FERRAND-PRÉVOT, THE SURPRISE EFFECT

April 9 ^th 2026 - 12:00

 Key points :

• The Roubaix attraction is irresistible: Pauline Ferrand-Prévot adds the “Hell of the North” to her program to defend, on Sunday April 12, the title she won last year.
• Among the 126 riders who will start from Denain, the Frenchwoman will be joined by two other winners of the "queen of the Classics": Alison Jackson (2023), and Lotte Kopecky (2024).
• Facing them, Marianne Vos and Élise Chabbey lead a fiercely competitive field, further strengthened by young prodigies such as Zoe Bäckstedt and Cat Ferguson

 Pauline Ferrand-Prévot could not miss the call. After a first participation crowned by a solo triumph, the French rider will be at the start of Paris-Roubaix Femmes Hauts-de-France 2026 to defend her crown. The “Hell of the North” was not initially part of her schedule… But the form she showed last week at the Tour of Flanders (2nd place), along with the historic prospect of a double at the André-Pétrieux velodrome, convinced the winner of the 2025 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift to once again take on the Roubaix myth before heading to the Ardennes Classics.

On the cobbles, she will meet the two riders who precede her on the race’s winners list. Alison Jackson (St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93), who succeeded the Italian with a dazzling breakaway, remains a loyal contender (5th again last year). As for Lotte Kopecky (Team SD Worx - Protime), the Belgian star perhaps best embodies the race, with her raw power on the cobbles and her victory in the velodrome in 2024, wearing the rainbow jersey.

These contenders aiming for a repeat are chasing a historic first: since Elizabeth Deignan’s inaugural win (2021), Paris-Roubaix Femmes Hauts-de-France has crowned a new champion every year. For PFP, the historical dimension borders on legend. Like Tadej Pogacar in the men’s race, she dreams of lifting the Roubaix cobblestone as the reigning Tour winner. Eddy Merckx was the last to achieve this feat, in 1973.

Except Elisa Longo Borghini, who withdrew a few days before the race, all riders who have already stood on the race podium are preparing for another assault on Sunday, starting with Marianne Vos (Team Visma-Lease a Bike), runner-up in 2021 and a premium teammate for Ferrand-Prévot. The duo will have to contain Letizia Borghesi (AG Insurance-Soudal), Lorena Wiebes (Team SD Worx - Protime), Elisa Balsamo, Lucinda Brand (Lidl-Trek), Pfeiffer Georgi (Team Picnic PostNL), Katia Ragusa (Human Powered Health), Marthe Truyen (Fenix-Premier Tech), and all the rising stars dreaming of Roubaix glory.

At the front line, the prodigious Zoe Backstedt (Canyon//Sram zondacrypto) can rely on the experience of her father Magnus (Roubaix winner in 2004) and, above all, on her own credentials: 15th last year in her race debut, the 21-year-old Brit has just taken 5th place at the Tour of Flanders, finishing close behind Kopecky. Even younger, her compatriot Cat Ferguson (Movistar Team) is also sharpening her skills. More experienced, Élise Chabbey leads the FDJ United-Suez squad, impressive since the start of the season. It will take a strong mix of cohesion, luck, and above all talent to conquer the “Hell of the North.”

Australia
Liv-AlUla-Jayco : Jeanne Korevaar (NLD), Ruby Roseman-Gannon (AUS)

Belgium
AG Insurance - Soudal Team : Letizia Borghesi (ITA), Shari Bossuyt (BEL)
Fenix - Premier Tech : Charlotte Kool (NLD), Millie Couzens (GBR), Marthe Truyen (BEL)
Lotto Intermarché Ladies : Katrijn De Clercq (BEL), Linda Riedmann (DEU)

France
Cofidis Women Team : Amalie Dideriksen (DNK)
FDJ United - Suez : Élise Chabbey (CHE), Franziska Koch (DEU), Célia Gery (FRA)
Ma Petite Entreprise : Alison Avoine (FRA)
Mayenne Monbana My Pie : Fiona Mangan (IRL)
St Michel - Preference Home - Auber93 : Alison Jackson (CAN)

Germany
Canyon//Sram zondacrypto : Zoe Backstedt (GBR), Chiara Consonni (ITA), Chloé Dygert (USA)
Lidl - Trek : Elisa Balsamo (ITA), Emma Norsgaard (DNK), Lucinda Brand (NLD)

Netherlands
Picnic PostNL : Pfeiffer Georgi (GBR)
Team SD Worx - Protime : Lotte Kopecky (BEL), Lorena Wiebes (NLD)
Visma-Lease a Bike : Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (FRA), Marianne Vos, Lieke Nooijen (NLD)
VolkerWessels Cycling Team : Sophie von Berswordt, Lonneke Uneken (NLD)

Norway
Uno-X Mobility : Susanne Andersen (NOR)

Spain
Laboral Kutxa - Fundacion Euskadi : Marjolein van’t Geloof (NLD), Arianna Fidanza (ITA)
Movistar Team : Cat Ferguson (GBR)

U.A.E
UAE Team ADQ : Lara Gillespie (IRL)

U.S.A
EF Education - Oatley : Nina Berton (LUX)
Human Powered Health : Katia Ragusa (ITA), Kathrin Schweinberger (AUT)