|
|
RBA FEATURES: THE ROAD TO THE REAL ROUBAIX: ROAD BIKE ACTION RECONS THE PAVE’
Tim Maloney-European Editor
April 11, 2009
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
The reconnaissance of the race route of Paris-Roubaix is a long
tradition by race organizers ASO and for the 2009 edition, Road Bike
Action received a special invitation to go along to check out the pavé
on the Monday after the Tour of Flanders.
We met at 9:30am in the tiny village of Troisvilles, a hamlet so small
there was not even a bakery but the rendezvous was at Chez Francoise, a
small café’ that had become a traditional stop along the Paris-Roubaix
route because just outside of the village, the first sector of the
famous Paris-Roubaix cobbles begin.
Mme. Francoise is famous for her delicious omelettes, made with farm
fresh eggs from Troisvilles. After a quick interview with French radio,
she popped into the tiny kitchen to serve up her egg delights.
After an hour or so, there were about 50 people assembled for the
reconnaissance including ASO’s Christian Prudhomme, sports director
Jean-Francois Pescheux and others from the Paris-Roubaix race
organization. Media man extraordinare Christophe Marchadier handed out route maps to study before le depart.
Omelettes devoured, the caravan assembled and departed about 10:30am, destination Roubaix with several stops on the way.
Before we departed, we had a chat with Jean-Michel Monin (L), deputy
Sport Manager with ASO and 79 year old Albert Bouvet (R), who's
nickname in his pro racing career was "Le Bouledogue (say "bulldog") de Fougeres. Bouvet retired in 1995 from ASO, where he had risen to
director of competition, and had been a key factor to restoring pave'
sections in at Paris-Roubaix.
After a grey morning, the sun was beginning to break out as we rolled
north with occasional stops to check out various pave’ sectors. Don’t
let anyone ever tell you Paris-Roubaix is flat! Especially over the first 10 sectors, the road rolls up and down across
the Hainaut region towards Denain. Once the course passes over the A2
autoroute with 120km still to go before Roubaix, the terrain flattens
out.
Once underway, the Paris-Roubaix recon caravan encountered dry, dusty
conditions that had sand swerling everywhere. M.Daniel Accou, a retired
"paveur" who is one of the last people who knows how to repair a pave'
road told Road Bike Action "the pave' is laid on a bed of gravel,
which is then filled in with sand and the paveurs (pave' blocks) are
laid on top of the sand." With little rainfall in the week before,
there was plenty of sand to kick up for the 20 vehicles in the recon
caravan.
We stopped for a check on Sector 23 from Vertain to
S.Martin-sur-Écaillon, a 2.3km stretch of 3 star rated pave' which had
been partially paved over. You can see the transition from pave' to
macadam; this has been a major problem in the Nord region and a key raison d'etre for
Paris-Roubaix to work with local people to maintain and restore the
pave'.
As le vache qui non rit smells the dairy air of a spring morning,
perhaps she senses that the terrible day of Paris-Roubaix is not far
off, with thousands of drunk, noisy spectators in her pasture and
hundreds of race vehicles passing by to disturb her tranquility in the
French countryside.
Although he hated Paris-Roubaix, calling it a slaughterhouse of a race,
Bernard Hinault had one of his greatest triumphs as a racer, winning the
Queen of the Classics in 1981 wearing the maillot arc-en-ciel of World
Champion. This sector, #18 from Haveluy to Wallers, a 2.5km four star
affair, is dedicated to Hinault. It was 12:30, time for dejuner and the recon caravan headed to the Mining Museum in Wallers for a look-see at a photo exhibition and some lovely "flunch" (french lunch).
>Next page |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|