Hello and welcome to live coverage of the 116th edition of Paris-Roubaix - a brutal 257km slog over the cobblestones of northern France. They don't call it the Hell of the North for nothing...

The pace has slowed in the pack. Everyone is taking a leak, talking to their DS, chewing the fat and taking a breather. Philippe Gilbert and Jack Bauer are deep in conversation. They're former Quick-Step team-mates, with Bauer now at Mitchelton-Scott after making the move with Matteo Trentin over the winter. They're apparently talking about Bauer's little spill earlier. Perhaps they're talking about Gilbert's prospects, too. The Belgian needs to win Roubaix to keep up his quest to win all five of cycling's monuments - he also lacks Milan-Sanremo. But it's odd to see the 36-year-old named the favourite today, given this is his first time on the cobbles of northern France for over a decade.

Smukulis has company in the form of Geoffrey Soupe (Cofidis) and Jay Robert Thomson (Dimension Data) and so we could see nine riders form the lead group once things come together. They are 25 seconds down on the leaders, who have 1:50 over the pack.

And now it's calmed down: the front of the peloton is flat as the big teams take their collective feet off the gas and decide to sit up. Some take the chance to stop and take a comfort break, so it looks like that break will be allowed to stay out. Once Smukulis joins they will be seven riders, including Ag2R-La Mondiale's Silvan Dillier, the Swiss national champion. Dillier could be a useful teammate for Oliver Naesen later on - which is probably why Quick-Step were concerned.

A Delko Marseille Provence KTM rider - Gatis Smukulis - is doing his best to join the leaders - and then, all of a sudden, the pace is ramped up when Quick-Step and Dimension Data decide they're not happy with the way things are. Meanwhile, off the back of the pack Jack Bauer (Mitchelton-Scott) is receiving some attention to a cut elbow. The New Zealander must have had a small spill.

The four chasers - who have now bridged over - include another Roubaix debutant, the Spainard Marc Soler of Movistar. These six riders have 25 seconds now. Full details coming up.

That's not the only muddy cobbled section...

Famous last words, eh? Those two riders - Jelle Wallays and Ludo Robeet - are still out ahead and now have four chasers about to join them. Meanwhile, we have this from sector 25 at Saint-Vaast, a new cobbled sector in this year's race, and one that looks very muddy despite the sunshine. Wout van Aert, the cyclocross specialist making his own debut in the race, will be excited about those conditions. The Belgian youngster, who finished ninth in his debit Tour of Flanders a week ago, is currently off the back of the peloton visiting his Verandas Willems-Crelan team car.

Lotto Soudal and WB Aqua Protect Veranclassic have sent a rider ahead, this duo riding with a small gap over the peloton. But their advantage isn't huge and - like all moves before - it is bound to come to nothing. So far it's a real battle of attrition out there in the sunshine of northern France.

As expected, there were way too many riders getting involved there and all those groups came back together. It was Florian Senechal who helped neutralise the danger there for Quick-Step, the Frenchman tipped by many as an outsider today - although the former Cofidis man will surely be on team duty for the likes of Terpstra, Gilbert, Stybar and Lampaert...

There's loads of movement now as three of four groups form off the front of the pack after a medley of attacks. No one wants to let a move go and so most teams get represented in the chase. It's going to take a while to get on top of who's where and what's what...

Great stat here about the cobbles standing between the riders and the Roubaix velodrome today, courtesy of our man in the commentary box, Rob Hatch.

Feillu is taking advantage of a tailwind on this exposed section of the race, but his gap is small and there are a cluster of riders trying to bridge over. It's fair to day, a Feillu win today would be a turn-up for the books - even more unlikely than Leicester City winning the Premier League.

Here's a full preview of the race, the route, the riders, the ratings, the rewards, the records and the rain (which has not materialised). The header is a riff on the war of words coming from last week's Tour of Flanders, where Peter Sagan complained that his rivals handed it on a plate to Quick-Step - aka the Wolf Pack.

BRICE FEILLU ON THE ATTACK! The French climber is throwing caution to the wind to ride clear of the pack once that four-man move was neutralised by the peloton.

FOUR RIDERS AHEAD: De Bondt, Pichot, Van Zyl and Jones have 15 seconds with some riders trying to bridge over.

We have a break forming now after a move made by a solitary Bahrain-Merida rider sparked some activity behind. Quick-Step Floors have sent a rider out to cover it - and numerous riders bridge across. But it comes to nothing...

World champion Peter Sagan is always named among the favourites for every race he does - and that's the case again today. But the triple world champion doesn't have a stellar record here in Paris-Roubaix - in six starts he has never made the top five.

Sep Vanmarcke already with a mechanical problem! The Belgian - who crashed twice in last weekend's Tour of Flanders - is off the back of the peloton having his mechanic adjust his saddle. The EF-Drapac rider is due a big result - in fact, his only ever major one-day win was the semi-classic Omloop Het Niewsblad back in 2012. In 18 monuments, Vanmarcke has finished third in the Ronde twice, fourth in Roubaix twice, and once runner-up (2013). He didn't race Roubaix last year after being ruled out with an injury.

The hirsute Frenchman Geoffrey Soupe is on the front now, driving a fast pace for his Cofidis team-mate Christophe Laporte. Soupe is one of the most instantly recognisable riders in the peloton because of that generous black beard - voted the best in the peloton recently by our man Blazin' Saddles...

It's a fairly busy start with numerous riders trying their luck. But for now, it's still one, long, strung-out peloton.