Many people in the peloton are asking one key question ahead of Paris-Roubaix: Just how do you beat World Champion Peter Sagan (Tinkoff)? Some director sportifs have tried to answer the question for Cyclingnews.

“It’s a tough question and difficult to answer,” experienced BMC directeur sportif Valerio Piva told Cyclingnews. “As we saw at the Tour of Flanders, it’s very hard to beat him. You’ve got to drop him but that’s not easy. Sagan’s the number one favourite and that could weigh on his shoulders and so mean it might not go his way. You need experience, you’ve got to know the course and you’ve got to go head-to-head with the other big favourites.”

Piva says there are two more riders who have a great chance of beating the Slovak sensation, by just being brutally strong on the pavé: Cancellara and Vanmarcke.

“Fabian could actually have a good chance of beating him and maybe Sep Vanmarcke too. I wouldn’t exclude an outsider too, who takes the win while the others watch each other. Johan Vansummeren won from a long-range attack. That could happen again,” Piva warned.

Sky aren’t even thinking about Sagan and are going to try and win the race on their own terms, despite not being favourites.

“We’re not thinking about trying to stop anyone. We have our own tactics,” Servais Knaven told Cyclingnews. “Roubaix is all about the legs. You have to always be in a good position and wait for the right moment. If someone is better, someone is better, so it’s hard to stop anyone. All the big favourites are smart bike riders so it will be really difficult to surprise them.”

“You cannot plan Roubaix, it’s not straight forward. You cant say ‘ok we’re going to do it like this and this and this, then you come on the first sector and something happens and the whole plan falls apart. Roubaix is a race where you really have to think for yourself and be on it all day and know exactly the situation and what is coming. At the end it’s all about the legs and making the right decision.”