La Reine or Queen of the Classics, the Hell of the North or l’enfer du nord,
How to watch the Paris-Roubaix
In person. Really there is no better way, but for those of us located 1/4 to 1/2 way around the road from northern France, we'll have to resort to traditional methods - online. Remember how last week I recommended waking up early to watch the Tour of Flanders, well this Sunday plan to wake even earlier.
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| Carrefour de l'arbre Photo by Karen Rakestraw of Pedal Dancer® |
When it comes to the
Paris-Roubaix you can count on crashes, and riders who woke up fully intending to finish the race and instead find themselves left behind in the dust of a cobbled path in France. All this happens well before the sleepy-heads in America wake up. So don't miss out - wake up early and check the usual suspects for links:
Where to watch the race:
You can also pay via Cycling.TV, but I usually watch the free links. I like to juggle between two open browsers and play ping-pong x'ing out the ads so I don't miss any coverage during commercial breaks. I also read text updates for breakaway time gaps and placement of riders. I don't read Twitter anymore, annoys the heck out of me with the same people tweeting the same news, I would much rather watch the scenery and real race action.
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| Parcours of 2014 Paris-Roubaix |
When to watch the race:
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Start time: Sunday April 13 10:15 CET (2:15:00 AM MDT)
- Earliest live video: 12:50 CET (4:50:00 AM MDT)
- Approximate finish: 16:50 CET (8:50:00 AM MDT)
Race Facts:
- April 13, 2014, (1 week before Easter Sunday this year)
- 112th edition
- 25 teams, 8 riders each, 200 riders
- Compeigne to Roubaix in France
- 257 kilometers
- 5,886,720 cobblestones
- The 3rd of 5 monuments in the classics season
Race details:
- Paris-Roubaix map, timetable, profile, cobble secteurs
- The leaders should be on the secteur pavé de la Trouée d'Arenberg at 14h15 CEST (08:15 EDT, 06:15 MDT)
- The race leaders should Entrée du vélodrome at 16h31 CEST (10:31 EDT, 08:31 MDT)
- Rider Startlist & teams at ProCycling Stats
Race Previews Paris-Roubaix 2014:
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| Route marker Photo by Karen Rakestraw of Pedal Dancer® |
Podium in 2013:
Fabian Cancellara (SUI) RLT
Sep Vanmarcke (BEL) BLA
Niki Terpstra (NED) OPQ
Previous Winners:
2013 Fabian CANCELLARA
2012 Tom BOONEN
2011 Johan VANSUMMEREN
2010 Fabian CANCELLARA
2009 Tom BOONEN
2008 Tom BOONEN
2007 Stuart O’GRADY
2006 Fabian CANCELLARA
2005 Tom BOONEN
Interest:
Teams reconned the course on Thursday (video: French, 03:13)
Best Of Paris-Roubaix 2013 (video: English, 03:02)
Organizers rate 28 cobbled sectors of Paris-Roubaix, By VeloNews
How to pronounce Compeigne
Pronunciation
Bikes:
Bike Modifications for Paris-Roubaix, By Cycling Tips
Interview: Scott Sunderland on Roubaix tech of the past decade, By Bike Radar
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| Walking into the Arenberg Forest on race day. Photo by Karen Rakestraw of Pedal Dancer® |
This race is guaranteed excitement!
Time to revisit my post from 2012 (story and photos) when I took a long anticipated trip to see the Paris-Roubaix in person:
I was a fan at the Paris-Roubaix (including driving instructions on how to get to the Arenberg Forest and Carrefour de l'Abre). It is times like this that I am so happy I write a blog so that I can go back and read what happened that day, strange how memories fade overtime. It sure sounds like I had a blast being a fan in the Arenberg forest and Le Carrefour de l'Arbre, more at:
Stories from Belgium. Also see:
I went to Belgium and took pictures of cobbles (photos from Le Carefour de l'Abre). Or
A Brief History of the Paris-Roubaix
This year I thought I would share photos from the day I visited the
Roubaix Velodrome:
All photos below by Karen Rakestraw of Pedal Dancer®
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| When you know you are on the route of the Paris-Roubaix |
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| This is the final sector of pave before the Roubaix Velodrome. I can't imagine the thrill for the first rider hitting this section. |
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| As you walk along the cobbles, commemorative pave stones to past victors have been inserted |
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| The inserted stones are a virtual walk of fame |
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| I hope the year '2012' has been added to Tom's stone by now |
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| After the last cobbled sector, the riders take a sharp right onto this last paved section leading into the velodrome ahead. |
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| They race past this sign on the left to the famed Velodrome Club House |
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| Leaving the Club House behind and all it's occupants at the bar |
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| This is what every rider has dreamed of seeing first (without the car and rider of course). This is the entrance to the Roubaix Velodrome. |
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| The roar of the crowd is now deafening as they make the right sweeping corner into the Roubaix Velodrome |
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| Around the track they go |
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| Making history on this surface |
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| Using everything they have |
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| Towards the bleachers and beyond |
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| Across the new coat of paint and the fans standing on the hillside |
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| It seems huge and yet so small |
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| Looping around the green grass of the outdoor velodrome |
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| The goal is that line, in front of all the fans |
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| This line; where dreams are realized. |
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| Then they will get their name on the wall above the bar in the Club House de Roubaix (and one of those nice paving stones with their name on it) |
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| They will get a smaller version of this as a trophy. |
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| And a well-deserved shower. |
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| And their friends will buy their beer for the rest of their life (this one is inside the Club House) |
See more of my photos from
I was a fan at the Paris-Roubaix in the Arenberg forest. More info on the Pedal Dancer Page:
SPRING CLASSICS
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| I was there! |
If you go to a bike race in France in spring - be sure to bring a flag. I love this photo I found on Cycling Tips from 2012. This is the mood of the Paris-Roubaix:
And this one presented by Cycling Tips in a collection of photos:
Paris-Roubaix: Moments in History
Sunday's race should be dry without rain and mud, which means dust!
