Paris-Roubaix 2026 Preview

God's Medicine discusses major players for Paris-Roubaix 2026, makes a vision board for the podium, and highlights wildcards to watch.

Transcript

hannah 0:00

Can anybody think about the possibility of wow van art winning Rube without crying?

Godsmedicinecycling 0:06

Hello everybody and welcome back to God's Medicine, your favorite opinion podcast about road cycling. I am your host Lauren, here with my co-host, Hannah. Welcome to our flash preview of hell of the north. It is time finally for Peri Rue 2026.

hannah 0:25

I love the north baby. It's my favorite race of the year.

Godsmedicinecycling 0:31

How have you been preparing for this monument, this occasion, if I may say so?

hannah 0:37

Well, what I have not been doing is breaking onto the cobbled section and stealing the cobblestones at the people of Northern France. Get it together.

Godsmedicinecycling 0:46

Oh my God.

hannah 0:48

Um, what I have been doing is watching every video I can get my grubby little hands on of those goats eating the grass around the cobblestone. And I cannot recommend highly enough that everybody follows my lead. Uno X has been, I dunno if y'all are on their social media, but you should follow them immediately if you're not, even if you don't care for their riders, their content is so good.

Godsmedicinecycling 1:11

They've been inspecting the cobbles. They've beginning up close and personal. Yeah, their social media has been a bunch of fun. I mean, it always is, but this classic season especially. okay, Hannah, go ahead. Tell us what we're getting into with Perry Rue.

Paris-Roubaix Course Preview

hannah 1:26

Alright, so in addition to watching goat videos, I have been studying, studying the blade. I've been studying the The 2026 edition of Peri Rube is 258 kilometers. We start in Compen, and of course we end in the iconic Rube Velodrome. We have 30 cobbled sectors this year. The confirmations of the star ratings will come, I think Friday or Saturday. We're recording this on Thursday, but as of now we have three confirmed five star sectors. We have the Tre Berg, which is Sector 19, ve, sector 11, and Kero Lab sector four. There are only a few root changes from previous years. The first of note is that the first four cobbled sectors, which come in quick succession this year have almost zero asphalt in between them, it is boom, boom, boom, boom, cobbles. It is a little bit evil. The other change of note is that sector 26, which is also early in the race, the sectors move from 30. At the beginning to one at the end, has an 800 meter climb that the race organizers said it hope will fo force a little bit of preselection, which is again, diabolical. But where are we? We're in hell of the north.

Godsmedicinecycling 2:39

I don't know that I agree with this climb, but uh, they didn't ask me

hannah 2:43

Yeah, I don't, I don't know about it either, but we can get into it later. And then with the, one of the big talking points of the Rube root of recent years is the approach to the berg, which this year remains as it did last year with two chicanes before the entry that is designed to slow down the Peloton speed before they hit this first five charts, star sector, and everything goes bananas.

Godsmedicinecycling 3:08

We ended our last, pod, our recap of the tour of Flanders with a little bit of discussion on the difference. And let's get into that a little bit more because I think after tour of Flanders, after Todd, a won tour of Flanders, not that he didn't before. I mean, he's won the race before, so it's not like this is a surprise result. it feels like there's a lot of sentiment of, should we just pack it in? Is Todd simply going to win Rube? Should we even bother watching? I mean, I would argue yes. I think you would argue. Yes. So let's get into a little bit of why this parkour is a bit different, and why that might shake up. What we are about to talk about and who we're about to talk about in terms of the favorites and the wild card,

hannah 3:55

Yeah, I mean, I think the, the, the most obvious thing is that Rube is not a climbing race. The selection is not made on climbs the 800 meter hill insect 26. Not withstanding that the organizers have added,

Godsmedicinecycling 4:13

meters is. It's not enough. I think it's like the, uh, esa you know,

hannah 4:19

yeah.

