Male Team 08 Apr
Paris-Roubaix
257 Kilometers
Despite having been held for many years on dusty, dry terrain with no rain whatsoever -and that could change in 2018-, París-Roubaix always holds some special mystic, one from a race different from all others in the calendar. Its ‘secteurs pavé’ -54.5 kilometers over a total 257km- are way tougher than those in Flanders or any other place in northern Europe, to the point that any of its flat roads can become more demanding to the rider’s body than a climb in the Ronde van Vlaanderen. Nervous, unforgiving, legendary – the ‘Queen of the Classics’ is an appointment with epic cycling, in a way that no other race in the world can express better.
Before the first cobbled sector (93km), the fight to get into the early break -which usually lasts longer than in ‘normal’ races- is relentless, and makes for a steady pace before the madness starts. From that sector (29, numbered in reverse) to section no. 20, the cobblestones are neither really apart nor really tough, yet everything dramatically changes as we enter Arenberg (sector 19, 162km, 95 to go). The 2.4-kilometer, slightly downhill section of this trench marks the biggest selection in the race, riders unable to cross it but on single file.
After Arenberg, the race tackles more severe stretches, narrow and grueling. There are two crucial parts: the sector of Mons-en-Pévèle (no. 11, 49km remaining), a very long section (3km) on difficult pavé, and the long combination of Camphin-en-Pévèle (5) and the Carrefour de l’Arbre (4), where the attacks for victory usually happen. Still, every point of the course until the legendary Velodrome can become decisive: a puncture, a crash, an unexpected move are all able to define the outcome of this third Monument of the classics season.