A look at the Paris - Roubaix Cycle Race, one of professional cycling's most iconic races and nicknamed the Hell of the North.
The first edition of the Paris Roubaix cycle race, also known as the Hell of the North, took place in 1896 at the instigation of Theo Vienne and Maurice Perez two, textile manufacturers from Roubaix. Whilst its winner was a German - Josef Fischer, over the years the race has become a battleground for Franco / Belgian pride. There is a long-standing rivalry between the countries and although France remarkably claimed 17 of the first 20 races, Belgium now holds the upper-hand boasting 51 victories.
Despite its name the modern Paris – Roubaix actually starts in in the French city of Compiègne, some 80 kilometres north of Paris, the start having been moved from Paris twice in the 1960s; first to Chantilly and then to Compiègne. The route runs northwards for over 250 kilometres, across the battlefields of World War I – it was in fact because of this that the race became synonymous with the term the Hell of the North - to the city of Roubaix, on the French / Belgian border. It is here, in the city's velodrome, that the race reaches its conclusion.
Pandemonium on the Pavé
Paris – Roubaix is defined by the many stretches of cobblestoned roads, or pavé, that comprise the second half of the route. The 2007 edition of the race saw 28 separate sections of pavé that totalled a third of the final 159 kilometres. These sections are highly strategic areas of the race because not only are they bone-crushingly tough to ride over but they are also very narrow. This creates bottlenecks and causes long tailbacks. Often one of the most crucial stretches is the Carrefour de l’Arbre. Running for just over two kilometres and coming a mere 15 kilometres or so before the end of the race, it is a categorised as being amongst the toughest sections of pavé. Realistically if you want to be in with a chance of winning the Hell of the North, you have to be in the lead group at this point.
But the pavé does not define Paris – Roubaix just because of it's decisive impact on the race result. It contributes much more than that. It provides the landscape to the iconic images that are captured during the great race. The stretches of pavé run across the fields of Flanders and are used by the region's farmers to get to their land. In dry weather they are nothing more than a dust bowl – wait under a blue sky for the Paris – Roubaix peloton to cross a section of pavé in front of you and the first thing you will see in the distance is the huge cloud of dust that is thrown up behind them. In wet weather the cobblestones become little more than roads of mud, caked in dirt and manure from the fields - the cobbles as treacherous as an ice rink.
Giants of the Road
Either way, when the riders reach the finish in Roubaix they are always caked in mud and dirt or dust. With filthy bodies and grimy faces, save for their eyes which have been protected by glasses, they resemble more a group of miners than cyclists. Appropriate as they have indeed spent the day in their very own pit of Hell.
It is these images, captured over the last hundred years or so, that, along with the stories of races past they help illustrate, make for the legend of the race and helps generate such a revered, yet feared spectacle. Should a cyclist win Paris – Roubaix he is instantly catapulted to the very top of the sport. It is one of cycling's truly tough races and if you can reign in Hell you are indeed a true Giant of the Road.