Godsmedicinecycling 4:20

something is gonna happen there, but it's not enough to be, I think the, the acts of the race, in my opinion.

hannah 4:28

Yeah, I mean the selection in Rube happens largely on the three, five star sectors. I think the Peloton will be reduced when we get to the berg. As it has been in the past couple of years, which frankly is the reason why I think the chicane has been successful is that the group has been reduced. I think that's actually a big problem if a huge bunch hits a double chicane at the same time. But what do I know? I just watch sports. Anyway, the group will be reduced going into the berg. The group will be decimated leaving the berg. Let's be real about that. It's, I mean, it's not only the difficulty of the cobbles, it's the, and one of the things that makes Rube a a race that is in some ways more difficult to predict than Milano San Ramo is that it is expected that so many guys are gonna have a mechanical. Like you are going to have to get a bike change. You're going to have to get a fresh tire, like something is gonna go wrong, that is baked into the team plans, which sh is now the time it's baked into the team plans except for Vimo Lisa Bike, who last year as we'll recall, pioneered a tire pressure adjustment system so the riders would be able to adjust their tire pressure. From on the bike. So when they're hitting the cobbles, they could lower the tire pressure basically, I believe. And try to avoid a puncture, and avoid a mechanical. And what did the UCI do today? When Rube is on April 12th, they banned the tire pressure adjustment system days before the race.

Godsmedicinecycling 6:04

the UCI is out to get Wow van Art. I think that should be the headline in Belgium right now.

hannah 6:10

Honestly, I'd be surprised if it's not.

Godsmedicinecycling 6:13

let me take out a billboard real quick in, where's the UCI Switzerland? In terms of the adjustments, anything that is a genuine innovation, the UCI seems to put their foot down on pretty quickly. and we will see, I think also because of the way that this race is run, not just that they're going over cobbles, but that they will end up the Peloton or any group will likely end up taking some very narrow lines, which tend to be towards the side of the road. To find the smoothest section we see, I feel in Rube more than other races, people going over into ditches and when there's one problem that there can be a big chain, not that that doesn't happen when you have the Peloton spread out over the road, but it can, because it, people tend to be riding in these narrow door lines. Positioning does matter a bit more, and there's much more of a incentive to be at the front of these cobbled sectors because of, if one person gets a mechanical, if one person goes over, that can affect, you know, you're much more likely to be the eighth rider back if you're all riding one in a row. So that also creates some more pressure and some more positioning, dilemmas, which is also why this, uh, chicane is, you know, basically what is gonna happen is it's dangerous to move up in a double chicane. So people are gonna have to be at the front before then, but even so, there will still be people who are trying to move up on the chicane. And even though there are people who are in a good position, they might not make it through in a good position because they're at the wrong part of the turn and then they get moved back. So that's gonna be, yeah, it is a tactical pitch Pinch.

hannah 8:00

Yeah, absolutely. And the entrance to the Iron Burke is always a tactical pinch point, to be clear, like with or without the chicane, that is the case because even without it, I think you go from quite a wide road to, to the very narrow pave. But with the chica, it's, dare we say, hellish,

Godsmedicinecycling 8:19

Uh, I, yeah, I mean, I hope it's not, I I

hannah 8:22

right?

Godsmedicinecycling 8:23

in the last race, because I think as you said, it was so.

hannah 8:27

Mm-hmm.

Godsmedicinecycling 8:28

It wasn't noticeable that it was there. Yes, we saw acceleration in front of it and we saw people jocking for a position to make sure that they were hitting that spot But it was not the disaster that some people feared. However,

hannah 8:42

Yeah.

Godsmedicinecycling 8:43

one time, the race

hannah 8:44

Yeah,

Godsmedicinecycling 8:44

to be different this time around and you know, I think we'll all be looking at that as another test of, is this actually going to work?

hannah 8:54

agreed. Let's get into the provisional start list so just for the record, as I said before, we're recording on Thursday, April 9th. We don't have the full start lists out yet, so we're working with what we got.

Godsmedicinecycling 9:06

In some cases, teams have not even submitted half their riders,

Rundown of Major Players

Godsmedicinecycling 9:10

so

hannah 9:10

Yeah,

Godsmedicinecycling 9:11

it's

hannah 9:11

don't come at us.

Godsmedicinecycling 9:14

We gotta start with a big dog, MVDP. he's

hannah 9:18

P.

