Exhausted riders slumped against the barriers or stood leaning over their bikes at the finish of the men’s Paris-Roubaix race on Sunday. The riders had spent over 5 hours racing hard over some of the most brutal cobblestones in Northern France, and you could tell.
One of the best things about Roubaix is the different stories that come out during the day. Wout van Aert took a brilliant win, but each rider no doubt had their own story to tell at the end of it all, and there are always little things to spot.
A flash of silver in the afternoon sun caught my eye in the track interior, which led me to Lidl-Trek neo pro, and ex U23 World TT Champion Jakob Söderqvist’s interesting wristwatch.
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In glaring contrast to the much-reported-on Richard Mille watches worn by Tadej Pogačar and Mathieu van der Poel over the last few seasons, Söderqvist had chosen to wear a humble Casio A158WEA-9, a model from the brand’s vintage range.
Whilst Pogačar’s watch retails for roughly $350,000 (though there are rumours he uses a dummy model), the Casio model worn by Söderqvist can be purchased for well under $100, a difference of over $300,000.
Söderqvist finished 2nd at Paris-Roubaix Espoirs last year, but told me Roubaix had been the ‘biggest fight of my life’; indeed, this year’s Roubaix was run off at record-breaking speed. The rider explained he started wearing the watch daily about three years ago, and just thought it was cool to keep it on at races, adding that it’s also a way for those closest to him to more easily spot him on TV.
Some riders wear watches to race in, that’s nothing new, but in today’s era of aero optimisation and marginal gains, it was nice to see a touch of personality in Söderqvist’s retro-looking choice; his chosen model also reportedly has a battery life of around seven years, which is one less gadget to worry about charging.
