Call it the Wiggins effect, the Kristoff effect or a combination of the two, but Niki Terpstra has enjoyed a pleasantly low-key build-up to Paris-Roubaix for a defending champion, particularly given that neither one of the traditional favourites, Fabian Cancellara and Tom Boonen, is on hand this year.
Alexander Kristoff’s recent run of success has shades of Philippe Gilbert’s startling 2011 about it, in that he has seemingly forgotten how to lose, and despite an underwhelming track record at Paris-Roubaix, he has been anointed by many as the likely winner on Sunday afternoon.
Terpstra, however, was very clearly the best of the rest behind Kristoff at the Tour of Flanders and has a significantly more convincing back catalogue on the pavé. He is, after all, one of just two former Paris-Roubaix winners who will line up in Compiegne this weekend. Before meeting with the press in Nazareth on Friday afternoon, Terpstra renewed acquaintances with the pavé during Etixx-QuickStep’s last reconnaissance of the Paris-Roubaix finale.
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“I haven’t watched last year’s race too much, the moment is still really fresh in my head," Terpstra said. "I felt really good performing recon today. It was nice to be back. I have good memories of course. It was good to get a feel for Sunday. It was good to feel the cobbles and get a good feeling for Sunday.”
Solving a problem like Kristoff has proved beyond the professional peloton for the past two weeks, and apart from stating the obvious – he needs to be distanced before the velodrome – Terpstra was coy about how exactly he and his teammates will go about doing it on Sunday. They will doubtless hope that the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix provide some answers of their own.
“You definitely can’t beat him in a sprint. You have to get rid of him,” Terpstra said. “Of course there are other riders in the peloton who can win Paris-Roubaix but he is doing a great job. Everybody can see that.”
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