Godsmedicinecycling 9:19

He's won Ribe three times in a row and gosh darn it, I think he could do it again. he seems to have the touch Cobbles. They somehow just seemed to kind of bounce off him. Um, I think there's been a lot of discussion of the canyon bikes. Alpac always seems to have a good, good time with those. They seem to work really well for that team. I don't want to curse anything. They have in previous years not had mechanicals at key points so that's another advantage for him and all of the SEN as well. But Rube is his turf and. It would be an easy bet to say he's gonna win.

hannah 10:00

Yep. Absolutely. I think then, you know, how can you put. Anywhere else than right behind MVDP, kind of in the, in the list of favorites, TA Pcio wants to win this race so badly that he is willing to sacrifice a potential tour de France win in his tour de France winning window, if that makes sense. Like Rube is, it's such a Crashy race. It's such a risky race, and most. Guys with a shot at winning the Tour De France aren't here. They're not here for a number of reasons. Like being light on the cobbles is not an advantage. It's not slowing P down. Let's be absolutely clear, but it's not an advantage. Um, but the risk of injury is high in this race. The, I mean, the risk of injury is high in any bike race, but it's particularly high in Rube and Todd's willing to take that gamble. This would be, I think that it's the, the only monument he hasn't won now that he has San Ramo. So this would be kind of the crown jewel for him. It would also get him five monuments, one in a row, which I believe has never happened before. So to the haters who say, let's pack it in. Pogs just gonna ride away and win. Sorry. Do you not wanna watch that? Like, do you not wanna watch a guy win five monuments in a row and join a very select group of writers who have ever won all five monuments? You're crazy. You just don't like cycling. You just don't like cycling.

Godsmedicinecycling 11:25

They wanna watch it on TV in like 25 years when it's like, uh, remember this classic, iconic moment? And they'll be like, you know, Hey son, I was there for that. But they do not wanna watch it while it happens.

hannah 11:39

Could never be us. I would also say, I know we've moved on from MVDP, but has anybody ever moved on from MVDP? If you don't appreciate the beauty of that man riding across cobbles, like it is genuinely beautiful to watch how he navigates this terrain. So if he goes alone, you're still gonna have a good time. If you have eyes to see.

Godsmedicinecycling 12:00

Fighting words and now onto fighting riders, Jasper Phillipson. Okay. He is great at Peri Rube. He gets into the velodrome with you, I don't know how many, uh, sprint stages has the guy went at the Tour de France. Hannah, it's quite a lot. If I recall correctly,

hannah 12:18

Mm-hmm.

Godsmedicinecycling 12:19

is a good classics rider.

hannah 12:21

Yes.

Godsmedicinecycling 12:22

No problem on this terrain. He can keep up with Vanderpool and. All of his other behemoth teammates. Okay. He and Vander Pool can work together. really like him as somebody who's gonna be on the podium. He's punchy, he's fun. He can have his elbows out. Whether or not you agree with it, he is gonna get to where he wants to go.

hannah 12:47

Yeah. next on the list. Can anybody think about the possibility of wow van art winning Rube without crying? I'm tearing up right now in my defense, I'm very tired. He is Belgian cycling royalty. This is, you know, the, the bookend of Flemish Holy Week. It would be maybe one of the most compelling storylines in all of sports for 2026. It would be a contender. We don't know what the second half of the year has in store for us, but it would be a contender for sure. Um, and like we said before, Flanders, he's looked really good in the early part of this season and I know that he ended up just off of the podium in Flanders. But as we said at the end of that race, he still looked good. There were a lot of good signs. Um, he's being distanced on climbs. Those climbs aren't in this race. He was looking quite good on the flat. He was making up time towards Remco, basically all the way to the end of Flanders. I think there's a lot of, um, there's a lot of things for the Wow. Faithful to be clinging to as we head towards the weekend and I am amongst them.

Godsmedicinecycling 13:58

Yeah, I mean, also let us not forget that he looked like he was going to win Rube one year and had a

hannah 14:04

Yeah.

Godsmedicinecycling 14:04

at the

hannah 14:05

Yeah. Mm-hmm.

Godsmedicinecycling 14:06

So he, he could do it.

hannah 14:08

He could do it.

Godsmedicinecycling 14:09

person who could do it, and, uh, I hate to say it, it's Pana. Okay. I don't know what to tell you. He is riding that bike. He has been a monster this spring. He is not afraid to try and hang. He will chase you down. He does not care.

hannah 14:31

He'll bring the whole Peloton with him.

