COMPIEGNE, France – Defending champion Mathieu van der Poel goes into his title defence at the muddy, cobbled Paris-Roubaix bike race on April 7 sceptical over new safety measures in a week when several of the sport’s biggest stars were hospitalised.

Miles of mud and millions of cobbles have lent the race the name “Hell of the North” and a reputation of the most gruelling one-day race in cycling.