Paris-Roubaix: for Van der Poel, “the chicane will make the race even more dangerous”

The Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel, favorite for his own succession on Sunday at Paris-Roubaix, estimated on Friday that the chicane set up at the entrance to the paved sector of the Trouée d'Arenberg “will make the race even more dangerous”.

At the request of the CPA riders' union, the organization decided to install a chicane on the approach to the Trouée "to slow down the speed of entry into it and limit the risk of falls on the cobblestones", according to Thierry Gouvenou, the race director.

“Is this a joke?” asked the world champion, dissatisfied, on social networks.

Friday at a press conference, the recent winner of the Tour of Flanders argued.

“It's good that people are trying something, but in my opinion it's not the right way. Introducing this the week before the race is also not a good thing. I don't feel very comfortable in the peloton towards the Wallers forest, but changing for the sake of changing is not always the best thing to do,” he explained.

“In my opinion, the chicane makes the race even more dangerous. If you start 20th at the entrance to the sector, it's still good. With the chicane, this is not the case. Around 5th or 10th position, you will stand still and lose half a minute,” he added.

In contact with Adam Hansen, the president of the CPA, Mathieu van der Poel “saw the options for the following years”, which “look good, but not this one.”

Van der Poel judges that cycling is becoming more and more dangerous overall, criticizing the decisions of certain organizers.

“There will never be total security and that’s a shame. Sometimes you also have to be lucky. For example, last year in the Tour, there was a finish on a circuit. For me, it was one of the most dangerous arrivals.”