Paris-Roubaix

The Paris-Roubaix (also known as "The Hell of the North" or "The Classic of the Classics") is a one-day professional road cycling race held in the area northern France. It covers a route from Compiègne, a city near the Paris region, to the Roubaix velodrome, in the Haute-France region, hence its name. It is frequently held on the second Sunday of April, one week after the Tour of Flanders, and belongs to the UCI WorldTour calendar, the highest category of professional racing.

Considered one of the toughest cycling events in the world, Paris-Roubaix was first held in 1896, making it one of the oldest races still on the international calendar. Since its creation, the race has been interrupted three times, two of them due to the first (1915 to 1918) and second world wars (1940 to 1942) and the third in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is the third of the so-called "cycling monuments" (Milan-San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Giro de Lombardy) and is the second and last pavé monument of the season. It is also the last cobbled section classic on the UCI WorldTour calendar and is part of the so-called "Classics of Flanders".

Apart from its long mileage (approx. 260 km), it is characterized by its 50 km of pavé, great incentive and difficulty of the race, which are distributed in sectors between the last two thirds of the route.

With four victories, two cyclists hold the record for victories in the event: the Belgian Roger De Vlaeminck (1972, 1974, 1975 and 1977) and Tom Boonen (2005, 2008, 2009 and 2012).

It is organized by the Amaury Sport Organization (ASO) and since 1967 and 2003 the race has had an under-23 and junior version. In 2020, and at the same time that the new dates of the UCI calendar were announced, during the COVID-19 crisis, the event was announced in the female modality for the first time since its creation, however both events that would be held at the end of October they were definitively canceled due to the declaration of a state of maximum alert due to the increase in cases of COVID-19.

History

Birth and first edition

Image of the velodrome.

The creation of Paris-Roubaix was promoted by the sports newspaper Le vélo. Its director Paul Rousseau received the idea from two businessmen from the town of Roubaix, Théo Vienne and Maurice Perez, who saw in this race a good training for the then most famous Bordeaux-Paris and, after supervising the layout of the test, launched the competition under the name of La Pascale.

That first edition left on April 19 from the Bois de Boulogne, north of Paris, to cover the more than 300 kilometers that separated it from Roubaix. Its first winner was the German Josef Fischer and the prize he received was 1000 French francs.

Evolution and journey

Tramo adoquinado near Lille, which offers a vision on the hardness of the cyclist test.

Memorial of the edition number 100.

Since then, the test has only stopped taking place on 7 occasions, all motivated by the two World Wars, from 1915 to 1918 and from 1940 to 1942. Until 1966 it continued leaving Paris but that year its place of departure was changed to the town of Chantilly, 50 kilometers north of Paris. Later, in 1977, it was changed again, this time to Compiègne. As a curiosity, note that in the 2007 Tour de France, the Swiss cyclist Fabian Cancellara, winner of the Paris-Roubaix in 2006, achieved stage victory in Compiègne after attacking on the cobbled section that was located just one kilometer from the goal.

It was part of the Cycling World Cup from its launch in 1989, until its disappearance after the 2004 season.

What makes the Paris-Roubaix a unique race is the extreme hardness of the terrain on which it is contested, the pavés. Despite the fact that there are other tests that take place on cobbled sections, none of them accumulates so many kilometers on this type of surface, always around 50 kilometers depending on the route. These sections, about 30, which follow each other more or less from kilometer 100 of the test to the town of Roubaix itself, can reach around 4 kilometers and are rated with stars, with those of 5 stars being considered the toughest.. This categorization is established based on the layout of the section, its distance and the state of the pavés. Among the best known is the Arenberg Forest and the Carrefour de l'Arbre, both, next to the Mons-en-Pévèle section, the only ones qualified with the aforementioned 5 stars.

Other particularities of this race are its place of completion and the trophy that is awarded to the winner. Since its first edition, the Paris - Roubaix finishes at the Roubaix velodrome. The participants, after passing the finish line, still have to complete a complete turn around the ring to finish the test. When the victor steps onto the podium, the trophy he receives is a replica of the thousands of cobblestones he has traversed to get there. Since the celebration of the 100th edition, there is a monument, a reproduction of the one given to the winners, in the town of Roubaix.

