It’s cobbled season.
Yes, the stones that drive riders and mechanics crazy – and fans to delirium – are about to be ridden again as the World Tour goes through the cobbled season.
Starting with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad for the puncheurs and one usually for the sprinters, Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, they stretch over more than a month, taking in major classics with E3 Harelbeke and Ghent-Wevelgem coming within two days of each other.
The jewel in the crown, Paris-Roubaix, is the last of them and takes place on the 8th of April. The route for this year’s edition has been released, and it holds plenty to look forward to, and also fear, depending on whether you are a fan or a rider.
The route is 257km long, and this year there are 52.98km of cobblestones, all over 29 sections of pave, the name given to the special roads.
The roads are normal for 100km until the route reaches Troisvilles, where we have the very first of the cobbles. However, much of the race centres around the three sections that have become legendary.
Five Star Stretches
The first major selection of the race comes through the legendary Arenberg Forest, 2400 meters of some of the toughest cobbles Europe has to offer, covered by rendered dark by overlapping trees either side of the road. Whilst the race is not won here often (or ever), two-time winner Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle summed it up best “Once out of the forest you may not have won the race, but you’ll certainly know if you have lost it".
The second section is Mons-en-Pevele, which comes with 47km to go. By now many will have dropped off or found trouble, and we are approaching the crucial denouement of the race. Indeed, the race has been won here – although it’s a measure of how far out we still are that the last person to win from there was the great Fabian Cancellara, in 2010 and 2012 respectively.
The Carrefour de l’Arbre at 15km to go, is 1,100 meters and perhaps not quite as strenuous as the other two, but with precious little time to make up any ground, a puncture or crash here will all but end a rider’s chances.
The Finish
One of the most legendary aspects of the race. Instead of a traditional road, the riders finish in the Roubaix Velodrome, lasting 750 meters. It’s a lap and a half of the famous venue, which has sometimes led to mass sprints, sometimes one on one duels, and other times, a coronation. It takes no prisoners: Fabián Cancellara, in his final edition, took a crash on the five-star Mons-en-Pévèle sector and came in three minutes down on the winner that day (Matthew Hayman). On his lap of honour around the velodrome, he was given a Swiss flag to take around – his back wheel slipped, and he managed to slide down into a puddle.
Lasting memories, eh?
New Features
There’s a new cobbled section (Saint-Hilaire) and the return of an old one (Saint-Python). The Saint-Python comes with a twist - it will be taken in the reverse direction to past years. Then follows a new segment in Cambresis, and another one between Saint-Hilaire and Sant-Vaastm lasting 1,500 meters.
Paris-Roubaix Factpack
Date: Sunday 8th April
Start: Compiègne, north of Paris
Finish: Vélodrome André-Pétrieux, Roubaix
Distance: 257km
Cobbles: 52.8km
UK television coverage: The race will be shown from start to finish on Eurosport
