Five years after the first Paris-Roubaix Femmes, the women's race will for the first time take place on the same day as the men's edition in 2026. Organizer ASO has several good reasons for this. Thierry Gouvenou, race director of Paris-Roubaix, explains this to DirectVelo.
Previously, the women always raced on Saturday, while the men competed on Sunday. Now, both races are scheduled for Sunday, April 12. The men will finish first, followed by the women, similar to races like the Tour of Flanders.
"First and foremost, there is security," says Gouvenou. Police officers and road marshals only need to be deployed once. For this reason, it is also partly a budgetary matter, according to the race director.
It also proved difficult to block the roads around Lille for two days. "But this solution also makes logistics more complicated. We will need more vehicles and personnel."
Still, Gouvenou hopes that his decision will further increase the popularity of the women's race. "Saturday was already decent, but now people will watch the men's race and then the women's race," Gouvenou believes. In 2025, the victories went to Pauline Ferrand-Prévot and Mathieu van der Poel.
