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Sonny Colbrelli became the first Italian to win the Paris-Roubaix Monument classic in 22 years. Caked in mud, he outsprinted his breakaway companions, Mathieu van der Poel of the Netherlands and Belgian Florian Vermeersch to take the victory on the finishing line in the famous Roubaix Velodrome.

The legendary course, often called ‘The Hell of the North’, started in Compiègne and covered a total distance of 257.7 kilometers. Though flat, the race is often marked by wind, and this year rain, both of which can make the 55 kilometers of cobblestones brutally treacherous. And indeed, the rain on race day created conditions not seen since 2002, the last muddy edition of the race. Soupy mud and deep puddles challenged the riders and crashes marred the peloton as it raced across northern France.

Paris-Roubaix was another in a string of victories for Colbrelli this season. He won the Italian National Championship Road Race earlier this summer, and was also crowned European Champion just a few weeks ago. Claiming the Paris-Roubaix cobblestone trophy, however, is an accomplishment that has put him in truly esteemed company and ensures his place in cycling history for all time.

“It was my first Roubaix, and I can’t still believe I won it,” said Colbrelli after the race. “This morning I couldn’t think about a win. I started without any pressure, I just wanted to have fun on a race I always dreamt about. I felt well and better kilometer after kilometer. So I wanted to try to take my opportunity, attacking maybe a bit early, but I learned watching past editions that it was a good moment to try. I worked well with Van der Poel, and I was also lucky not to have any bad luck, any puncture or mechanical. I almost crashed a few times, but I was very focused to stay up. Then I gave everything that I had left to take the win. I’m speechless. I can’t believe I won the Roubaix. I want to dedicate it to my family, the whole team and my fans. It has been a fantastic season for me so far.”

The last Italian to win Paris Roubaix was Andrea Tafi. The year was 1999, he was Italian National Champion, and the sunglasses were Rudy Project Tayo. To see more Rudy history moments, click here.

The long-anticipated, inaugural Paris Roubaix Femmes is on! Paris-Roubaix is one of the oldest running races on the men's calendar, making its debut in 1896 and hosting 117 editions since. Paris-Roubaix has never held a women's edition before, but after 125 years the wait is finally over!! As with so many events, this race was initially scheduled to debut in 2020, but that race was cancelled due to Covid and is now rescheduled this year with an October start.

Rudy Project sponsored Team TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank will be one of the teams competing. "Being part of the inaugural women’s Paris Roubaix is something really special for the whole team," team director Rachel Hedderman said. "Not just the riders but also the staff, everyone involved, feels the magnitude of what we are a part of.”

The Course

The race will start in the city of Denain finishing with one and a half laps around the Roubaix's velodrome to crown the first Queen of ‘The Hell of the North’. They will face 116.5 kms of racing including 17 cobbled sectors, totalling 29.2 kms of punishing pavé. In addition to the cobbles, weather is shaping up to be a factor in the race as well, with the forecast calling for rain. In muddy conditions, the peloton will have a tremendous battle ahead on the Mons-en-Pévèle and the Carrefour de l'Arbre, two of the five famous ‘five-star’ cobbled pavé sectors located along the men's Paris Roubaix parcours.

Who to Watch

The Team TIBCO-SVB rider to look for in the closing kilometers will be current United States National Champion Lauren Stephens. Wearing the stars-and-stripes jersey and matching Spectrum helmet will give her a lift, but more importantly she is also an experienced gravel racer. She has raced to more than one podium in events like Unbound (formerly Dirty Kanza), SBT GRVL, and Mid South Gravel of which she said, “It was a mud pit...the longest day of my life.” That will be valuable experience for taking on a muddy Paris-Roubaix.

Stephens will have several teammates to support her. Fellow American Kristen Faulkner from Alaska is no stranger to cool, damp conditions and has ridden strongly this season. Dutch powerhouse Nina Kessler has raced in northern Europe her entire career and will be a key player in the team’s strategy on this flat, windswept course. Veronica Ewers, Nicole Frain, and Tanja Erath round out the squad.

"We've become better every race riding together as a team, which helps our positioning into critical sections," Kristen Faulkner said. "Positioning will be essential for Paris Roubaix because the roads are narrow and flat, which means there won't be much opportunity to move forward if one of us is stuck in the back. The cobbles are pretty gnarly, so I imagine there will be mechanicals throughout the peloton, and it is important to stay towards the front, so none of us get caught behind a standstill.

"This will be an iconic race with many fans out to watch the first-ever women's edition, so I expect to have a lot of fun too."

How to watch

The race will be broadcast live on Eurosport 1 and Global Cycling Network at 3:15 p.m. CEST (6:15 a.m. PST). Follow the race and cheer on Team TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank!

