Tour de France and Paris-Roubaix race director Christian Prudhomme says that he thinks that there are up to a dozen riders who have the ability to win Roubaix on Sunday, underlining that this weekend`s `Hell of the North` could be the most open race for some years. `There are a lot of favourites this year, and probably a dozen of riders who can actually win the race,` Prudhomme told reporters on Saturday. `Among them is the Norwegian rider Alexander Kristoff [UAE Team Emirates], who`s a former winner of Milan-San Remo, and has shown great form this year.ADVERTISEMENT `There`s also title defender Peter Sagan [Bora-Hansgrohe], Greg Van Avermaet [CCC] and also Oliver Naesen [AG2R], who`s great in the wind and on the pavé,` he said. `Then you also have those who`ve come from a cyclo-cross background, and among them, most notably, is Wout van Aert [Jumbo-Visma], who is a three-time cyclo-cross world champion, and also Zdenek Stybar from the Deceuninck-QuickStep team, who haven`t been at their best of late, but will still be strong, as they also have Philippe Gilbert and Belgian road race champion Yves Lampaert. `There are also some French riders who have a good chance,` Prudhomme continued. `Arnaud Démare [Groupama-FDJ] finished sixth two years ago, which was no fluke. Adrien Petit [Total Direct Energie] has also twice finished in the top10, and that`s not just luck either.
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