Godsmedicinecycling 14:33

If he has to, yeah,

hannah 14:35

He just did it. He just brought the whole thing back together. It.

Godsmedicinecycling 14:40

I don't think we can understate if he's on a mission with his engine. Okay. I think he's gonna do something.

hannah 14:51

He also, he's a track rider. If it go, if it comes down to the Viome to decide who wins and Pippo is there. Pip's winning,

Godsmedicinecycling 15:03

Jasper Phillipson would like to, uh, hear

hannah 15:05

I mean, Yesper, Phillipson. Would have words with me, but I like, I wanna watch it as, I mean, I said this the last two years, I think my greatest dream is that a reduced group of like four or five of these top guys make it to the vome together and fucking slug it out. That's what I want for the end of this race.

Godsmedicinecycling 15:22

I

hannah 15:22

Um,

Godsmedicinecycling 15:23

Mads Petterson is there, do you think he'll do well? 'cause he's the next guy on our list.

hannah 15:27

the next guy on our list, and I love him and I, I really wanted Rube for Mads last year. He had a, such a poorly timed mechanical

Godsmedicinecycling 15:37

Ugh.

hannah 15:38

that, that he, he had a mechanical at the moment when Pgan MVDP rode away from the rest of the group and he was right there with them. So that was devastating, and I would love for him to have redemption from that. My only hesitation with could Mads challenge Ghana and or Phillips sit in the village room in my fantasy end of this race, is that he confirmed that he had another, like training crash or something before RVV and you hurt his wrist a little bit. So I think it depends on it. What his like post multiple crash form is. I think for a guy whose training was s seriously limited, as we said before, Flanders his, the results are there. I mean, fifth in RVV. Is nothing to sneeze at, especially when you look at who was in front of him. This is similar to VanderPol, you know, this is his turf. He gets a bad weather, you know, buff as the kids on the internet say if it starts to rain mass. Peterson is having a great time and it might like, I don't, I haven't looked at the weather report for Rube on Sunday yet. 'Cause it's gonna change 100 times between now and then. But, I think Mads could have a good race. I think it just depends on how he, how he's feeling post crash. But Trek is also bringing a really strong team around him, so,

Godsmedicinecycling 16:55

I remembered, I forgot to say echelons. We might have some win. We might have some splits in, uh, Peru Bay as

hannah 17:01

mm-hmm.

Godsmedicinecycling 17:01

Um, I'm gonna quickly blitz two teams as a whole. They're, their names are Red Bull Bore Hands Grow, who are bringing a whole stable of thorough Reds. Okay. Lawrence Pithy. Gianni Ramir. Tim and Mc Vandyke, who have been riding really well this season. Uh, Yie Mayos who again, if somebody might sprint out, sprint Yas or Phillips in,

hannah 17:21

That's true.

Godsmedicinecycling 17:21

Mayos. Um, all of those guys are great on the cobbles. They should work together or they have been working together really well as a team. And I wanna shout out quick step. Their entire team has not been released yet for this race, but who they have released is, and stop me if any of these people have done well in Perry Ruby in the past, you, Jasper, Dylan Van Bar and Eve Lamper. Okay. What? I mean, they're good. All those guys are good. I can only imagine they're gonna add some more good riders. And I think that there is something to be said for having a team that's really working and just getting, you know, people into the, the right position and quick step. Those guys will be able to do it. Uh, red Bull seem to have been able to do it all classic season, so that counts for a lot.

hannah 18:07

Fully agree. The Red Bull team scares me like all of those guys could. Top 10. That's, it's crazy. That's crazy. And then our, our last inclusion on this kind of contenders list is, stop me if you've heard this one before. Florian Vermeers. Obviously once again he's gonna be PO's main lieutenant. But once again, who knows what the man could get up to.

Godsmedicinecycling 18:32

Yeah, and they'll, I think UAE will let him ride if P is in a good place.

hannah 18:36

Absolutely.

Godsmedicinecycling 18:37

it's advantageous to have more people at the front often.

hannah 18:41

And I think there is, every possibility that ALPAC tries to play. Having NVDP and Phillipson as favorites and, and tries to use the numbers card and UAE could absolutely do that with Vermeer and pag.

