George Hincapie has ridden Paris-Roubaix more times than most of us have watched it. Now he's back — this time with his own team. I sat down with the man who's raced the Hell of the North across three decades to preview the biggest one-day race of the season.
There's a short list of people on this planet who actually understand what Paris-Roubaix feels like. Not the TV version. Not the highlight reel. The real thing — five hours on cobblestones that were never designed for bicycles, in a race that breaks equipment, bodies, and the spirit of riders who came in thinking they were ready.
George Hincapie is on that list. And when he sat down with me on the podcast this week, you could hear it in his voice — Paris-Roubaix still gets to him.
▶ Listen to the full episode on YouTube
That team is Modern Adventure Pro Cycling, and this weekend they'll line up at the start of the Hell of the North with a squad that's mostly new to the race — a handful of debutants alongside at least one rider who knows what the cobbles feel like. Hincapie sees it as an opportunity, not a damage limitation exercise.
The Big Question: Pogacar or Van Der Poel?
You cannot preview Paris-Roubaix in 2026 without addressing the obvious. Tadej Pogacar and Mathieu Van Der Poel are the two most dominant riders in cycling right now, and both want this race. Badly.
Hincapie's take is nuanced — and informed by watching both riders up close across the Classics campaign.
Pogacar won the Tour of Flanders the way Pogacar wins everything — from the front, alone. The Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg is where Flanders is always decided. Every winner goes there. But Pogacar went long on the Kwaremont, opened a gap, and nobody could close it. That's his signature — the long-range solo that nobody can answer. Strade Bianche, Liege, Tour de France mountain stages. He doesn't wait for the expected moment. He attacks where it hurts the most and dares you to follow.
The question for Roubaix is whether that aggression translates to cobblestones. Flanders is steep and punchy. Roubaix is flat, relentless, and brutal in a completely different way. Pure power isn't enough. Positioning, bike handling on the pave, knowing which sectors to push and which to survive — that's Van Der Poel's territory. He grew up on this. Cyclocross, mud, chaos. Roubaix is his race in a way that it may never be Pogacar's.
Hincapie was also genuinely impressed by Evenepoel's Flanders debut. Third place, first time ever racing the Ronde. He nearly stayed with Pogacar over the Paterberg too. If he hadn't rolled that turn with Pogacar, we might be talking about a different race entirely. Evenepoel isn't on the start list for Roubaix this weekend, but his Flanders ride tells you the Classics field is deeper than a two-man race.
Pogacar on the pavé — can the world champion's aggression translate to the cobblestones of northern France? Photo: Cor Vos
The Sectors That Decide Everything
Here's the thing about Paris-Roubaix that most people don't appreciate from watching on television — the race is decided in about 30 kilometres. Everything before that is positioning, conserving energy, and trying not to crash. Everything after is survival.
Hincapie broke down the key sectors with the knowledge of someone who's ridden them dozens of times. The Arenberg trench is the most famous, but it's the sequence of pave sectors that come later — stacking up one after another with almost no recovery — that truly sort the race out.
The condition of the cobbles matters enormously. Wet cobbles versus dry cobbles are essentially two different races. Equipment choices change. Tyre pressures shift. The margin between staying upright and being in a ditch narrows to almost nothing.
If you want to understand how much tyre choice matters, our complete tyre pressure guide breaks down the science for every surface.
Preparing Debutants for a Monument
One of the most fascinating parts of the conversation was when George talked about preparing riders who have never experienced a Monument before. The fitness conversation is complicated because Paris-Roubaix doesn't reward the fittest rider — it rewards the rider who is fresh enough, skilled enough, and brave enough at the right moment.
The freshness-fitness balance is something George spoke about with genuine depth — knowing when to shed fatigue, knowing what type of riding to do in the days before, knowing how much race-readiness you can afford to sacrifice for legs that still have one more attack in them when it matters. If you're interested in the science of getting that balance right for your own events, our tapering guide covers the evidence behind peaking on race day.
George has spoken before about the mental preparation and visualisation strategies that kept him competitive across 17 Roubaix starts — including always entering the Arenberg Forest in the top five.
The Tech Side: What's Changing on the Cobbles
Modern Adventure's approach to Paris-Roubaix extends beyond the legs. George touched on the equipment and technology choices that separate modern Roubaix from the race he grew up riding.
Tyre selection is a science now. Pressures are lower than they've ever been — use the Tyre Pressure Calculator to see what the numbers look like for your own weight and setup. The bikes themselves are designed to absorb punishment that would have destroyed frames a decade ago.
For more on how Tom Boonen dominated the cobblestones with a combination of power and technical precision, listen to Hincapie's breakdown of what made Boonen unstoppable.
What This Means For Your Riding
You're probably never going to race Paris-Roubaix. Neither am I. But there's something in Hincapie's approach that applies to every cyclist preparing for a big target event.
The freshness-versus-fitness question is one we deal with every time we taper for a sportive or a club race. The mental preparation piece — visualising the course, knowing the key sections, understanding where the race will be decided — that's exactly what separates riders who perform from riders who survive.
And Hincapie's point about debutants is worth sitting with. Sometimes not knowing how hard something is going to be is actually an advantage. The riders who've done it before carry the weight of that experience. The fresh minds just ride.
For the underdog perspective on Paris-Roubaix, don't miss Matt Hayman's incredible story of winning the race on Zwift form with a broken arm.
This article is based on Episode 2536 of the Roadman Cycling Podcast. Listen to the full conversation with George Hincapie on YouTube.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the favourite for Paris-Roubaix 2026?
Tadej Pogacar and Mathieu Van Der Poel are the two clear favourites. Pogacar won the Tour of Flanders with a long-range solo attack, but Van Der Poel's cyclocross background and cobblestone experience make him the more natural Roubaix rider. George Hincapie believes both can win but the race dynamics favour Van Der Poel's skill set.
How many times did George Hincapie ride Paris-Roubaix?
George Hincapie started Paris-Roubaix 17 times across three decades, making him one of the most experienced Roubaix riders in modern cycling history. He now manages Modern Adventure Pro Cycling and is preparing debutants for the race.
What sectors decide Paris-Roubaix?
While the Arenberg trench is the most famous sector, the race is typically decided in the final 30 kilometres where multiple pave sectors stack up with almost no recovery between them. The condition of the cobbles — wet or dry — changes the race entirely.
