Sunday sees the Queen of the Classics, Paris-Roubaix, one of the most eagerly awaited races of the year, and ahead of the weekend teams are reconnoitring some of the secteurs of pavé such as the Trouée d’Arenberg and Carrefour de l’Arbre, that they will have to negotiate to on their way to the finish in Roubaix’s historic velodrome.
Here’s a brief round-up of videos to help whet your appetite ahead of Sunday, including a rider’s view of the pavé on a recce ride, plus one of only two men to have won the race on four occasions talking about what it takes to win it.
First up, here’s Daniel Oss of BMC Racing joining his team mates for a ride over the pavé, to the accompaniment of Blondie’s One Way or Another.
Here's a video from Lotto NL-Jumbo helmet sponsor Bell with team riders including Sep Vanmarcke - second to Fabian Cancellara two years ago - sharing their thoughts on what makes Paris-Roubaix so special.
Three years ago, Tom Boonen rode more than 50 kilometres solo to win the race for the fourth time, equalling the record of fellow Belgian Roger De Vlaeminck, who triumphed on four occasions in the 1970s. Boonen is missing this year through injury, but in this video for Specialized he talks about the qualities needed to win a race that he believes he will most be remembered for once his career has finished.
Race organisers ASO have also released a couple of videos in the build-up to the race. First off, here’s highlights from 2014.
And finally, in case you weren’t aware, a certain cyclist is riding his last race for a top-flight team on Sunday, and has ambitions to go out with victory in the Queen of the Classics … here’s a tribute of sorts from ASO.
We’ve noticed you’re using an ad blocker. If you like road.cc, but you don’t like ads, please consider subscribing to the site to support us directly. As a subscriber you can read road.cc ad-free, from as little as £1.99.
If you don’t want to subscribe, please turn your ad blocker off. The revenue from adverts helps to fund our site.
If you’ve enjoyed this article, then please consider subscribing to road.cc from as little as £1.99. Our mission is to bring you all the news that’s relevant to you as a cyclist, independent reviews, impartial buying advice and more. Your subscription will help us to do more.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
People of "normally good character" don't try and hurt someone with their car. If I had a license for a gun and shot someone I doubt I would be...
Respectfully, I think you have misread the comment: subject to the OP's correction I believe they mean that we didn't have a problem imposing...
the embedded clip starts too late to show the real problem. VP pulls off to the left- he is almost on the white line- but then looks over his...
If they fail the reasonable diligence test then do them for running an un-insured vehicle....
Pro race bikes should be prototypes - and those sold to the public are detuned, more comfortable versions. Proprietary equipment is fine for race...
Yeah, I'm usually fairly bold with lane positioning, but I'd often stay to the left at those traffic lights as it's slower to set off due to the...
Works in many countries - see e.g. Mr. Netenyahu (previous legal issues being at least deferred by him being in power - although these cases are...
If you ride on the superhighways in London they are often so crowded at rush hour that you stay with the same group for very extended periods of...
FTFY
The game has closed down - some of us are trying out Velogames....