REPAIRS THE ROUBAIX COBBLES
We have 320 members, we have former riders and we have different nationalities. We have French people, Belgian people, from Europe but also from the United States, Australia, China, Japan, Canada... The association is worldwide. It was 2001 when I got membership, so now it is my 20 year anniversary.
The first time I watched Paris-Roubaix on television, I was maybe eight years old. The first time I rode my bicycle I was maybe four years old. Now I am 56. When I was young it was better for me to ride on the cobbles.
I have been living in the north of France for 30 years, I live in a flat near the Roubaix velodrome - from my balcony I can see the velodrome. I know all the cobblestones, the roads we have in our area, so it is very easy for me to be involved in this beautiful race.
This race started in 1896 and has a very great heritage. Most of the cobblestone roads disappeared during the last century; it was awful for us. We had to change the route many times to find new roads. The main roads that were cobbled now have asphalt. Now the local government is able to repair the sectors if necessary, and we try to protect them. There are 100km of cobblestones available, and the race uses 55km. We have some potholes and we try to avoid danger for the riders. Each year we try to fix the cobblestones to have a safe route.