Mud and falls

But if there is a symbolic image of the extreme hardness and uniqueness of this race, it is the muddy faces of the runners. Due to the dates on which it takes place, the second Sunday of April, a week just after the Tour of Flanders, it is usual that, if it does not rain during the course of the race, at least it did in the preceding hours or days. This fact, together with the fact that dust and sand are much more abundant in the cobblestone sections than on a paved road, means that many kilometers run through real mud. This peculiarity, together with the narrowness of the pavé sections and the difficulty involved in driving through them, are the main cause of the numerous falls that take place every year. And this peculiarity was what led a runner like Sean Kelly to affirm that "a Paris-Roubaix without rain is not a true Paris-Roubaix".

The Trouée d'Arenberg.

As a curiosity, note that the nickname "the hell of the north" It is not originally related to the hardness of the test but to the state in which the route was left after the conclusion of the First World War. Then, a reporter wrote in his newspaper that the runners had gone through "the hell of the north".

Main difficulties

Section	Name	Length	Difficulty
18	Trouée d'Arenberg	2400 m
10	Mons-en-Pévèle	3,000 m
4	Carrefour de l'Arbre	2100 m
25	Quiévy - Saint-Python	3.700 m
19	Haveluy	2500 m
16	Hornaing - Wandignies-Hamage	3.700 m
14	Tilloy-lez-Marchiennes - Sars-et-Rosières	2400 m
11	Auchy-lez-Orchies - Bersée	2600 m
6	Cysoing - Bourghelles	1,300 m
5	Camphin-en-Pévèle	1.800 m

Paris-Roubaix sub-23

Since 1967, the Paris-Roubaix sub-23 (officially: Paris-Roubaix Espoirs), which is a Paris- Roubaix limited to under-23 riders, which takes place at the end of May.

Its first editions were amateur until the creation of the UCI Continental Circuits in 2005 as part of the UCI Europe Tour, the first two years in category 1.2 (last category of professionalism) and later in the specific category created in 2007 for riders sub-23, also within the last category of professionalism: 2.1U.

It has about 180 km in its layout, about 80 km less than its namesake without age limitation, although with similar characteristics.

Unlike its namesake without age limitation, it has not been organized by ASO (also organizer of the Tour de France among others). Starting in 2011, the organizers, VC Roubaix, announced that they would stop organizing the race due to the high costs of security. A week later, ASO came to the rescue of the test and took over it.

Paris-Roubaix juniors

There is also the Paris-Roubaix juniors, for cyclists aged 17 and 18. It runs in April, the same day as Paris-Roubaix and was created in 2003.

Honours of Prizes

Josef Fischer winner of the first edition of the Paris Roubaix.

Maurice Garin won in 1897 and 1898.

Lucien Lesna winner in 1901 and 1902

Rik Van Steenbergen, winner in 1948 and in 1952.

Fausto Coppi winner in 1950.

Francesco Moser, got three consecutive victories.

Franco Ballerini, got two victories.

Johan Museeuw, the Lion of FlandersHe has three victories.

Tom Boonen, he's got four victories. In the image the edition of 2008.

Fabian Cancellara, winner on three occasions.

Peter Sagan, winner in 2018.

Philippe Gilbert, winner in 2019.

