2022 Paris-Roubaix Femmes Race Preview
The details of this year's 2022 Paris-Roubaix Femmes are falling into place. Find the latest route profiles and maps below, followed by our strategic preview of the race.
The second edition of Paris-Roubaix Femmes promises to be one of the most anticipated one-day races of the spring season. After the stunning inaugural edition in 2021, which saw Lizzie Deignan cross the velodrome finish line alone after a breathtaking solo attack in wet and treacherous conditions, the peloton returns to the famous cobblestones of northern France with a field hungry to claim the iconic trophy.
Defending champion Deignan will be under pressure from all sides as rivals who missed out last year arrive in stronger form and with better knowledge of the unique demands this race presents. The Trek-Segafredo rider is one of the most complete classics riders in the women's peloton, but she will need to be at her very best to repeat her memorable victory.
Among the favourites, Annemiek van Vleuten looms large. The Movistar rider is a dominant force in women's cycling and will be desperate to add this particular monument to her already remarkable palmares. Her ability to sustain enormous power output over difficult terrain makes her perfectly suited to the punishing sectors of pave that define this race.
SD Worx arrive as arguably the strongest team in the race. The Dutch squad boasts remarkable depth with Chantal van den Broek-Blaak, who has the experience and technical ability to handle the cobbles with authority. Alongside her, Lotte Kopecky has been in brilliant form and cannot be overlooked as a genuine contender.
Elisa Longo Borghini of Trek-Segafredo adds another layer of quality to the front of the race, while Marianne Vos, competing for Team Jumbo-Visma, is always a threat wherever she lines up. Vos brings a level of tactical intelligence and sprint power that could prove decisive if a group arrives together at the velodrome.
The route takes riders over twenty-nine cobbled sectors totalling nearly sixty kilometres of pave, with the fearsome Arenberg Forest sector likely to be the defining moment of the race. Those who emerge from the Trouee d'Arenberg with the leading group will be in a commanding position heading into the final stages.
Weather conditions will play a role as always. Dry cobbles reward smoothness and technique while wet sectors introduce an element of chaos that can upend even the most carefully laid team strategies. The memory of 2021 and those rain-soaked roads will be fresh in the minds of every rider on the start line.
Tactics will be fascinating to observe. Teams with strength in numbers will try to control the race while isolated favourites may look to force the issue early on dangerous sections. Deignan's solo escape last year showed that boldness can pay off handsomely on these roads, and other riders will have taken that lesson to heart.
This race has quickly established itself as one of the jewels of the women's cycling calendar and another chapter in its short but already rich history is about to be written.
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