The route – 29 sectors of cobbles; 257km

Race organisers ASO have worked out the 29 sectors of cobbles include more than 6,000,000 cobblestones – with 54.5km of the 257km taking place over the iconic pavé.

As with the Tour of Flanders, the cobbles do not kick in until after a long opening section – in this case, Troisvilles a Inchy, the first cobbled sector, comes after 93.5km of racing.

The difference between Roubaix and Flanders, of course, is that Paris-Roubaix is practically pan-flat – meaning big gears.

Of the 29 sectors, three have been rated five (out of five) on the difficulty scale – the iconic Arenberg Forest (2.4km long at the 162km mark); Mons-en-Pévèle (3km at 208.5km mark); and the Carrefour de l’Arbre (2.1km after 240km of racing).

Position in the race is another key factor, meanwhile, with the latter the fourth-last sector, and coming just moments after the four-star Camphin-en-Pévèle sector has been tackled.

The race then famously concludes with a lap of the Roubaix Velodrome, with Van Avermaet triumphing in a five-way sprint last year.

Veteran Hayman was a surprise winner in 2016, meanwhile, and the 39-year-old is not expected to add to what was only the third pro win of his career.

Third last year, and now a three-time top-ten finisher at Paris-Roubaix, Sebastian Langeveld (EF-Drapac) is another who is yet to showcase his best form so far this spring, meanwhile.

In better form is team-mate Sep Vanmarcke, who finished third at Dwars door Vlaanderen and seventh at E3 Harelbeke.

World champion Peter Sagan (Bora-hansgrohe) is yet to stand on the podium at Paris-Roubaix, meanwhile, but he too must not be ignored.

He won at Gent-Wevelgem, but had to settle for sixth at both Milan-San Remo and the Tour of Flanders.

Other Classics stars to look out for are Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo), who finished fourth last year, and heavyweight sprinters like Arnaud Demare (FDJ), who was inside the top-ten for the first time in his career in that race.

Demare has been on the podium at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, Milan-San Remo and Gent-Wevelgem already this season, while Stuyven has been super-consistent through the spring so far with top-ten finishes in his last five races.

Finally, other potential dark horses include Tony Martin (Katusha-Alpecin), who won on the cobbles at the Tour de France in 2015 and is now keen to transfer that form to the famous Monument.