GP de Denain 2026 | Del Grosso free to go for glory in Paris-Roubaix warm-up

GP Denain reaches its 67th edition on Thursday, March 19, but as mentioned, the race has really risen in popularity only in recent seasons. It attracts riders looking to sharpen up for Paris-Roubaix, GC men wanting to get used to cobbles ahead of the Tour de France, and those who may not get much freedom in Roubaix itself but can race for their own chances here.

Since the race moved to March in 2018, the winners’ list has filled up with notable names. The 1.Pro event has been won in the past five years by Jasper Philipsen, Max Walscheid, Juan Sebastián Molano, Jannik Steimle and, last year, Matthew Brennan. That says everything about the nature of the race: it suits both the big engines and the riders who can still finish it off in a sprint.

2025 Matthew Brennan
2024 Jannik Steimle
2023 Juan Sebastian Molano
2022 Max Walscheid
2021 Jasper Philipsen
2020 Not competed
2019 Mathieu van der Poel
2018 Kenny Dehaes
2017 Arnaud Démare
2016 Daniel McLay

There is a reason GP Denain is often referred to as a ‘mini Paris-Roubaix’. The one-day race covers 200.4 kilometres, but all the real action is packed into the second half. After just over 100 kilometres, the cobbled sectors begin, and there are thirteen of them in total. The final sector ends with less than 10 kilometres remaining before the finish.

In total, the riders will tackle 22.9 kilometres of cobbles on Thursday, starting with Avesnes-les-Aubert–Carnières, which stretches for 2,300 metres. It is immediately a four-star sector, followed by Saint-Hilaire-les-Cambrai–Viesly, rated at five stars. Even though only 108 kilometres will have been raced after that second sector, some riders will already know at that point that victory is out of reach.

The organisers have given eight of the thirteen cobbled sectors a four-star rating, while two are rated five stars. Three sectors receive three stars, and one — the penultimate sector in Mastaing, at 600 metres — gets two stars. There are no cobbles in the final 10 kilometres, which is why GP Denain often ends in a sprint from a reduced group, or sometimes even from a fairly sizeable bunch.

A mudbath in Denain does not look likely on Thursday. Just as in the Netherlands and Belgium, the sun is now winning out over the clouds and rain that had plenty of room across Europe over the past week. Temperatures are forecast to reach 16 degrees Celsius on Thursday, although a north-easterly wind of force 3 in the afternoon could make it feel a little cooler.

Times
Start: 11:20 AM local time
Finish: 3:45 PM local time

No rain and no cold does not automatically make GP Denain a certainty for the fast men heading to northern France on Thursday. Still, there are plenty of them in the field, even if defending champion Matthew Brennan is not there for Visma | Lease a Bike.

The Dutch squad could gamble on Axel Zingle in a sprint, while Per Strand Hagenes and young in-form riders Matisse Van Kerckhove and Pietro Mattio may try to force things from the attack, together with Tim Rex and Loe van Belle.

A similar division of roles can be seen across many teams. Cees Bol is the designated sprinter for Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, while Stefan Bissegger looks like the obvious attacking option. Jordi Meeus will hope for a sprint at Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, where Gianni Vermeersch could just as easily be sent up the road.

Other sprinters on the start list? UAE Emirates-XRG are bringing former winner Juan Sebastián Molano, Lotto-Intermarché are counting on the unpredictable brilliance of Arnaud De Lie, and Aaron Gate (XDS Astana) plus Jenthe Biermans (Cofidis) also have plenty of speed. In the category of pure sprinters, Sam Bennett (Pinarello-Q36.5) and Dylan Groenewegen (Unibet Tietema Rockets) are also on the start line.

There is every chance they will get to sprint for victory if they avoid bad luck, but there are also so many riders at the start with very different ambitions. Some have already been mentioned, yet UAE alone can also play cards such as Nils Politt, Antonio Morgado and Mikkel Bjerg, none of whom necessarily need to wait for a bunch finish.

Tibor Del Grosso is free to race for his own result at Alpecin-Premier Tech, with cobbled specialist Florian Sénéchal there to support him and Jensen Plowright as the fast-finishing Plan B. At Bahrain Victorious, attention will be focused on Alec Segaert in what is a very young line-up.

On the injury front, there is still some uncertainty around Daan Hoole (Decathlon) and Albert Withen Philipsen (Lidl-Trek), but Lidl-Trek will line up with a strong team regardless, thanks to Jakob Söderqvist, Max Walscheid and the fast-finishing Tim Torn Teutenberg.

With cobbled races, it is always a little difficult to predict exactly who will fight for the win. Luck plays a role, but an early break can often make it deep into the finale as well. That is a scenario riders such as Aimé De Gendt (Pinarello), Anthony Turgis (TotalEnergies) and Lukas Kubis (Unibet Tietema Rockets) will certainly be hoping for.

Top favorite: Arnaud De Lie (Lotto-Intermarché)
Outsiders: Tibor Del Grosso (Alpecin-Premier Tech), Gianni Vermeersch (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Antonio Morgado (UAE Emirates-XRG), Per Strand Hagenes (Visma | Lease a Bike), Cees Bol (Decathlon CMA CGM) and Lukas Kubis (Unibet Rose Rockets)
Long shots:Axel Zingle (Visma | Lease a Bike), Stefan Bissegger (Decathlon CMA CGM), Juan Sebastián Molano, Nils Politt (UAE Emirates-XRG), Jakob Söderqvist, Max Walscheid (Lidl-Trek), Florian Sénéchal (Alpecin-Premier Tech),Alec Segaert (Bahrain Victorious), Aimé De Gendt (Pinarello), Anthony Turgis (TotalEnergies), Sam Bennett (Pinarello-Q36.5) and Dylan Groenewegen (Unibet Rose Rockets)

Eurosport will show the final two hours of GP Denain live on Thursday, both on Eurosport 1 and online via subscription platform HBO Max.

Bram van der Ploeg ( X: @BvdPloegg | email : [email protected])