Coming less than a week after the Tour of Flanders, the dust has barely settled on the cobblestones of the Flemish Ardennes, but we can expect yet more pavé action and excitement, this time across the border in northern France. Over the past few years, Paris-Roubaix Femmes has more than delivered on the hype and has often been one of the most exciting races of the season. On Saturday, the fifth edition will see the riders take on 148.5km from Denain to Roubaix, taking on 17 sectors of pavé before finishing in the famous velodrome.
Defending champion Lotte Kopecky is back to reclaim her title, and after her win at Flanders — wearing the world champion’s rainbow bands — she is on the verge of history. Backed again by the supreme Team SD Worx-Protime squad, Kopecky will be hard to beat, but as with many races in this corner of the world, anything can happen. Expect punctures, mishaps, and crashes.
Whereas a lot of major races on the calendar take place on the same day as the men’s, Paris-Roubaix Femmes is the day before, meaning it doesn’t overlap, so fans can enjoy a whole day dedicated to the race. The winner across the line in the concrete velodrome will literally take home a piece of the race — a cobblestone awarded to the champion.
Paris-Roubaix Women 2025 contenders
Lotte Kopecky
Last year’s champion Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) lines up in Denain as the main favourite to take home the cobblestone trophy, especially after her comprehensive win at Flanders on Sunday. The Belgian is aiming to become the first female rider to win both De Ronde and Roubaix in one season. Kopecky wasn’t the favourite to win at Flanders, but after an unfortunate crash for Elisa Longo Borghini, she became the front-runner to clinch the title in front of her Flemish fans, which she duly delivered after a devastating finishing sprint from the four-woman group. There was an air of inevitability about Kopecky’s win in the last 30km, as was the case last year at Paris-Roubaix — with her astute race sense, high threshold power and supreme sprint, the world champion is probably the last rider any rival wants to be in a group with in the last hour of racing.
Lorena Wiebes
SD Worx-Protime are on course to win the first three Monuments of the year thanks to Kopecky’s triumph at Flanders and Lorena Wiebes' win at Milan-Sanremo, where the Dutch rider survived the challenges of the Cipressa and Poggio climbs to unleash a crushing sprint to the line on the Via Roma. Although she is undoubtedly the fastest sprinter in the peloton, Wiebes cannot be defined as simply a pure sprinter — on top of her Sanremo win, she took the titles at the cobbled Classics Gent-Wevelgem and Le Samyn. Although she was 17th at Flanders, she can be expected to last long into Paris-Roubaix as the flat parcours will suit her more than the punchy Flemish climbs. Even more so than Kopecky, rivals of Wiebes will feel hopeless if they were to enter the velodrome at Roubaix with the European champion. SD Worx will have to carefully manage the prospect of having the top two favourites in Kopecky and Wiebes, but if they play their cards right, both could feature on the podium.
Elisa Balsamo
Versatile sprinter, Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) is in red-hot form. Before her win at Wednesday’s Scheldeprijs, in the past three weeks she has come first at the Trofeo Alfredo Binda, seventh at Sanremo, third at Brugge-De Panne, second at Gent Wevelgem and third at Dwars door Vlaanderen. The Italian also has experience of success at Roubaix, coming second to Kopecky last year, but will be wanting to upgrade that result on Saturday.
Balsamo will have to figure out how to get the better of the two SD Worx riders but with a strong Lidl-Trek team around her, including Ellen van Dijk and Emma Norsgaard, she will fancy her chances. In order to win she will have to get rid of Wiebes before they enter the velodrome, and although it would be a challenge, she could have the beating of Kopecky in the finishing sprint.
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot
Visma-Lease a Bike start Paris-Roubaix on Saturday in a bit of a conundrum — do they back one of the greatest cyclists ever, Marianne Vos, who hasn’t been on top form, or do they go all in for Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, who finished second at Flanders on Sunday? In reality, they can play a dual leadership strategy with the Frenchwoman anticipating an earlier move and Vos waiting for a sprint. If Vos rediscovers some form or not, it will likely not impact Ferrand-Prévot’s best tactical move on the cobbles of her home country — she will need to attack to get away from riders like Kopecky, Wiebes and Balsamo. If she can get away either solo or in a small group, the former mountain biker can use her superior handling ability over the severe cobbles to her advantage.
Other contenders
FDJ-Suez’s Elise Chabbey is building on an impressive Classics campaign so far in 2025. A seventh-place finish at Flanders and a previous fourth at Roubaix show she has the pedigree for a top finish, and not being a top favourite may grant her the leeway to get up the road. Likewise, Kimberley Le Court Pienaar (AG Insurance - Soudal Team) has been consistent so far this season and could be rewarded with a podium spot at Roubaix.
The aforementioned Marianne Vos could still be a threat and, having finished second in the past at the race, knows what it takes for a good result at Paris-Roubaix. Likewise, Charlotte Kool (Team Picnic PostNL) will be hoping to survive the cobbles in order to unleash a sprint in the velodrome. While time trial specialist Ellen van Dijk (Lidl-Trek) could prove a valuable asset to Elisa Balsamo by attacking early, it could also allow her to get ahead of the race, resulting in a top position.
Despite being without the Tour de France champion Kasia Niewiadoma, Canyon//SRAM zondacrypto will have the Italian Chiara Consonni fresh off a third-place finish at Wednesday’s Scheldeprijs. She can rely on support from teammates Chloé Dygert and Zoe Bäckstedt.