Year	Winner	Second	Third
1896	Josef Fischer	Charles Meyer	Maurice Garin
1897	Maurice Garin	Mathieu Cordang	Michel Frédérick
1898	Maurice Garin	Auguste Stephane	Édouard Wattelier
1899	Albert Champion	Paul Bor	Ambroise Garin
1900	Émile Bouhours	Josef Fischer	Maurice Garin
1901	Lucien Lesna	Ambroise Garin	Lucien Itsweire
1902	Lucien Lesna	Édouard Wattelier	Ambroise Garin
1903	Hippolyte Aucouturier	Claude Chapperon	Louis Trousselier
1904	Hippolyte Aucouturier	Cesar Garin	Lucien Pothier
1905	Louis Trousselier	René Pottier	Henri Cornet
1906	Henri Cornet	Marcel Cadolle	René Pottier
1907	Georges Passerieu	Cyrille van Hauwaert	Louis Trousselier
1908	Cyrille van Hauwaert	Georges Lorgeou	François Faber
1909	Octave Lapize	Louis Trousselier	Jules Masselis
1910	Octave Lapize	Cyrille van Hauwaert	Eugène Christophe
1911	Octave Lapize	Alphonse Charpiot	Cyrille van Hauwaert
1912	Charles Crupelandt	Gustave Garrigou	Maurice Léturgie
1913	François Faber	Charles Deruyter	Charles Crupelandt
1914	Charles Crupelandt	Louis Luguet	Louis Mottiat
1915-1918 issues suspended by the First World War
1919	Henri Pélissier	Philippe Thys	Honoré Barthélémy
1920	Paul Deman	Eugène Christophe	Lucien Buysse
1921	Henri Pélissier	Francis Pélissier	Léon Scieur
1922	Albert Dejonghe	Jean Rossius	Émile Masson
1923	Heiri Suter	René Vermandel	Felix Sellier
1924	Jules Van Hevel	Maurice Ville	Felix Sellier
1925	Felix Sellier	Pietro Bestetti	Jules Van Hevel
1926	Julien Delbecque	Gustave Van Slembrouck	Gaston Rebry
1927	George Ronsse	Joseph Curtel	Charles Pèlissier
1928	André Leducq	George Ronsse	Charles Meunier
1929	Charles Meunier	George Ronsse	Aimé Deolet
1930	Julien Vervaecke	Jean Maréchal	Antonin Magne
1931	Gaston Rebry	Charles Pèlissier	Émile Decroix
1932	Romain Gijssels	George Ronsse	Herbert Sieronski
1933	Sylvère Maes	Julien Vervaecke	Léon Le Calvez
1934	Gaston Rebry	Jean Wauters	Frans Bonduel
1935	Gaston Rebry	André Leducq	Jean Aerts
1936	Georges Speicher	Romain Maes	Gaston Rebry
1937	Jules Rossi	Albert Hendrickx	Noël Declercq
1938	Lucien Storme	Louis Hardiquest	Marcel van Houtte
1939	Émile Masson	Marcel Kint	Roger Lapébie
1940-1942 editions suspended by the Second World War
1943	Marcel Kint	Jules Lowie	Louis Thiétard
1944	Maurice Desimpelaere	Jules Rossi	Louis Thiétard
1945	Paul Maye	Lucien Teisseire	Kléber Piot
1946	Georges Claes	Louis Gauthier	Lucien Vlaemynck
1947	Georges Claes	Adolf Verschueren	Louis Thiétard
1948	Rik Van Steenbergen	Émile Idée	Georges Claes
1949	Serse Coppi André Mahé		Frans Leenen
1950	Fausto Coppi	Maurice Diot	Fiorenzo Magni
1951	Antonio Bevilacqua	Louison Bobet	Rik Van Steenbergen
1952	Rik Van Steenbergen	Fausto Coppi	André Mahé
1953	Germain Derycke	Donato Piazza	Wout Wagtmans
1954	Raymond Impanis	Stan Ockers	Marcel Rijckaert
1955	Jean Forestier	Fausto Coppi	Louison Bobet
1956	Louison Bobet	Fred de Bruyne	Jean Forestier
1957	Fred de Bruyne	Rik Van Steenbergen	Leon Van Daele
1958	Leon Van Daele	Miguel Poblet	Rik Van Looy
1959	Noël Foré	Gilbert Desmet	Marcel Janssens
1960	Pino Cerami	Tino Sabbadini	Miguel Poblet
1961	Rik Van Looy	Marcel Janssens	René Vanderveken
1962	Rik Van Looy	Emile Daems	Frans Schoubben
