{"id":133665,"date":"2016-02-18T10:55:06","date_gmt":"2016-02-18T08:55:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/?p=133665"},"modified":"2016-02-18T11:45:30","modified_gmt":"2016-02-18T09:45:30","slug":"paris-roubaix-highway-to-hell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2016\/02\/18\/paris-roubaix-highway-to-hell\/","title":{"rendered":"Paris-Roubaix \u2013 Highway to Hell"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 1976 movie A Sunday in Hell starts quietly with a mechanic preparing a bike for the Paris-Roubaix classic.\u00a0 He cleans both chain and frame with the same Tampico fibred brush.\u00a0 The unique properties of Tampico are known only to the inner sanctum of bicycle mechanics \u2013 unlike nylon brushes, Tampico bristles have a magical property that prevents the spread of grease.\u00a0Notice the air of solemnity.\u00a0 The mechanic is performing the last rites.\u00a0 He knows that before the day is done, both rider and bike may be buried by the inhuman effort required to ride the Paris-Roubaix.<\/strong>
\n<\/p>\n

\"\u201cThe<\/p>\n

An unholy start<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Paris-Roubaix fell from grace in its debut year of 1896.\u00a0 The Catholic Church chastised the organisers for racing on Easter Sunday.\u00a0 Only half the cyclists turned up to the start line.\u00a0 Priests distributing leaflets seems dangerously close to being cursed – and cyclists are a superstitious bunch.<\/p>\n

The uneven road<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Paris-Roubaix is the most famous of The Spring Classics featuring extensive cobbled sections.\u00a0 These cobbles are taken as trophies by rabid cycle fans with scant regard for the safety of their heroes.\u00a0 Even after they\u2019re replaced, the result is an unpredictable road surface that bike tyres skim over with minimal contact.\u00a0 Lower your tyre pressure.\u00a0 There may be trouble ahead.<\/p>\n

\"Paris-Roubaix<\/a><\/p>\n

There will be blood<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The safety record of Paris-Roubaix isn\u2019t great. French cyclist Phillippe Gaumont fell from his bike while leading the peloton in 2001, and he famously described the dramatic effect an exposed and broken femur had on his body – when his heart was beating at 180bpm.\u00a0 \u201cWhat I went through, only I will ever know,\u201d said Gaumont.\u00a0 He sadly passed away in 2013 at the age of 40.\u00a0 Many cyclists would be proud to have that quote on their headstone.<\/p>\n

Be prepared<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cThe route is not responsible for your problems.\u00a0 It\u2019s you and you alone,\u201d shrieked twice winner and cycling mad man Marc Madiot.\u00a0 You can ride as many cobbled streets as you like, and if you\u2019re lucky it will rain, making the cobbles dangerously slippery. \u00a0But even Rapha\u2019s \u201cHell of the North\u201d tribute to Paris-Roubaix can\u2019t emulate being baptised in the chaos of the pro-tour peloton.\u00a0 \u201cA Paris-Roubaix without rain is not a true Paris-Roubaix,\u201d whispered two-time winner, Sean Kelly.<\/p>\n

\"\u201cParis-Roubaix<\/a><\/p>\n

There are no winners \u2013 only survivors<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cParis-Roubaix est une connerie,\u201d muttered five-time Tour de France winner, Bernard Hinault.\u00a0 This famous reference to cow excrement was crow-barred from Hinault\u2019s lips after his 1981 victory.\u00a0 Hinault fell off his bike seven times when he conquered the classic.\u00a0 One of those times was thanks to Gruson, a small black dog whose mind wondered away from the race to the subject of treats.<\/p>\n

Flat. Out.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Hinault won Le Tour five times, a race that is hundreds of kilometres a day for weeks on end.\u00a0 You\u2019re also expected to ride up mountains, to help separate the Wiggins from the Wig-outs.\u00a0 After his 3rd Paris-Roubaix, Hinault refused to put himself through the torment ever again.\u00a0 Winning the Tour de France is heavenly \u2013 but winning Paris-Roubaix takes you to hell and back.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The 1976 movie A Sunday in Hell starts quietly with a mechanic preparing a bike for the Paris-Roubaix classic.\u00a0 He […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":133666,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[329,334],"tags":[],"global-categories":[],"class_list":["post-133665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-road-cycling","category-socialising-and-culture"],"yoast_head":"\nParis-Roubaix \u2013 Highway to Hell - \u0160koda We Love Cycling<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The 1976 movie A Sunday in Hell starts quietly with a mechanic preparing a bike for the Paris-Roubaix classic.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2016\/02\/18\/paris-roubaix-highway-to-hell\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Paris-Roubaix \u2013 Highway to Hell\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The 1976 movie A Sunday in Hell starts quietly with a mechanic preparing a bike for the Paris-Roubaix classic.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2016\/02\/18\/paris-roubaix-highway-to-hell\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"\u0160koda We Love Cycling\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-02-18T08:55:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-02-18T09:45:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2016\/02\/profi3213.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"525\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"350\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Christopher Ashley\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2016\/02\/18\/paris-roubaix-highway-to-hell\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2016\/02\/18\/paris-roubaix-highway-to-hell\/\",\"name\":\"Paris-Roubaix \u2013 Highway to Hell - 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