Godsmedicinecycling 18:56

Yeah. Okay. It's time for our podium discussion. Do

hannah 19:00

Oh my God,

Godsmedicinecycling 19:01

or do you want me to go first? Is

hannah 19:03

I.

Godsmedicinecycling 19:03

normal in any way? Because then you should go first.

hannah 19:06

It is like a little bit normal, but it's not, but it is. I changed my podium so

Podium Predictions

hannah 19:13

many times. I changed my mind like 500 times What I settled on was VanderPol W Van Art Pcha. But the temptation to put pana in there instead of p was so strong.

Godsmedicinecycling 19:29

Hannah. Hannah. Hannah. Listen to me. Look me in the eyes. I made a podium that I am trying to will into existence, it is W Van Art wins. Perry Rube. Matthew Vanderpool comes second Pip Oana in a screaming

hannah 19:46

Oh my God.

Godsmedicinecycling 19:48

Okay, if

hannah 19:49

our hive mind is strong.

Godsmedicinecycling 19:51

if this happens. I want a million dollars for this. I want W to win this race so bad.

hannah 20:00

I mean, same.

Godsmedicinecycling 20:01

you know, this isn't just like, oh, I want him to win. I want him to win. And that's why I put him first. And I know I left POG off the podium and it's a fool's game to leave POG off the podium. But I really think, wow, thin art can win this race. And sometimes you have to go with your heart and. You just, you have to put what you want to see from the universe out there. He's not gonna have any mechanical problems. He's not gonna crash that. That boy's gonna pedal his little bike and he's going to get to the velodrome and he's gonna cross the line first. That's what's happening. Okay? In my mind. We'll see if that's what happens on Sunday, but I'm manifesting, this is what that's called. I'm manifesting, okay. Put

hannah 20:40

I mean. I love that and it's beautiful and honestly it's not too different from what I'm doing. My, where I think I've gone wrong in this podium is that the scenario in which MVDP and W Beat POG is probably also the scenario in which Ghana and or Phillipson beats pog. So like one of them should be the third step on my podium. I'm hedging by putting pog here, but I do, I, there was a version of this podium that was Phillipson Ghana. Wow. In that order.

Godsmedicinecycling 21:09

yeah,

hannah 21:09

that was also really tempting to me because once again, my dream scenario is that like five of these guys go to the Villa Trump together and kill each other.

Godsmedicinecycling 21:18

Yeah. What if W-M-V-D-P and POG are on a break together and W and MVDP agree to run Rolling attacks?

hannah 21:30

Honestly, that is what they should do if they find themselves in that position because. POG couldn't ride away from MVDP on the Cobbles last year, but who's to say he can't this year? It's not worth taking the risk, in my opinion, especially with Kafer. Labra so close to the Velodrome, like it's the, it's sector four. It's at the end of the race. Um, if you're still there with pog and you're out at MVDP and the three of you have ridden away, you have to start rolling attacks on him and then just decide to sprint it out with your eternal rival. In the Velo

Godsmedicinecycling 22:04

Yeah,

hannah 22:05

and honestly,

Godsmedicinecycling 22:06

Phillipson is also there and VDP and Phillipson are rolling attacks because their teammates w is a hanger on. He arrives unbelievably fresh. Okay, Santa, is that you? Shall we move on to the wild cards?

hannah 22:21

let's move on to the wild cards.

Godsmedicinecycling 22:22

Okay. we don't know each other's wild cards, so we're just gonna go back and forth and see here. I have Caden Groves.

hannah 22:29

I also have Caden Groves.

Godsmedicinecycling 22:31

Okay. Okay. I have Caden Groves. I think he is,

Wildcard Discussion

Godsmedicinecycling 22:36

an underrated guy for a race like this, and I think that we have seen him ride some hard terrain really well. If he gets into a sprint situation, he can sprint. Obviously, he's probably going to be working for MVDP and Phillips in here. But I don't know. I like him. I think he's a punchy, interesting rider and he is capable of surprising people. And again, wild cards is not who's going to be on the podium, it's who's gonna be at a key moment in the race who might make a move, who's gonna try and be in the breakaway, who's gonna try and make something happen. And yeah, why not?

hannah 23:17

What I would also just add on for Caden Groves and for Philipson is that I think because so many people who watch cycling mainly tune into the tour of France, there is this idea that Groves and Phillipson are. Out and out sprinters. And they are both very, very good sprinters, but they're classics riders. These are classics guys. Caden Groves is a classics rider. This is a classic. Can't count 'em out.

