Winner in 2024 and already the winner of Milan-San Remo this season, Kopecky tops the favourites list for Sunday, but SD Worx will also hope to play on their strength in numbers in a race where luck and strength count for more than strategy.
With potential rivals like Marlen Reusser (Movistar) and Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ) out of action, Kopecky's chances of winning a second title have only increased this week, but her team knows that everything will have to go right on Sunday for that to happen.
Latest Videos From
"This race does not lie. Those who win here usually belong to the very strongest riders. That’s what makes Paris-Roubaix one of the most beautiful Classics," SD Worx team manager Danny Stam said on Friday.
"The bad roads and heavy cobbled sectors make it extra special. Of course, luck plays a role – for example, not puncturing at the wrong moment – but when you look at the list of winners, you can see that you only win here if you truly belong to the best."
Matilda Price
Personally, I think it's Lotte Kopecky's race to lose on Sunday, given how few other top contenders are there. SD Worx always talk about playing the numbers game, and for sure having strong riders will help, but when push comes to shove, Kopecky is the big dog leader, and she'll be fired up to add another Monument to her palmarès.
Only two other former winners will line up on Sunday – Alison Jackson (-St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93) and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma-Lease a Bike) – and as yet, no one has won Roubaix twice in the first five editions of the women's race.
Despite Kopecky missing out on the podium at the Tour of Flanders, where she admitted she didn't have the ability to follow Demi Vollering (FDJ United-Suez), her team believe the flat cobbles of Roubaix will be better for her.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
"Paris–Roubaix is tailor-made for her — perhaps even more so than the Tour of Flanders at the moment. She has shown that she is in good form. With Lotte, we have a serious contender for victory, and possibly even more than one."
In the chaos of Roubaix, almost any rider could contend for the victory, but Stam picked out Blanka Vas and Lorena Wiebes, the latter third here last year but recovering from a crash last weekend.
"We are lining up with a strong and well-balanced team. Blanka Vas should perform well on Sunday; she is powerful and technically skilled," he said.
"With Lorena Wiebes, it remains to be seen how well she has recovered from her crashes in the Tour of Flanders. She did suffer from them."
"It’s classy that we are competing on the same platform," he said.
Get unlimited access to our unrivalled 2026 Spring Classics coverage with a Cyclingnews subscription. We'll bring you breaking news, reports, and analysis from some of the biggest races on the calendar, including Milan-San Remo, Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders. Find out more.
Matilda is an NCTJ-qualified journalist based in the UK who joined Cyclingnews in March 2025. Prior to that, she worked as the Racing News Editor at GCN, and extensively as a freelancer contributing to Cyclingnews, Cycling Weekly, Velo, Rouleur, Escape Collective, Red Bull and more. She has reported on the ground at all of the biggest events on the calendar, including the men's and women's Tours de France, the Giro d'Italia, the Vuelta a Espana, the Spring Classics and the World Championships. She has particular experience and expertise in women's cycling, and women's sport in general. She is a graduate of modern languages and sports journalism.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
