Spring Classics Week - Paris-Roubaix

Riding the Course
At the other end of the week that began with the Tour of Flanders, I wanted to watch the Paris-Roubaix race and ride some of the course to experience some of the rough cobbled farm tracks that give the race known as the Hell of the North its unique character. Early Saturday morning I drove through freezing rain and fog to Dover to catch the Eurotunnel, prepared for a wet, cold, muddy, miserable - and hence appropriately challenging - ride in northern France. But when I rolled off the train in Calais I was greeted by a beautiful, sunny, windless morning, perfect for cycling. Driving down an empty motorway I was in the town of Cambrai in no time. Sunny 20C- Spring has really arrived in France. God it was good to be back in France. I met up with Charles, an American student in Germany also keen to ride the course, and we cycled out of town towards the first sections of cobbles in the race. Once on the course there was no getting lost as they had put up arrows and banners over the start and end of each cobbled section in preparation for the race the next day.

The first section of pavé we tackled was sector 25 from Quievy - St-Python. The cobbles were noticeably bigger than those in Flanders, and the only way to avoid vibrating to a halt was to push really hard in a big gear and stick to the middle of the 'road'. The bits at the side look smoother, but that's deceptive. This section was 3700m long, and riding at close to my limit for several minutes was absolutely knackering. I read in Cycle Sport that the pros put out 550 watts on the cobbles - equivalent to riding a 4-30 4000m pursuit - and they have to do this 27 times in one race! Getting back on a tarmac road after this was bliss - it felt so fast! The next sector involved a slight downhill, and the vibration was even worse, my eyes couldn't focus and everything was a blur. Had there been a large pothole I wouldnt have seen it. Charles lost a water bottle but we didn't want to go back and endure extra pain looking for it. One section came after a little climb so our legs were already a bit tired. Without the strength to power over the cobbles it was very uncomfortable. We made pretty good progress through sectors 25 - 19 (counting down towards the finish) and stopped for water in a bar-tabac in Denain, and a bit of banter with the proprietor who was interested in our exploits and the race. He could speak English but "with Americans I speak only French" he joked. A cold beer there was very tempting - it was so warm we got very thirsty - but we decided to press on towards the worst bit of all, the Forest of Arenberg.

Now I thought I was starting to get the hang of the pavé by now, but nothing prepares you for Arenberg. The cobblestones are a lot bigger and the track is thus a lot rougher than the other sections. Attempting to ride it on a road bike with thin tyres and no suspension is the height of lunacy. But we had to do it. Charles got up a good speed and powered ahead, but I never got up enough speed and really struggled. It was quite amazing our bikes stood up to all that abuse without complaint, except that my saddlepack vibrated itself loose, but having stuffed it into my jersey pocket I carried on. There were lots of cyclists in the forest, mainly mountain bikers, some on the smooth track the other side of the crowd barriers that force the racers to ride on the rough stuff, many at the end spectating, but not many actually riding the cobbles on road bikes with us. But there was one rider giving it some, who I had to overtake. I had to go around him on the extra rough stuff, and the effort tired me so much he overtook me back, we had a bit of a contest, and I managed to just beat him to the end.

We did one more sector after that to Warlaing. Having completed 75km and 10 sectors of the course we had had enough, and cycled the 30km or so back to Cambrai where we enjoyed a cold beer and a big meal. We stayed in a delighful chateau outside St-Quentin.

Watching the Race
On Sunday morning we drove into St-Quentin and watched race pass by. A group of about 10 had got a 2 minute lead on the peloton, but this was too early in the race to be significant. Next we drove north to Quievy and the first sector we had ridden the previous day. Despite having taken the motorway we only just got there before the cyclists. There were big crowds where the riders had to make a sharp turn, and here we had a great view. The break from earlier still had a lead of 3 minutes, but with 150km still to ride, that wasn't much. Next we followed a Rabobank team car up the motorway to the Forest of Arenberg where there were huge crowds, a bar and BBQ and even a VIP suite overlooking the course. By now the race had completely changed- the break had been caught, there were crashes in the forest and the real contenders were coming to the fore. We hopped back in the car and a short way along the motorway the race criss-crossed the motorway. Traffic on the motorway slowed to a crawl as many cars had parked up on the hard shoulder. We joined them and were lucky enough to see the race once again. Then we headed to Carrefour de l'arbre, one of the final sectors of pavé where the race is often decided. And so it was - there were crashes galore in the tight bends just before where we were, which took Hushovd, Flecha and Hoste out of contention, leaving Boonen to power his way past us to victory in Roubaix. This is a really great race to watch as the winding course and the slowing effect of the cobbles makes it possible to catch it at many points, enabling us to see the race unfold.


Photos on Flickr