Audrey Cordon-Ragot 'so relieved' to ride Paris-Roubaix with Human Powered Health after turmoil - exclusive

Paris-Roubaix is challenging enough without any extra obstacles. But for French champion Audrey Cordon-Ragot, she arrives at Hell of the North on the back of a turbulent eight months that have seen her suffer a stroke, be left without a team after B&B Hotels collapsed, and then quit her next team, Zaaf, after revealing she had not been paid since the start of the year. Ad Just last week, the 33-year-old did not have a team as she contemplated missing out on the Classic that matters most.

But after a whirlwind few days, and an intervention from the UCI, Cordon-Ragot has penned a shock deal with Human Powered Health and will ride on the French cobbles on Saturday. Paris — RoubaixParis-Roubaix contender Van Aert says he's still 'suffering' from Flanders crash41 MINUTES AGO “It’s been really crazy,” Cordon-Ragot told Eurosport ahead of the official announcement. “I was just so angry.

I was looking at my situation and the situation of my team-mates and I was like ‘why should I be the one staying on my couch while the other ones are racing? This is not fair’. I was just like, ‘I need to do something’.” After deciding to take action, Cordon-Ragot reached out first to the women’s peloton’s union The Cyclists’ Alliance and later to UCI president David Lappartient to explain the troubling situation at Zaaf – prompting her fast-tracked move to Human Powered Health. “I was exposing the situation to him [Lappartient] and he had no clue about it,” continued Cordon-Ragot, who will also swap her bike for the mic on Eurosport's coverage of the men's race on Sunday.