| Launched in 1896 by two Roubaix textile
manufacturers, Theo Vienne and Maurice Perez, Paris-Roubaix
stands out as one of cycling's premiere events, a race both
unique and unflinching in its philosophy. Riders and bikes find
their resilience tested to the extreme, on roads where feats
of legend are bound to crop up. The famed cobblestones of
the hellish north are challenging in their own right, much
as the towering mountain passes of the Tour de France. This
test of resilience in no way rules out raw velocity - Dutchman
Peter Post's record 45,129 km/h has stood since 1964.
Throughout the years, Paris-Roubaix's
itinerary has gone through changes
With roads being renovated and the cobblestones progressively
replaced, race organizers have had to seek for new stretches
of no man's land. The race has shifted east, towards the town
of Valenciennes. But this Classic of Classics has remained
true to its original style and spirit. It retains strategical
bottlenecks where the race can be as easily won or lost -
Doullens Hill, Arras, Carvin and the legendary Wattignies
bend, were the pivotal stretches of yesteryear; in their place
we now find the Wallers-Arenberg Trench, Mons-en-Pévèle
and the famed Tree-Crossing.
Such a treacherous course meets with
mixed feelings
There are those who maintain that it is just what cycling
requires. However, top-notch riders always manage to get the
better of the dreaded coblestones. As the names of past winners
clearly shows, with its succession of great names of the sport,
and notably Maurice Garin, André Leducq, Rik van Steenbergen,
Fausto Coppi, Louison Bobet, Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault.
For many years, Paris-Roubaix set
the stage for a Franco-Belgian showdown
Belgium holds the upper hand, having won 47 times to France's
30. Jules Rossi's victory in 1937, and to a greater extents
Coppi's in 1950 opened the way for Italian riders whose exploits
have continued in recent decades, with the likes of Francesco
Moser, Franco Ballerini and Andrea Tafi. Nonetheless, four-time
winner Roger de Vlaeminck perfectly embodies the superiority
of Belgian riders - he stands alone amongst past winners,
having done better than Lapize, Rebry, van Looy, Eddy Merckx
and Francesco Moser, each having won the race three times.
Notwithstanding what are often gruelling conditions, with
wind, rain and mud, he who captures Paris-Roubaix is sure
to gain his place on the sunny side of the street.
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