Date: Saturday, April 12 (women) and Sunday, April 13 (men)
Start: Denian (women) and Compiègne (men)
Finish: Roubaix
Total distance: 148.5km (women) and 259.2km (men)
Defending champion: Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) and Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Decuninck)
Paris-Roubaix has been nicknamed the Hell of the North, a Sunday in Hell and the Queen of the Classics in its past. The parcours are brutal and often leave riders covered in dust, mud, and grit alongside their sweat and tears (and frequently blood) as one of the toughest races to finish in all of cycling.
The reputation of the race is such that just reaching the velodrome within the time limit can make a rider's career. At the same time, some are lucky enough to take a podium or a victory and etch their name in the history of cycling forever. Of course, some transcend the abilities of an average rider and garner multiple victories throughout their careers. That illustrious list includes household names like Rik Van Looy, Eddy Merckx, Roger De Vlaeminck, Francesco Moser, Sean Kelly, Johan Museeuw, Tom Boonen, and Fabian Cancellara, among others.
De Vlaeminck and Boonen are perhaps the finest over the French cobbles, each arriving at the famous Roubaix Velodrome as champion on a record four occasions. However, it is the Belgians who have been the best at Roubaix for men throughout the race’s history, with a total of 57 wins and six separate riders winning the fabled Monument three or more times. Despite this, the Belgian's last victory was in 2019 when Philippe Gilbert took the spoils.
Mathieu van der Poel has won the past two editions of the race in dominant fashion, and he is confirmed to be back on the start line in 2025 in search of a third victory in a row – a feat not achieved since Francesco Moser in 1978, 1979, and 1980. However, he has a stacked field to race against, including his long-time rival, Wout van Aert, who is vying for a win on the cobbles. Biniam Girmay, Tim Merlier, Arnaud De Lie, Josh Tarling and Mads Pedersen are also making their way to Compiègne in an attempt to add a Monument title to their palmarès.
Men's Paris-Roubaix 2025 team list:
Ineos Grenadiers
XDS Astana Team
Bahrain-Victorous
Jayco AlUla
Picnic PostNL
Movistar
Groupama-FDJ
Lidl-Trek
Intermarché-Wanty
EF Education-EasyPost
Visma-Lease a Bike
Arké-B&B Hotels
Alpecin-Deceuninck
Cofidis
Soudal–Quick-Step
UAE Team Emirates-XRG
Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe
Decathlon AG2R Mondiale
Lotto
Uno-X Mobility
Israel-Premier Tech
Q36.5 Cycling Team
Team TotalEnergies
Tudor Pro Cycling
Unibet Tietema Rockets
Men's Paris-Roubaix 2025 route:
For 2025, the men’s route has seen some slight alterations, which include one more sector of bone-jarring cobbles and a different approach to the Trouée d’Arenberg. Other than those alterations, the men’s route is of similar distance to last year’s at 259.2 kilometres and starts in Compiègne and finishes in Roubaix.
The first cobbled sector, after the village of Troisvilles into Inchy, is tackled 100km into the race. From then on, the sections come thick and fast, with several challenging cobbled sections for the riders to contend with. However, it is the hotly anticipated Trouée d’Arenberg that arrives after 11 cobbled sections and will span 2.3km with uneven, jarring cobblestones. In the lead-up to the Forest of Arenberg, there have been some changes, including the tight chicane, added to the race last minute in 2024 after many riders expressed concerns about the high speed entering the section on a straight road. For 2025, the organisers have added four right-hand corners in the kilometre before section 19, which aims to slow down the riders in the approach.
The other changes made by the organisers for this year are two new cobbled sections 30km before the Arenberg. Sections 23 and 24 – Famars (1.2km) and Artres (1.3km) – are both new to the race and are included in a small loop around the municipality of Quérénaing, aimed at increasing the intensity of the race in the approach to the Arenberg.
These are the only changes which have been made to the race for this year, however. Fan favourites resume after the Arenberg, with the Mons-en-Pévèl section (3km) and the Carrefour de l’Arbre (2.1km) coming shortly after. The Carrefour de l’Arbre is the third from the last section of cobblestones before the shorter section, which is in the approach to the famous velodrome, where the riders will complete a lap-and-a-half on the wooden boards.
Paris-Roubaix Femmes Avec Zwift
The women’s peloton had to see 117 editions of the men's race go by before they got their chance to race on the pavè. The fifth edition of Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift will be held on Saturday, April 12, 2025. The women’s peloton will complete a similar but shorter route to the men, including the five-star sectors Mons-en–Pévèle and Carrefour de l’Arbre.
The women’s race has a short history in which Lidl-Trek have dominated with two solo wins – Lizzie Deignan in the inaugural edition and Elisa Longo Borghini in 2022 – but Alison Jackson (EF Education-Cannondale) broke the Lidl-Trek winning streak in 2023 after an unlikely breakaway win, which saw the Canadian rider hold the iconic Roubaix cobblestone above her head. Then, Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) won last year in a sprint against Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek), Pfeiffer Georgi (dsm-firmenich PostNL), Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike), and Amber Kraak (FDJ-Suez). Kopecky isn’t on the start list for the Monument race at the moment, but Vos already has this race on her agenda.
Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift 2025 teams:
FDJ-Suez
Lidl-Trek
Movistar
Canyon//SRAM zondacrypto
AG Insurance-Soudal Team
Visma-Lease a Bike
SD Worx-Protime
Winspace Orange Seal
Ceratizit Pro Cycling
Fenix-Deceuninck
Human Powered Health
Liv AlUla Jayco
Roland
Picnic PostNL
UAE Team ADQ
Uno-X Mobility
Akéa-B&B Hotels
Cofidis Women Team
EF Education-Oatly
St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93
VolkerWessels Women’s Pro Cycling
DD Group Pro Cycling
Lotto Ladies
Team Coop-Repsol
Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift 2025 route:
The women’s route has not been changed for 2025 and will follow the same route as the previous edition, remaining at 148.5 kilometres in length and covering 29.2km of pavé. The race will begin in Denian and finish in the iconic Roubaix Velodrome to crown its fifth winner of the gruelling race. It takes in 17 sectors of cobbles, including the five-star sectors Mons-en-Pévèl and the Carrefour de l’Arbre. However, it does not include the infamous Trouée d’Arenberg – fortunately for the riders, not so fortunately for the spectators.
Similar to the men’s race, once the women’s peloton reaches the prestigious velodrome, they will complete the traditional lap-and-a-half before the winner can lift the iconic Paris-Roubaix cobble above their head.