Godsmedicinecycling 23:44

Put put two and two together. Okay. All right. Who do you got?

hannah 23:47

I'll go with, I have Josh Charlie on my list.

Godsmedicinecycling 23:51

I also have Josh Tarling.

hannah 23:53

Hey, hey. We're gonna have all the same wild cards. Uh, we genuinely have not seen each other's lists. Josh Charing is, and I mean this in the best way. He's a monster. He is a monster. His engine is unbelievable. I think we all remember, I get, I think it was two Ruess ago, I think it was 2024 when he had that unfortunate sticky bottle.

Godsmedicinecycling 24:17

Sticky bottle. Too sticky, Josh.

hannah 24:20

Too sticky, Josh.

Godsmedicinecycling 24:22

impression,

hannah 24:23

It was not a great look. And to be fair, it was his first Rubee. I think that was his first year in the pros. I blamed the team car and not him. Don't do that. Indios, get it together.

Godsmedicinecycling 24:34

Gonna say this on the record. Josh Harling is going to win Rube in

hannah 24:38

He will. Yeah. I, I fully believe that. I think he has all of the, the capability of doing it. He just needs the cards to fall and I, I don't see why this couldn't be his year. I, I mean, he hasn't had like the most standout spring, but he also hasn't had that many race days this spring, I think.

Godsmedicinecycling 24:54

I couldn't find confirmation of this, but I worry he was involved in a crash at Flanders and he

hannah 25:01

yeah. Yes.

Godsmedicinecycling 25:03

but I couldn't, and I remembered seeing something about this, but I checked all my usual nooks and crannies and I didn't find any confirmation. Iios hasn't posted anything about it, but

hannah 25:14

Yeah.

Godsmedicinecycling 25:14

a factor.

hannah 25:16

Honestly, that is the reason why I didn't, lobby to have him on our contenders list.

Godsmedicinecycling 25:22

Yeah.

hannah 25:22

'cause otherwise he was, he was wheezing his way up there.

Godsmedicinecycling 25:26

Yeah. Okay. I have a couple of real wild cards. I have. Um, what if Jonathan Milan had good positioning?

hannah 25:36

That's a big what if my friend.

Godsmedicinecycling 25:38

I, he's, he doesn't, he doesn't, okay. So I'm not saying for this particular edition of Barry Buffet, I'm just saying we should think about him. Riding this race once he's become a bit more comfortable in the Peloton, which led me to thinking and okay, it still could happen. Listen to me, me in the eyes. Tim Mele I was still, you know, who has better positioning in the

hannah 26:08

That's true.

Godsmedicinecycling 26:09

than Timmy Meier?

hannah 26:10

Well, Matthew Vander.

Godsmedicinecycling 26:12

He's fine. Ignore him for a second. I just was doing this last minute and got really high on my own supply. Um, I just think why not? Why not? What's to

hannah 26:27

enough. Um, his own teammate, Dylan Van Bar, who has won this race perhaps, but you know.

Godsmedicinecycling 26:32

He is, he is ridden in Perry Rube before. So. Get on, get back on the bike, son.

hannah 26:38

I've got Maddie Horwich on my Wilds card list. He is kind of sneakily been having a really good spring, like he is. He just came in eighth in RVV. I haven't seen that many people talking about that. I think he had some good results before that as well. And it's just kind of going. Un commented on, at least in the, you know, cycling news and circles that I follow, um, which is a little bit crazy to me. He's Wiley, he is a very good bike handler. He does have a good sense of when a move is gonna go. And he has a good sense of when to force something for his own advantage. Like I think this is a writer who more than many in the Peloton. Is not going to adapt his race style to try to beat somebody else. He's gonna race to try to play to his own strengths and win for himself. And I think that is actually really, really important just in racing in general, especially in this, pocho, VanderPol era that we find ourselves in. So I am really compelled by a rider like Madam Maorish, and I think it could really work to his favor on this parkour.

Godsmedicinecycling 27:54

Yeah. He's also somebody that's very comfortable being alone and in Rube, you may be alone. I put Abrahamson and Vaon

hannah 28:03

me too.