The motivation behind a 15+ year partnership with USA Triathlon

Most business partnerships begin as a calculation, as each party hopes that it receives as much out of the relationship as it gives. Adam Grant, an organizational psychologist who wrote Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success, would call the partners “matchers,” where each side is willing to give as long as their partners reciprocate. When Rudy Project North America partnered with USA Triathlon 15 years ago, becoming the governing body’s official helmet and eyewear partner, the motivation was purely business-oriented: USA Triathlon needed gear and financial support, and Rudy Project needed an avenue through which to promote its products to a large and enthusiastic audience. Over time, however, as most relationships do, the partnership matured and deepened, and today both USA Triathlon and Rudy Project seek to support each other’s missions instead of simply focusing on their own self-interests. The relationship is a true partnership.

“Rudy Project has been a trusted partner for the past 15 years, continuing to innovate and consistently turning out high-performance, cutting-edge gear. Just as importantly, Rudy Project has been an invaluable partner in providing access and service to USA Triathlon members while supporting USA Triathlon’s key programs and initiatives, such as our Power Within marketing campaign to reposition the sport of triathlon,” said Victoria Brumfield, USA Triathlon Chief of Staff and Chief Sport Development Officer. “Through storytelling with Power Within, we are communicating to current and future triathletes how inspiring, empowering, and transformative triathlon can be, and partners such as Rudy Project give us the ability to deliver that message.”

The Power Within initiative, launched in 2020, aims to communicate the unifying message of the governing body, catching the attention of potential participants, young or old, and drawing them into the sport.

“Triathlon serves to inspire, empower, and transform the power within all of us,” the initiative promises, and the sport made good on that promise, as evidenced by the experience of Brad Shapiro, Principal of Rudy Project North America. “I took part in my first triathlon six years ago,” Shapiro says. “And triathlon transformed my sense of health, well-being, and personal identity, and has introduced me to an entirely new community with whom I have become friends. That personal experience is why I am so passionate about the sport and supporting USA Triathlon in its quest to grow, starting at the youth level.”

What does that support look like, fueled by a belief in USA Triathlon’s power to transform? Rudy Project, during its 15-year partnership with USA Triathlon, has delivered:

• Financial support to the governing body
• An annual product allotment of sunglasses and helmets, which USA Triathlon uses for its athlete development program, event prizes, and fundraising efforts
• USA Triathlon co-branded helmets and sunglasses (see below); a portion of those sales goes directly to USA Triathlon
• Attendance at many of USA Triathlon’s marquee events, such as the annual Toyota Age Group National Championships
• Support for USA Triathlon’s efforts to grow youth participation in the sport

That last bullet point, growing youth participation, carries significant weight for USA Triathlon and the entire triathlon industry. We know triathletes are loyal and are staying with the sport as they age – that makes it even more important and valuable to capture the attention of our youngest generation now.

While the COVID-19 pandemic adversely impacted youth participation (somewhat obviously) across all sports, we’re already seeing a swift return to the sport as more than 1,000 athletes starting at age 7 competed in the Zone3 Youth and Junior Nationals and a pair of teenagers won the overall men’s and women’s sprint distance titles at Toyota Age Group National Championships this past August. And USA Triathlon, with Rudy Project’s support, has started several initiatives in the past five years to expand interest in triathlon at the youth level, including:

• The American Development Model (ADM), which creates a framework for coaching youth athletes, focusing first on enjoyment and engagement before transitioning to dedicated training and competition
• The NCAA Women’s Varsity program, which began in 2014 and has expanded to 37 colleges and universities nationwide; the NCAA program has lifted club triathlon at colleges and universities, too: over 120 collegiate club programs exist across the United States, with more appearing each year
• The youth Splash and Dash series, which saw its third straight year of record participation in 2019, with 2,532 youth athletes competing in 50 events nationwide

Ask any kid what they’re excited about when they begin a new sport, and somewhere in the first few sentences you will probably hear something about their new uniform, or the stuff the new sport requires for participation. In helping USA Triathlon standardize the look of their youth program through co-branded helmets and sunglasses, Rudy Project cements the image of triathlon for kids, conveying the message that the sport is cool and fun, and robust and durable - a pastime they can pursue for the rest of their lives.

To some degree, one can look at any business partnership cynically: a calculated play aimed at leveraging the partner’s money, participants, marketing reach, or image for one’s own gain, but to believe that is to ignore how some relationships mature and grow over time. Are you the same person you were when you began your current job? Your best friendship? Your life partnership? Consider how the other person or entity has changed due to your influence: are they kinder, more capable, stronger, better prepared to meet the challenges they face? If so, then congratulations—you’ve found a true partnership, where both parties improve each other, acknowledging the benefits each receives, but prouder of the impacts their generosity has made possible. That is the relationship today between Rudy Project and USA Triathlon, a partnership that benefits each, certainly, but contributes something more to the sport itself: carrying that feeling of possibility, adventure, and excitement we all felt at our first races to an ever-widening audience of budding triathletes.

Rudy Project & USA Triathlon Partner Products