1963	Emile Daems	Rik Van Looy	Jan Jan Janssen
1964	Peter Post	Benoni Beheyt	Yvo Molenaers
1965	Rik Van Looy	Edward Sels	Willy Vannitsen
1966	Felice Gimondi	Jan Jan Janssen	Gustaaf de Smet
1967	Jan Jan Janssen	Rik Van Looy	Rudi Altig
1968	Eddy Merckx	Herman Van Springel	Walter Godefroot
1969	Walter Godefroot	Eddy Merckx	Willy Vekemans
1970	Eddy Merckx	Roger de Vlaeminck	Eric Leman
1971	Roger Rosiers	Herman Van Springel	Marino Basso
1972	Roger de Vlaeminck	Andre Dierickx	Barry Hoban
1973	Eddy Merckx	Walter Godefroot	Roger Rosiers
1974	Roger de Vlaeminck	Francesco Moser	Marc Demeyer
1975	Roger de Vlaeminck	Eddy Merckx	Andre Dierickx
1976	Marc Demeyer	Francesco Moser	Roger de Vlaeminck
1977	Roger de Vlaeminck	Willy Teirlinck	Freddy Maertens
1978	Francesco Moser	Roger de Vlaeminck	Jan Raas
1979	Francesco Moser	Roger de Vlaeminck	Hennie Kuiper
1980	Francesco Moser	Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle	Dietrich Thurau
1981	Bernard Hinault	Roger de Vlaeminck	Francesco Moser
1982	Jan Raas	Yvon Bertin	Gregor Braun
1983	Hennie Kuiper	Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle	Francesco Moser
1984	Sean Kelly.	Rudy Rogiers	Alain Bondue
1985	Marc Madiot	Bruno Wojtinek	Sean Kelly.
1986	Sean Kelly.	Rudy Dhaenens	Adrie van der Poel
1987	Eric Vanderaerden	Patrick Versluys	Rudy Dhaenens
1988	Dirk Demol	Thomas Wegmüller	Laurent Fignon
1989	Jean Marie Wampers	Dirk de Wolf	Edwig van Hooydonck
1990	Eddy Planckaert	Steve Bauer	Edwig van Hooydonck
1991	Marc Madiot	Jean-Claude Colotti	Carlo Bomans
1992	Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle	Olaf Ludwig	Johan Capiot
1993	Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle	Franco Ballerini	Olaf Ludwig
1994	Andréi Chmil	Fabio Baldato	Franco Ballerini
1995	Franco Ballerini	Andréi Chmil	Johan Museeuw
1996	Johan Museeuw	Gianluca Bortolami	Andrea Tafi
1997	Frédéric Guesdon	Jo Planckaert	Johan Museeuw
1998	Franco Ballerini	Andrea Tafi	Wilfried Peeters
1999	Andrea Tafi	Wilfried Peeters	Tom Steels
2000	Johan Museeuw	Peter van Petegem	Erik Zabel
2001	Servais Knaven	Johan Museeuw	Romāns Vainšteins
2002	Johan Museeuw	Steffen Wesemann	Tom Boonen
2003	Peter van Petegem	Dario Pieri	Viacheslav Yekímov
2004	Magnus Bäckstedt	Tristan Hoffman	Roger Hammond
2005	Tom Boonen	George Hincapie	Juan Antonio Flecha
2006	Fabian Cancellara	Tom Boonen	Alessandro Ballan
2007	Stuart O'Grady	Juan Antonio Flecha	Steffen Wesemann
2008	Tom Boonen	Fabian Cancellara	Alessandro Ballan
2009	Tom Boonen	Filippo Pozzato	Thor Hushovd
2010	Fabian Cancellara	Thor Hushovd	Juan Antonio Flecha
2011	Johan Vansummeren	Fabian Cancellara	Maarten Tjallingii
2012	Tom Boonen	Sébastien Turgot	Alessandro Ballan
2013	Fabian Cancellara	Sep Vanmarcke	Niki Terpstra
2014	Niki Terpstra	John Degenkolb	Fabian Cancellara
2015	John Degenkolb	Zdeněk Štybar	Greg Van Avermaet
2016	Mathew Hayman	Tom Boonen	Ian Stannard
2017	Greg Van Avermaet	Zdeněk Štybar	Sebastian Langeveld
2018	Peter Sagan	Silvan Dillier	Niki Terpstra
2019	Philippe Gilbert	Nils Politt	Yves Lampaert
2020	canceled
2021	Sonny Colbrelli	Florian Vermeersch	Mathieu van der Poel
2022	Dylan van Baarle	Wout van Aert	Stefan Küng
2023