Godsmedicinecycling 28:04

Okay. Okay. Abrahamson has been having a good year. Varion school's been having a good year. Uno X, they've been having a good year, so why not? And I think the terrain suits them both and, they're not afraid. They're just, I think that's,

hannah 28:21

Yeah.

Godsmedicinecycling 28:21

what it takes to win right now in this era, is just being unafraid and. going for things, and they will,

hannah 28:29

Absolutely speaking of writers who I think will be unafraid, I have both, Lucas Kubis and Tamas Kopecki because I just think that an unbe guy is gonna either go in the break or like try to force something to happen. I don't think. Either of these guys are having bad springs. I don't think either of them are having standout springs, but I think they're both going pretty well and I think that the rockets are gonna do something because they have literally nothing to lose. So

Godsmedicinecycling 28:58

true.

hannah 28:59

keep an eye out.

Godsmedicinecycling 29:00

Listen to me look in the eyes. Fred Wright, he came ninth last year. He's

hannah 29:04

He is like the perennial top 10 in Rube, right? He's top 10 so many years in a row.

Godsmedicinecycling 29:09

Yeah, he's not having, I will say he's not having a great spring right now. sometimes you get into a big race, you know, maybe you're a bit frustrated about your results, and you find that extra kick, you find a bump of adrenaline. Maybe he won't, and maybe he will continue to have a middling spring, but he can definitely ride this race. And I also think he's gonna have like full, full to try and do what he wants here. He's not gonna be constrained by a teammate.

hannah 29:39

I have for similar reasons. Louis Askey, he's just having a good spring and he will, there will be no limitations on him. He is not there to ride for anybody else. I don't see why he wouldn't go well. He went quite well in RVV. Keep it rolling.

Godsmedicinecycling 29:56

I put Mattis Michel's. top 10, Rube, the year before he placed 15th last year. He's young, he's on ef. What more is there to say? I just think he's, he could be a surprise rider. He clearly can ride on the cobbles and, you know, he's, he's not had a great spring, but he's ridden a lot and he's on ef. They're just, they're gonna do something. I just don't know which one of them it will be.

hannah 30:20

My last wild card inclusion is gonna be Matthew Brennan. I think this is a risk because SMA is presumably here for Wow. If they're not here for a while, they'll be run out of the low lands, I think. That being said, you never know what's gonna happen in uba. I think. Matthew Brennan is a really good rider. He's a really promising rider. He's a really young rider. And I think he has all of, kind of similar to Josh Charing, I think he has all of the qualities that you look for in somebody who. Can win Rube in his career. I don't think he's gonna win it this year, but I would be really interested to see what he does in the Velodrome For sure. I think he has the ability to make some of the selections. So I'm keeping my eye on him.

Godsmedicinecycling 31:05

Yeah, I also snuck Laport onto my list just for similar reasons I think they will be riding for Wow. But LaPorte is clearly on form and he clearly can do well in a classics race. that's a little less clear at my last wild card rider that I picked is Axel Holmes. Hua ua. Okay. Do I speak French? Actually, maybe not. Groupama are gonna be trying to make something happen. He's having a really good season right now. Okay. And why not? He's raced a ton of classics races. He's been up there in Flanders Fields. He came 16th in Dwarfs or Landry. He came 23rd in the Rhonda. That's not bad. And also he was on the Rockets. So this is an interesting, this is one of the first rider I think that we've seen that was picked up by the Rockets, to kind of get them to the next level. And now he's at Groupama, which is interesting. And Groupama in, Rhonda was. were at the front,

hannah 32:12

were surprisingly good.

Godsmedicinecycling 32:13

I was con confused, and then I was sort of like, oh, okay, I guess it worked out, so why not? I think they're gonna be aggressive and they should be.

hannah 32:22

Yeah. Anybody else?

Godsmedicinecycling 32:23

I think that's it, and I think that wraps us up for our flash preview of Peri Rube. I hope you guys are looking forward to this as much as we are. We will be glued to our screens this Sunday, and we will be back probably Monday, Tuesday with our. Post-race recap. So we will, I always wanna say, see you guys again, but we're not seeing you. You guys will hear from us again soon.