Nils Politt (Katusha-Alpecin) gives a bottle hand-up to a young fan
(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
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Bora-Hansgrohe's Peter Sagan takes the smoother path
(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
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Rwandan cyclist Joseph Areruya of Delko-Marseille Provence-KTM
(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
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Peter Sagan and Daniel Oss preview the newly mortared Arenberg cobbles
(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
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Ian Stannard (Team Sky)
(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
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Sep Vanmarcke (EF Education First)
(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
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Luke Rowe (team Sky)
(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
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Edvald Boasson Hagen (Team Dimension Data)
(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
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A close look at the mortar between the cobbles of the Arenberg Forest
(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
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Edvald Boasson Hagen (Team Dimension Data) and Rolf Aldag
(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
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Dylan van Baarle (Team Sky)
(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
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Fans wait for riders to preview the Arenberg sector
(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
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Jens Keukeleire (Lotto Soudal)
(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
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Lotto Soudal on the Paris-Roubaix recon
(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
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Katusha-Alpecin had some escorts in the Roubaix velodrome
(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
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Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma)
(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
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Katusha-Alpecin on the Paris-Roubaix recon
(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
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Oliver Naesen (AG2R La Mondiale)
(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
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Joseph Areruya poses for a photo
(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
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The Vital Concept-B&B Hotels riders preview Paris-Roubaix
(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
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Sunweb on the Paris-Roubaix recon
(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
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Wanty-Gobert on the Paris-Roubaix recon
(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
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Arkea-Samsic on the Paris-Roubaix recon
(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
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Riders get a glimpse of a dry and dusty Paris-Roubaix route
(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
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Peter Sagan shows off his new nameplate
(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
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Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) on the Paris-Roubaix recon
(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
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Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma)
(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
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Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) on the Paris-Roubaix recon
(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
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Sep Vanmarcke leads his EF teammates on the Paris-Roubaix recon
(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
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Mat Hayman (Mitchelton-Scott) takes a trip down memory lane
(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
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EF Education First on the Moulin-de-Vertain sector
(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
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AG2R La Mondiale on the Paris-Roubaix preview
(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
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Michael Hepburn (Mitchelton-Scott) takes the easy way in the Arenberg Forest
(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
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Sebastian Langeveld and his EF Education First teammates
(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
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Andre Greipel leads his Arkea-Samsic teammates
(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
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Oliver Naesen leads AG2R la Mondiale over the cobbles
(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
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Patrick Lefevere and the Deceuninck-QuickStep roster for Paris-Roubaix at a press conference in Wielsbeke, Belgium
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Riders were out in force Thursday on the roads of the 2019 Paris-Roubaix and in press conferences around Belgium. Dry weather is expected for Sunday's 117th running of the 'Hell of the North', and riders who were testing their legs on the cobbles Thursday enjoyed clear blue skies and comfortable temperatures for their reconnaissance.
After placing his winner's plaque in the outdoor shower of the Roubaix velodrome, defending champion Peter Sagan was out with his Bora-Hansgrohe team, joining other favourites like Tiesj Benoot (Lotto Soudal), Andre Greipel (Area Samsic) and EF Education First with Sep Vanmarcke and Taylor Phinney.
Nils Politt and Katusha-Alpecin shared a lap on the Roubaix velodrome with a group of local school-aged children, while Jumbo-Visma's Wout Van Aert pounded out some kilometres alone on the cobbles. Luke Rowe and Team Sky ventured onto the pavè for a day of training, as did Edvald Boasson Hagen and Dimension Data. Deceuninck-QuickStep stopped in Wielsbeke, Belgium, for a pre-race press conference.
Matthew Hayman, the 2016 winner who is now retired from racing but continues to work with Mitchelton-Scott, was out on the cobbles reliving his win and training with the team. Oliver Naesen was seen leading AG2R La Mondiale across a cobbled sector as some of the riders from the wildcard Pro Continental teams got their first taste of Roubaix's roads.
Click or swipe through the gallery above to see who was out on the roads around Roubaix on Thursday.
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