A Guide to the 2018 Paris-Roubaix

Kevin Curry

Apr 5, 2018 — 3 min read

It’s time for the biggest single-day race of them all! Paris-Roubaix, also known as “The Hell of the North,” a 257km slog across the unforgiving farm roads of northern France. This Sunday will mark the 116th edition of the Paris-Roubaix, here’s what you need to know before riders hit the cobbles.

It’s Flat

Paris-Roubaix is the flattest of the five Monuments (Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders, LiÃ¨ge-Bastogne-LiÃ¨ge and Il Lombardia), flat is actually an understatement. Compared to most of the spring classics the Paris-Roubaix is pancake flat but don’t mistake this race for being easy. The difficulty here isn’t climbing, it’s surviving the incredibly rough sections of cobblestone road that stretch throughout the route and I don’t use the word survive lightly.

The 2018 Paris-Roubaix covers a total of 257km, among which are 29 cobblestone sectors comprising a total of 54.5km of “pave”. The cobblestone sectors are numbered and race organiser ASO has given each sector a difficulty rating from one to five stars, listed here:

Paris-Roubaix 2018 cobbles

Name	No.	Distance Remaining	Length	Difficulty Rating
Troisvilles	29	163.5km	2.2km	***
Briastre	28	157km	3km	***
Saint-Python	27	148km	1.5km	***
Quiévy	26	145.5km	3.7km	****
Saint-Vaast	25	138km	1.5km	***
Verchain-Maugré	24	127km	1.2km	**
Quérénaing	23	122.5km	1.6km	***
Maing	22	119.5km	2.5km	***
Monchaux-sur-Ecaillon	21	116.5km	1.6km	***
Haveluy	20	103.5km	2.5km	****
Trouée d’Arenberg	19	95km	2.4km	*****
Hélesmes	18	89km	1.6km	***
Wandignies	17	82.5km	3.7km	****
Brillon	16	75km	2.4km	***
Sars-et-RosiÃ¨res	15	71.5km	2.4km	****
Beuvry-la-ForÃªt	14	68km	1.4km	***
Orchies	13	60km	1.7km	***
Bersée	12	54km	2.7km	****
Mons-en-PévÃ¨le	11	48.5km	3km	*****
Avelin	10	42.5km	0.7km	**
Ennevelin	9	39km	1.4km	***
Templeuve – L’Epinette	8	33.5km	0.2km	*
Templeuve – Moulin-de-Vertain	8	33km	0.5km	**
Cysoing	7	26.5km	1.3km	***
Bourghelles	6	24km	1.1km	***
Camphin-en-PévÃ¨le	5	19.5km	1.8km	****
Carrefour de l’Arbre	4	17km	2.1km	*****
Gruson	3	14.5km	1.1km	**
Hem	2	8km	1.4km	***
Roubaix	1	1km	0.3km	*

The Three Five Star Cobblestone Sectors

The Trouee d’Arenberg (#19): The most famous section of cobblestones in the world. The Arenberg forest isn’t where the race will be won, but it is where the race can be lost.

Here’s what Theo de Rooij had to say about the sector in 1985 after abandoning Paris-Roubaix:

“It’s b******s this race! You’re working like an animal, you don’t have time to piss, you wet your pants. You’re riding in mud like this, you’re slipping around, it’s a piece of s**t €¦”

Mons-en-Pevele (#11): A tough section of cobble that also most likely won’t be where the race is won, but often is where the peloton gets broken up. Watch for attacks to split the field here.

Carrefour de l’Arbre (#4): The final five-star sector and the ideal launch-pad for a race winning move. Just look at this disaster of a road:

Why You Have to Watch Paris-Roubaix

Paris-Roubaix is a unique bike race as a spectator as it’s exciting from start to finish. It’s chaotic and delivers incredible moments year after year. Positioning is of utmost importance heading into every cobblestone sector and the cobblestone sections themselves make for incredible viewing. There are countless crashes and constant mechanical issues that can change the entire race in an instant:

Parix-Roubaix is also unique in that it’s a race suited to the workhorses of the peloton, heavier guys that put out massive power, guys usually tasked with blocking wind for GC contenders take the reigns. It’s also a race of survival, as such it’s almost always won by a very small group or a solo rider.