Chiara Consonni: “It’s a crazy race, like me!”
April 7 th 2025 - 10:34
THE UNBREAKABLES (IV/V)
Previous episodes:
. Oliver Naesen: "In the Trouée d'Arenberg, no matter where I put my wheels, I flat!"
. Margaux Vigié : "I'm just kind to the cobblestones"
. John Degenkolb : "It's in me"
Paris–Roubaix is a race for specialists, perhaps the most untameable of the classics and certainly the one with the most severe physical and technical requirements. Its cruelty and harshness frighten some but also inspire many others, who make it the highlight of their season. A select few of these regulars have a 100% finish rate, but what is their secret to consistently completing the course? John Degenkolb, Jasper Stuyven and Oliver Naesen have never had to withdraw from the Queen of Classics, and the same goes for Margaux Vigié and Chiara Consonni, who have finished the first four editions of Paris–Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift. They told paris-roubaix.fr the details of their preparation, their technique for riding on the cobblestones, their little tricks and even the mental aspect of this challenge, which they have mastered a little better than the others.
Chiara Consonni doesn’t inspire hellish visions. The young Italian rider has an exuberant character that fuels bursts of joy punctuated by her laughters, even when it comes to facing the struggles of Paris-Roubaix, the race of her dreams. Its brutal challenges in the north of France paint an environment opposite to the quiet and scenic surroundings where she hails from, in the province of Bergamo. Celebrated for her vibrant and multifaceted personality, she’s a favourite in the pelotons… And also a rider as tough as nails, who has thrown herself headlong in the Hell of the North. Neither crashes nor punctures have dampened her enthusiasm. Consonni is one of the few riders to have finished all the edition of Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift, including a top-10 result in 2023 (9th). But she has much bigger dreams…
Chiara Consonni (Canyon//Sram zondacrypto)
Born on 24 June 1999 in Ponte San Pietro (Lombardy, Italy)
Teams: Valcar PBM / Valcar Cylance / Valcar-Travel & Service (2018-2022) / UAE Team ADQ (2023-2024) / Canyon//Sram zondacrypto (since 2025)
Major wins:
3 stages of the Giro d’Italia Women
Dwars door Vlaanderen 2022
Tour of Chongming Island 2023
Results in Paris-Roubaix:
2021: 30th / 2022: 25th / 2023: 9th / 2024: 30th
Distinctive feature: Supremely gifted and hailing from a family filled with cyclists, Chiara Consonni displayed her talents from a very young age, on the road (she turned professional at 18) and on the track, a discipline that saw her claim global accolades, notably at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 (winner of the Madison) and the 2021 Worlds held in Roubaix (silver medallist in the team pursuit).
THE PREP: “THIS IS ALL FUNDAMENTAL”
After she finished in the top-30 of the first four editions of Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift, Chiara Consonni is anything but a rookie. Yet “we always try to do a lot of recons”, says the Italian rider, who rode the cobbles of Nord-Pas-de-Calais last week with Canyon//Sram zondacrypto, the team she joined last offseason. “Paris-Roubaix comes at the end of the Northern classics campaign so we have a whole season to adapt the material and to do some specific recon while we’re nearby.”
Not only does it revive the feelings of the cobbles and boost the riders’ confidence ahead of one of the most stressful days of the season, it also leads to essential mechanical choices: “To be able to capture many data, to do several tests about the tyre pressure, about how to adapt to the weather conditions you’ll have on the day of the race, this is all fundamental. For example, last year, we had the possibility of using the single chainring but I didn’t want to and I chose the double chainring at the front.”
Consonni knows the importance of the setup to survive the Hell of the North… But, as a sprinter, she puts a big emphasis on being ready to battle in the finale: “The most important thing for me is definitely to balance the tyre pressure because there are many cobbled sectors but the finish on the velodrome is a pure sprint.”
THE COBBLES: “THE CHALLENGE IS TO NOT LOSE MOMENTUM”
One can hardly claim he ‘knows’ cobblestones and how to tame them. They can be very different from place to place, to begin with. “Before Roubaix, I had already done major classics like Flanders and Gent-Wevelgem, so I was kind of used to it, but the cobbles of Roubaix are even more difficult than the cobbles of Belgium”, Consonni explains. “There is much more space in between the cobbles so the challenge is to not lose speed and momentum.”
