Nineteen of the top 20 teams will be at the start (ONCE being the absentee) and the organisers have managed to squeeze in 27 teams within the UCI limit of 200 riders for a World Cup event, since not all teams will field a full eight-man complement.
Seventeen of last year's top-20 finishers will be in the field: the three absentees being Steve Bauer (Saturn is not riding), Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle (retired) and Max Sciandri (he scratched from the race today, Thursday, because of a wrist injury sustained in Gent-Wevelgem).
AGRIGEL-LA CREUSE: Colotti, Durand, Marie AKI-GIPIEMME: Citterio, Gorini, Tomi, Delphis AUBERVILLIERS 93-PEUGEOT: Gouvenou, Pontier, Talmant BANESTO: Nijboer, Nazon, Davy BRESCIALAT: Strazzer, Jaskula, Milesi CARRERA: Zberg, Fidanza, Artunghi PETIT CASINO: Chanteur, Mengin, Agnolutto COLLSTROP: Capiot, Mulders, Heyndrickx FESTINA: Brochard, Boscardin, Magnien, Michaelsen FORCESUD: Capelle, Arnould, Bourguignon GAN: Gaumont, Moncassin, Moreau, Seigneur GEWISS: Colombo, Zanini, Bottaro KELME: Cabello, Edo, Moreda LOTTO: Tchmil, Wauters MG: Baldato, Fontanelli, Jaermann MAPEI: Ballerini, Museeuw, Bortolami, Peeters, Steels MOTOROLA: Armstrong, Hincapie, Yates MUUELLE DE SEINE-ET-MARNE: Laurance, Pillon, lamour PANARIA: Bramati, Serpellini, Spruch POLTI: Pianegonda, Lombardi, Guesdon RABOBANK: Ekimov, Van Hooydonck, Van der Poel REFIN: Abdujaparov, Planckaert, Saitov ROSLOTTO: Davidenko, Manzoni, Lino SAECO: Poli, Calcaterra, Fagnini SAN MARCO: Vanderaerden, Arazzi, Leoni TELEKOM: Ludwig, Zabel, Aldag TVM: Hoffman, Van Petegem, Redant
Count down to the finish Fictive start COMPIEGNE 10.15 Real start COMPIEGNE 10.20 NOYON (km21.5) 10.50 SAINT-QUENTIN (km 58.5) 11.45 TROISVILLES km97.5 -- COBBLES ZONE 22 -- 2200m) QUIEVY -- COBBLES ZONE 21 -- 1800m QUIEVY -- COBBLES ZONE 20 -- 3700m BETWEEN QUIEVY & ST-PYTHON -- COBBLES ZONE 19 -- 1500m SOLESMES km115.5 (FIRST FEED) Before SAULZOIR -- COBBLES ZONE 18 -- 900m After SAULZOIR -- COBBLES ZONE 17 --1200m Before QUERENAING -- COBBLES ZONE 16 -- 1600m After QUERENAING -- COBBLES ZONE 15 -- 2500m VALENCIENNES km143.5 13.50 WALLERS-ARENBERG km153.5 --COBBLES ZONE 14 -- 2400m 14.05 WALLERS km162 After WALLERS -- COBBLES ZONE 13 -- 1600m km170 COBBLES ZONE 12 -- 3700m km171.5 WANDIGNIES -- 14.30 km180 TILLOY -- COBBLES ZONE 11 -- 2700m + 2400m ORCHIES km186.5 -- 14.50 After ORCHIES --COBBLES ZONE 10 -- 1700m Before BERSEE -- COBBLES ZONE 9 -- 2800m km201 BERSEE km203 COBBLES ZONE 8 -- 3000m km205 MERIGNIES (SECOND FEED) 15.20 km213 ATTICHES km215 After ATTICHES COBBLES ZONE 7 -- 2100m km219 SECLIN km224 COBBLES ZONE 6 -- 2200m+500m km228 ENNEVELIN COBBLES ZONE 5 -- 1400m + 200m km230 TEMPLEUVE 15.55 km239 CYSOING After CYSOING -- COBBLES ZONE 4 -- 1400m COBBLES ZONE 3 -- 1800m Before GRUSON -- COBBLES ZONE 2 -- 2100m+1100m km253 GRUSON Before HEM -- COBBLES ZONE 1 1400m+300m km258 HEM 16.38 km 263 ROUBAIX Velodrome 16.45 km263.5 finish
Its reputation as a body breaker, established over 100 crash-strewn years of racing on cobblestones and narrow, rutted roads in often appalling weather, has gradually scared them off.
