Roy had worked her way into the chasing group at one point of the race, but soon lost ground after getting caught in an unfortunate crash with Ellen van Dijk, among others.
The wet and muddy conditions made for a tough event – the first of its kind in women’s cycling – but, to Roy’s credit, she was willing and able to continue.
A hard-fought sprint saw the Team BikeExchange rider finish 23rd in the end; almost six-and-a-half minutes after Lizzie Deignan took the field by surprise with a historic victory.
Though not the result she was after, the Australian was happy to have finished the race in difficult circumstances.
“They say everyone who rides Roubaix has a story,” Roy said.
“I had really good legs out there and it was just down to luck. I was positioned well into the sector in the chasing group, maybe around sixth wheel, but then someone just crashed in front of me, and I just came down.
“It was so slippery, there was so much mud out there and you couldn’t react.
“I finished on the back of the chase group there in the end but I could have just stopped right then after the crash and got in the car, my body was hurting but I really wanted to keep going and finish.
“I am very happy to finish, it is special. It is one of those races you just want to nail, so I would like to come back next year and now we all know it better.”
The Paris-Roubaix continues on Sunday night with the men’s race LIVE via SBS On Demand at 8:00pm (AEDT) and over on SBS VICELAND from 9:00pm.
