Mathieu van der Poel hopes for 'bonus' win at 'Russian roulette' of Paris-Roubaix

A second victory at Paris-Roubaix would just be a "bonus", according to pre-race favourite Mathieu van der Poel, who said the race is like "Russian roulette".

The Dutchman will return to Paris-Roubaix on Sunday as the hot tip for victory, a week after he won the Tour of Flanders for a third time, and in the absence of his big rival, Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike).

"For me, its a special year in the rainbow jersey," Van der Poel told gathered reporters at Alpecin-Deceuninck's pre-race press conference. "I think so far, I can only be really happy about my performances. Of course, winning Flanders again was my main goal this year and everything that comes now is a bonus. 

"But for sure, it would be really cool to win Roubaix again. Although Roubaix is like a Russian roulette, you need to have some luck as well."

Last year, Alpecin-Decuninck couldn’t have wished for a better Paris-Roubaix. The Belgian team took the victory through their talisman with star sprinter Jasper Philipsen taking second. 

Philipsen, too, has already won a Monument this year so explained that similarly to his teammate, he feels little pressure to prove his worth in this Classics campaign with victory at Milan-San Remo already secured. 

"I think it's a good thing that we don't need to prove ourselves in the Classics period, or that Roubaix is like a last chance because you can have bad luck on the day and then the opportunity is gone," Philipsen said. "For sure we have some extra confidence which we already did some good results with. Of course, we are also hungry, I think, to go for the win again on Sunday."

Both riders spoke at length about the importance of making your own luck in the frenetic environment of the cobbled Monument. Van der Poel explained that positioning will be key throughout the day if they are to attempt to replicate their successes of last year 

"I think if we can create a situation like we did last year, that that benefits both of us," Van der Poel said. "I think our strength is that we have both different ways in which we can win the race. 

"Jasper proved last year he is one of the favourites as well. He was really impressive, actually. You need some luck too. Last year, we stayed out of trouble the whole race. We didn't have any punctures or bad luck. So I think that is super important in Roubaix and if we can create a situation like last year, I think it benefits him and me as well."

Philipsen acknowledged the help he had received from his teammate at San Remo recently and explained he was committed to attempting to return the favour in the races to come. 

Van der Poel, however, was less serious and joked that the duo would attempt something never seen before if they enter the Roubaix velodrome together on Sunday in the final sprint for the line. 

"I think if we enter the velodrome together, Jasper is going to go left and I'm gonna go right and the first one to the line wins," Van der Poel joked with reporters. "But no, I don't really expect anything from him. Last year, what he did in Roubaix was already more than enough. 

"I don't have to give something back. I do it because in that situation it was the best option and I know he would have done the same. So it's not that I do something like this to get it back in the future."