PARIS-ROUBAIX
Established 1896 Editions 120 Recent winners Mathieu van der Poel (2023); Dylan van Baarle (2022); Sonny Colbrelli (2021)
THE ADVANCEMENT OF
bike tech, with aeroeverything, choice suspension and faster, tougher tyres, has rendered Paris-Roubaix – the throwback race of rutted cobblestones in northern France – not quite the technical, painful challenge it once was. The men’s race, first held in the spring of 1896, just before the first Olympic Games, has never been faster. Tactics do have something to do with the increase, and a helpful tailwind will always ease the passage in this point-to-point race towards the Belgian border, but the speed has been trending faster for the past 40 years, with the past two editions the fastest ever.
Last year’s edition was raced at 46.84kmh, lasting just 5hr 28mins, 2hr 9mins faster than the (admittedly 8km longer) 1990 entry. However much easier the riders have it these days, it takes nothing away from the spectacle of Paris-Roubaix. Whether run in a soggy mud bath or dusty arid conditions, the flat landscapes and ancient roads conspire to conjure an atmosphere like no other on the calendar. Grizzly sectors of cobblestones, while often repaired ahead of the race to prevent them breaking up, remain a long way from uniform. The most famous section, the Forest of Arenberg, remains a thundering 2.3km of brutality.
Before the cobbles begin, the race departs not from Paris but Compiègne, to the north of the French capital. How far in the cobbles start changes each year, but it’s around 100km and the remaining 150km or so has 25-30 cobbled sectors. Being at or near the front of the sectors, especially early on, is vital and jockeying for position up there - a tactic to avoid being caught up either in or behind the many crashes that occur - is hectic. Typically, the field thins out and the winning group, if one or more riders don’t make a successful attack, is often the one that best survives what can become a war of attrition.
This iconic race climaxes in its own unique way, with laps of the historic outdoor velodrome in Roubaix. However it ends, whether in a nervous sprint of a handful of riders or a soloist soaking up the acclaim of fans, it’s always one of the moments of the year. Mathieu van der Poel, the cyclo-cross prodigy turned Classics-guzzling star of the road, finally got his win tally here off the mark in 2023 in a race that always seemed tailormade to his talents.