Specialists like last year's winner Franco Ballerini have taken over the 263.5 km test which celebrates its centenary on Sunday.
Second in 1993, third in 1994, the Italian hopes to become only the ninth rider to win the third leg of the World Cup twice in succession.
Ballerini's main asset will be to lead Italian team Mapei, the strongest of 27 squads entered this year.
With compatriot Gianluca Bortolami, ace Belgian sprinter Tom Steels, veteran Wilfried Peeters and World Cup holder Johan Museeuw, he can rely on teammates who will also be serious contenders.
Museeuw, third last year, is especially keen to score Belgium's 47th victory in Roubaix.
A mechanical problem left him third behind Italians Michele Bartoli and Fabio Baldato in last Sunday's Tour of Flanders, his favorite event.
The Belgian will be out for revenge, even though Bartoli is one of the many absentees this year.
But Baldato will be at the start and, with 14 podium places to his credit this season but no victory, the MG team leader will also want to dominate the roads of northern France.
Andrei Tchmil, winner in 1994 and runner-up last year, will also be one of the favorites. In spite of a crash in the Tour of Flanders and consequent rib problems, the Roubaix-based Russian will be closely watched.
German veteran Olaf Ludwig certainly rates Paris-Roubaix as a special event. The 36-year-old Seoul Olympic champion retires at the end of the season and wants to turn his second, third and fourth places into a winning farewell.
In-form Anglo-Italian Max Sciandri would have been another favorite had he not fallen in the Ghent-Wevelgem classic on Wednesday. His painful wrist may leave him struggling on the nerve-jangling cobbles.
The list of absentees includes Laurent Jalabert of France, Milan-San Remo winner Gabriele Colombo, Maurizio Fondriest and American Lance Armstrong. They all decided not to risk their season attempting a race which the great Bernard Hinault described as a lottery.
1995: Franco Ballerini (Ita)
1994: Andrej Tchmil (Mol)
1993: Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle (Fra)
1992: Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle (Fra)
1991: Marc Madiot (Fra)
1990: Eddy Planckaert (Bel)
1989: Jean-Marie Wampers (Bel)
1988: Dirk de Mol (Bel)
1987: Eric Vanderaerden (Bel)
1986: Sean Kelly (Irl)
1985: Marc Madiot (Fra)
1984: Sean Kelly (Irl)
1983: Hennie Kuiper (Ned)
1982: Jan Raas (Ned)
1981: Bernard Hinault (Fra)
1980: Francesco Moser (Ita)
1979: Francesco Moser (Ita)
1978: Francesco Moser (Ita)
1977: Roger de Vlaeminck (Bel)
1976: Marc de Meyer (Bel)
1975: Roger de Vlaeminck (Bel)
1974: Roger de Vlaeminck (Bel)
1973: Eddy Merckx (Bel)
1972: Roger de Vlaeminck (Bel)
1971: Roger Rosiers (Bel)
1970: Eddy Merckx (Bel)
1969: Walter Godefroot (Bel)
1968: Eddy Merckx (Bel)
1967: Jan Janssen (Ned)
1966: Felice Gimondi (Ita)
1965: Rik van Looy (Bel)
1964. Peter Post (Ned)
1963: Emile Daems (Bel)
1962: Rik van Looy (Bel)
1961: Rik van Looy (Bel)
1960: Pino Cerami (Bel)
1959: Noel Fore (Bel)
1958: Leon van Daele (Bel)
1957: Fred de Bruyne (Bel)
1956: Louison Bobet (Fra)
1955: Jean Forestier (Fra)
1954: Raymond Impanis (Bel)
1953: Germain Derycke (Bel)
1952: Rik van Steenbergen (Bel)
1951: Antonio Bevilacqua (Ita)
1950: Fausto Coppi (Ita)