Run parallel to the North Sea, this looks a simple stage on a benign day but could cause unexpected problems if the wind gets up. If it is blowing, the sprinters and overall contenders will be doubly determined to stay at the front of the peloton. This will bring out the elbows as they all battle for the same places on the road.
After the stage the riders will be flown 1,000km to Turin for a rest day. Most of them would have undoubtedly appreciated taking a day off further into a race that gets steadily tougher all the way to its spectacularly hard finish.
Procycling's favourite to win:
With Mark Cavendish at the concurrent Tour of California, André Greipel will be HTC-Columbia's man for the sprinter's crown. Lampre's Alessandro Petacchi is likely to be his main rival, with Garmin's Tyler Farrar a dark horse, but it will be hard to derail the relentless Columbia train at full steam.
Stage Details
Distance: 224km
Vertical climb: 20m
Highest point: 9m
Terrain: Flat
Category: Road Stage
-
Reflections and highlights from Paris-Roubaix – What we witnessed and felt on the ground and at home
Cyclingnews team weighs in on an unforgettable day of racing in northern France -
Sean Kelly's Classics column: My heart was with Wout van Aert at Paris-Roubaix, hopefully his victory over Tadej Pogačar will give others confidence too
Cyclingnews' Spring Classics columnist explains why he was so happy to see Van Aert win, Pogačar's need to return to Roubaix, and how Visma-Lease a Bike could have changed their tactics to help Marianne Vos -
Broad spectrum of emotions hits Paris-Roubaix chasing group – Disappointment for Mads Pedersen, Jasper Stuyven revels in third, and Mathieu van der Poel accepts defeat
Strong chase group battles it out for minor places in velodrome, with eighth for one rider meaning a lot more than seventh for another -
The fastest Paris-Roubaix in history – Wout van Aert and Tadej Pogačar set blistering new highest average speed of 48.91kph, smashing previous record
Franzi Koch's victory in the women's race was also the fastest in its six-year history with a 40.834kph average speed
