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Simone Giuliani

'That first sector, it's just bodies falling' – Oscar Chamberlain soaks up debut Paris-Roubaix while providing spark of hope for Australian resurgence

COMPIEGNE FRANCE APRIL 13 Oscar Chamberlain of Australia and Team Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale C with teammates prior to the 122nd Paris Roubaix 2025 a 2592km one day race from Compiegne to Roubaix UCIWT on April 13 2025 in Roubaix France Photo by Dario BelingheriGetty Images.

Australian riders have certainly had their eras of success at Paris-Roubaix, this however isn’t one of them. Just three riders from the nation were on the start line in 2025 and the best placed finisher from among those came over the line in 82nd but given that that rider was a debuting 20-year-old Oscar Chamberlain (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), the embers of hope for a resurgence in the years ahead are still burning.

The second-youngest rider on the start-line of the race, a runner-up in the 2023 junior edition of Paris-Roubaix, Chamberlain went into the 2025 event "eager to get on the bike and on the cobbles and see what hell feels like", adding in an interview shared by Australian broadcaster SBS that the race for him was about getting experience, helping the team and making it to the velodrome within the time limit. 

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