Note: In the 1949 edition there were two winners: André Mahé was the first runner to cross the finish line, but he did so after race officials made a mistake and made entering the velodrome the group that was running away from the wrong place. They even had to enter the Roubaix Velodrome jumping with the bicycle through the stands. Serse Coppi, brother of the famous Fausto Coppi, was the first cyclist to cross the finish line, entering the velodrome from the right place. After a great controversy it was decided to name the two winning cyclists of that edition.

The second position obtained by George Hincapie in the Paris Roubaix 2006, was declared void after the suspension given by the UCI to the cyclist in the framework of the doping case against Lance Armstrong

Human awards by country

Country	Victorias	2.o place	3.o place	Total	Last winner
BelgiumBelgium	57	52	51	160	Philippe Gilbert in 2019
France	28	30	24	82	Frédéric Guesdon in 1997
ItalyItaly	14	15	13	42	Sonny Colbrelli in 2021
NetherlandsNetherlands	7	3	10	20	Dylan van Baarle in 2022
SwitzerlandSwitzerland	4	4	4	12	Fabian Cancellara in 2013
Ireland	2	0	1	3	Sean Kelly in 1986
GermanyGermany	2	5	6	13	John Degenkolb in 2015
Australia	2	0	0	2	Matthew Hayman in 2016
LuxembourgLuxembourg	1	0	1	2	François Faber in 1913
MoldovaMoldova	1	0	0	1	Andréi Chmil in 1994
Sweden Sweden	1	0	0	1	Magnus Bäckstedt in 2004
Slovakia Slovakia	1	0	0	1	Peter Sagan in 2018
SpainSpain	0	2	3	5	-
Czech RepublicCzech Republic	0	2	0	2	-
Norway Norway	0	1	1	2	-
DenmarkDenmark	0	1	0	1	-
CanadaCanada	0	1	0	1	-
Ukraine Ukraine	0	1	0	1	-
United States	0	1	0	1	-
United KingdomUnited Kingdom	0	0	3	3	-
LatviaLatvia	0	0	1	1	-
Russia Russia	0	0	1	1	-
Total	120	118	119	357

Statistics

Most wins

Eddy Merckx winner on three occasions.

Roger De Vlaeminck holds the win record with four.

Cycling	Victorias	Years
Roger De Vlaeminck	4	1972, 1974, 1975, 1977
Tom Boonen	4	2005, 2008, 2009, 2012
Octave Lapize	3	1909, 1910, 1911
Gaston Rebry	3	1931, 1934, 1935
Rik Van Looy	3	1961, 1962, 1965
Eddy Merckx	3	1968, 1970, 1973
Francesco Moser	3	1978, 1979, 1980
Johan Museeuw	3	1996, 2002
Fabian Cancellara	3	2006, 2010, 2013
Maurice Garin	2	1897, 1898
Lucien Lesna	2	1901, 1902
Hippolyte Aucouturier	2	1903, 1904
Charles Crupelandt	2	1912, 1914
Henri Pélissier	2	1919, 1921
Georges Claes	2	1946, 1947
Rik Van Steenbergen	2	1948, 1952
Sean Kelly.	2	1984, 1986
Marc Madiot	2	1985, 1991
Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle	2	1992, 1993
Franco Ballerini	2	1995, 1998

Consecutive wins

• Three victories in a row:
  • Octave Lapize (1909, 1910, 1911)
  • Francesco Moser (1978, 1979, 1980)

• Two victories in a row:
  • Maurice Garin (1897, 1898)
  • Lucien Lesna (1901, 1902)
  • Hippolyte Aucouturier (1903, 1904)
  • Gaston Rebry (1934, 1935)
  • Georges Claes (19461946, 1947)
  • Roger De Vlaeminck (1974, 1975)
  • Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle (1992, 1993)
  • Tom Boonen (2008, 2009)

Faster edits

• 45.8 km/h Dylan van Baarle 2022, 257.2 km)
• 45,204 km/h ( Greg Van Avermaet 2017, 257 km)
• 45.129 km/h ( Peter Post 1964, 265 km)
• 44.190 km/h ( Fabian Cancellara 2013, 254,5 km)
• 43,612 km/h ( Rik Van Steenbergen 1948, 246 km)
• 43,538 km/h ( Pino Cerami 1960, 262 km)
• 43,522 km/h ( Germain Derijcke 1953, 245 km)
• 43,476 km/h ( Tom Boonen 2012, 257.7 km)
• 43,475 km/h ( John Degenkolb 2015, 253.5 km)
• 43,406 km/h ( Tom Boonen 2008, 259,5 km)
• 43,305 km/h ( Johan Museeuw 1996, 262 km)
• 43,105 km/h ( Francesco Moser 1980, 264 km)

More podiums

Roger De Vlaeminck is the cyclist with the most podium finishes in the race.

Until the 2018 edition.

Cycling	Victorias	2.o place	3.o place	Total
Roger De Vlaeminck	4	4	1	9
Tom Boonen	4	2	1	7
Francesco Moser	3	2	2	7
Rik Van Looy	3	2	1	6
Fabian Cancellara	3	2	1	6
Johan Museeuw	3	1	2	6
Eddy Merckx	3	2	-	5
Gaston Rebry	3	-	2	5
Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle	2	2	-	4
Rik Van Steenbergen	2	1	1	4
Franco Ballerini	2	1	1	4
Maurice Garin	2	-	2	4
George Ronsse	1	3	-	4
Cyrille Van Hauwaert	1	2	1	4