"We cannot go faster and faster": Van der Poel and Philipsen weigh in on increasing race speeds

Jasper Philipsen and Mathieu van der Poel had a lot to say about increasing race speeds at the Alpecin-Premier Tech press conference on Thursday. With multiple records on the line this Sunday, will we see yet another 'fastest ever Roubaix?' Van der Poel, for one, doesn't think that's a good thing for the sport.

"I think it's a combination of a lot of different things," said van der Poel. "The bikes and all the equipment are getting faster. Also, the nutrition changed. In my opinion, this is a bit the limit. We cannot go faster and faster, otherwise they’ll have to add certain kilometers to get a longer race, so I think this is a bit the limit, to be honest."

"It's crazy that every year they break records. I don't know how long it will continue like that," added Philipsen. "It's not that we do specifically different things, but the speed gets higher, apparently, or they race longer. You see it in many races, but yeah, I'm curious to see how long this trend will continue."

When asked if it the added speed was something that could be felt on the bike, both riders were quick to explain the effect on the overall race length. "Yeah, you feel the speed is high, but you feel the time in the race is shorter", said Philipsen. "We don't race seven hours anymore on a classic like that. It's just a race of five hours thirty, or six hours."

Van der Poel explained that it is not just the fight for the finish that is driving up speeds, but the inevitable fight at the beginning too. "If you already race one hour or two hours to get in the breakaway, of course, the speed is high. And then also the final starts way sooner than it was in the past. So it's normal that the last 100 km is faster than it was in the past."

Undoubtedly, yes. Pro Cycling Stats has been recording the average speed of professional cycling races since 2001, and the increase is clear to see. From 2020 to 2025 the average speed of all WorldTour races shot up from 40.4 KMPH (41.2 in just the classics) to 42.9 KMPH (43.5 in the classics).

An increase of 2-3 KMPH for the world's best cyclists may not seem like a lot, but when you take into account these numbers include the most mountainous Grand Tour stages, as well as the fast and flat races, it's quite staggering.

And what about Paris-Roubaix? The fastest ever edition of the race ever in 2024, recroded at a whopping 47.8 KMPH. That year, van der Poel had to wait a whole 3 minutes for Philipsen to win the sprint for second. There was a dip of nearly 1 KMPH in average race speed in 2025 (46.9), but it will be interesting to see if the trend continues on Sunday afternoon.

After Thursday's press conference, it is clear that van der Poel himself will be doing nothing to slow things down.

While van der Poel might have reservations about the increasing average speeds year on year, the Paris-Roubaix favourite is in no doubt that it plays to his strengths. "I think for sure it's better that the races are harder for me. I like it," he said, with a small grin. "I think it's also just a few races, of course, so for me, it's nice to just try and focus on these ones. I don't mind it being really hard from start to finish."

We wait with baited breath until Sunday afternoon to see if his competitors agree with him. We doubt it.