sixth edition of the women's race – the Paris-Roubaix Femmes – which was won last year by French rider Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma-Lease a Bike) with a 25km solo move.
Mathieu van der Poel again in 2025, becoming only the third rider ever to have won three Paris-Roubaix on the trot after Octave Lapize and Francesco Moser, after attacking with Tadej Pogačar and seeing the Slovenian lose touch at 38km to go following a crash.
>>> 12 pictures that show just how tough the Paris-Roubaix cobbles are
Key info: Key sectors | Route & Start list | How to watch - 2025 details TBC
Paris-Roubaix 2026: The route
The routes for this year's races have yet to be announced by organiser ASO, and we'll update this page as soon as they are. In the meantime, you can expect them to closely follow that of last year. It would be a surprise if there was anything beyond minor tweaking.
For example, last year the men's Paris-Roubaix featured one additional cobbled sector compared to 2024, bringing the total to 30. One of the early sectors was binned, and two have been added around Quérénaing: a 1.3km sector at Artres and a 1.2km sector at Famars, both shortly after the 130km mark.
A controversial chicane on the entrance to the feted (and feared) Arenberg sector of pavé was also replaced with "a small detour" along the Arenberg mining site, according to the organisers, which packs in four right-angle corners into the kilometre just before the cobbles.
The women's route was unchanged from the previous year's: 148.5km from Denain to the famous Roubaix velodrome, featuring 17 cobbled sectors - the last 17 on the men's route - including the challenging sections of Mons-en-Pévèle and Carrefour de l’Arbre. In total, the women tackled 29.2km of cobbles, although once again the Arenberg did not make the cut - the infamous sector has never featured in the women's race.
Paris-Roubaix: Previous winners
2025: Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Deceuninck
2024: Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Deceuninck
2023: Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Deceuninck
2022: Dylan Van Baarle (Ned) Ineos Grenadiers
2021: Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bahrain Victorious
2020: No race due to Covid-19
2019: Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Quick-Step Floors
2018: Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe
2017: Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing
2016: Mathew Hayman (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
2015: John Degenkolb (Ger) Giant-Alpecin
2014: Niki Terpstra (Ned) Etixx - Quick-Step
2013: Fabian Cancellara (Sui) Team RadioShack
2012: Tom Boonen (Bel) Omega-Pharma - Quick-Step
2011: Johan Vansummeren (Bel) Garmin-Cervélo
2010: Fabian Cancellara (Sui) Team Saxo Bank
2009: Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick-Step
2008: Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick-Step
2007: Stuart O’Grady (Aus) Team CSC
2006: Fabian Cancellara (Swi) CSC ProTeam
2005: Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick Step-Innergetic
2004: Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Alessio-Bianchi
2003: Peter Van Petegem (Bel) Lotto-Domo
2002: Johan Museeuw (Bel) Domo-Farm Frites
2001: Servais Knaven (Bel) Domo-Farm Frites
Paris-Roubaix Femmes: Previous winners
2024: Lotte Kopecky (Bel) SD Worx-Protime
2023: Alison Jackson (Can) EF Education–Tibco–SVB
2022: Elisa Longo-Borghini (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
2021: Lizzie Deignan (GBr) Trek-Segafredo
External links: Official website | Official Twitter feed
