SD Worx ProTime may have been the dominant force of recent seasons in the women's peloton but turn to the Paris-Roubaix Femmes and that domination melts away. Of the nine podium spots through the race's three-year history, the Dutch team has only taken one, a second with Lotte Kopecky in 2022.
Lidl-Trek, on the other hand, have taken four, with two of those being wins. The riders who netted those victories, Lizzie Deignan and Elisa Longo Borghini, may not be lining up at the race but that hasn’t made SD Worx any less wary.
“Lidl-Trek, as a team, will be our big challenger. They are heading to Paris-Roubaix with a lot of confidence,” said Christine Majerus in a team statement. “Marianne Vos will also be at the start as a top favourite. I hope that as a team we can pull the race our way. And that we still go into the last three or four cobbled sections with three or four riders, so we can play the game.
“The key will be to be sharp. Some of the cobbled sections will be slippery so we have to be careful, but also not be too preoccupied with it. Because if you 'overthink' it, you'll hit your brakes too soon and then the chances of a crash are high.”
The key contender for SD Worx-Protime is expected to be world champion Kopecky, who has at worst finished 15th and at best second in Roubaix. In 2022, Kopecky claimed the sprint from the chase group, but that time it was behind solo escapee Longo Borghini.
Last year Kopecky also won the sprint from the favourites group, but that was only enough for seventh as the break ruled the day. Her teammate Femke Markus was in the seven-strong group that arrived at the fabled Roubaix Velodrome in the fight for victory, but a strange crash at the bottom of the track saw her miss out as Alison Jackson (EF Education-Cannondale) took victory.
In the first edition of Paris-Roubaix in 2021, Kopecky was yet to join SD Worx, but the Dutch team had then looked reasonably well placed heading into the final stages of the wet and slippery edition. Two riders, Ellen van Dijk and Majerus, were in the small chase group in pursuit of eventual winner Deignan but then Van Dijk crashed and also brought down Majerus with her. The best finisher for the team that year was Chantal van den Broek-Blaak in 10th while Majerus, who had remounted after her crash, came 11th.
"The last three years we weren't so lucky in Paris-Roubaix, but it's not that I like the race any less because of that,” said Majerus. “I hope the puzzle pieces all fall together for once. Hopefully, 2024 will be the year when we don't make a single mistake and have the necessary dose of luck.”
Alongside Kopecky and Majerus, the team will be lining up in Denain with Lorena Wiebes, Barbara Guarischi, Femke Markus and Elena Cecchini. Saturday's race is 148.5km long with 17 cobblestone sectors.
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