And then, the same cobbles can present drastically different challenges on two separate days, as she learned in 2021. “The first time I rode on the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix was two months before the first edition. We did a recon with Valcar, it was beautiful weather… And then it was terrible on the day of the race! It rained from kilometre 0 all the way to the end and it was very different to try and control the bike and stay up on the cobbles. But the truth is I had lots of fun.”
Over the years, Consonni has developed her own relationship with the cobbles of Roubaix and especially with one sector, which she deems as both the most beautiful and most challenging: “The Carrefour de l’Arbre is probably the one that moves me the most. That’s where the race is made, where the strongest try to go. But I remember blowing up there in the second edition. I probably lacked experience and didn’t eat enough during the race. On the last sector, the lights went out and I felt terrible until the end.”
THE MENTAL: “DREAMS AND NIGHTMARES”
As prepared and experienced as you may be, Paris-Roubaix retains a large degree of irrationality that Consonni fully embraces: “It’s my dream race… Because it’s crazy, like me! Paris-Roubaix gives me dreams and nightmares. Mentally and also emotionally, I’m very involved in this race. Before the start, I can feel that extra motivation, that desire to push myself beyond my limits, up to 110%.”
“At first, I was a bit scared, it’s not an easy race that offers itself to you”, she describes. “There isn’t any elevation but it’s kind of worse than a mountain stage of the Tour de France. But I also remember the thrill of doing my first Roubaix. I was excited to enjoy the experience and have fun, and I succeeded in that.”
As committed as she is to performing to her best, Consonni also puts things into perspective as she professes some wisdom inspired by her own contrasting experiences in Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift: “You need to approach the race knowing that the best doesn’t necessarily win in a race like that, it’s important. That’s my mentality before the start and then whatever happens, happens. I think it’s a race where you need good fortune on your side, to avoid punctures and crashes. Even in the finale, I believe luck is more important than having the best legs.”
THE ABANDON: “I KEPT GOING BECAUSE IT’S ROUBAIX”
“Never, never!” Chiara Consonni can’t imagine withdrawing from Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift, a race she is “proud” to have always finished despite the many pitfalls that affect anyone, at all levels of the race. And she knows it first hand.
“Last year was one of the most difficult races for me”, she recalls. “Having already the experience of the first three editions, I really wanted to do well. I came in with the right mentality but I punctured twice, I crashed once, and so I ended up chasing behind the group from the first sector. I was always behind, I never was able to stay with the first group. I had lost my chance to do something good but I never gave up and I still managed to finish a hard race. And for me, it was one more reason to say: ‘I have to do it next year, I have to be stronger and even more motivated to be able to get on the podium’.”
“I kept going because it’s Roubaix”, she assures. Broken bones may be the only thing that would stop her… Maybe. Back in 2018, she was participating for the first time in another event dear to her, the Giro, and she finished stage 5 with a broken elbow before being evacuated to the hospital of Omegna. This time, she had no choice but to retire, “a bit bruised but always with a smile”, as she put it.
THE EXTRA: “TRY TO DO SOMETHING FOR WHICH I’LL BE REMEMBERED”
Listening to Chiara Consonni, it almost sounds natural that Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift became the source of her wildest cycling dreams. “I especially remember the first edition”, the Italian sprinter explains. That year, in 2021, the female peloton discovered the Hell of the North in epic conditions… And Italians got to celebrate a much awaited triumph, more than two decades after their last victory in the velodrome of Roubaix.
“Seeing Sonny Colbrelli win inspired me to think that one day I can be up there too and try to do something for which I’ll be remembered”, Consonni smiles. “And honestly, I like the stone that the winner receives.”
From the start to the showers of Roubaix, the Italian sprinter fully embraces the tradition of the Hell of the North and naturally feels home at the finish: “It’s very emotional to enter the velodrome, especially as a track rider. I love track and finishing my four Roubaix in this velodrome made it even more moving and special.”