Not long now until, IMHO one of the greatest one day race :). As last year I’ve entered the the PR challenge the day before the pro race. But unlike last year, this time we’re able to stay until Sunday. So, does anyone have any tips for where to watch the race? We were hoping for Trouee d’Arenberg, Carrefour de l’Arbre and poss velodrome. Is this highly unlikely?

You have to race it, but you need to plan it on a map book as it is tight. We always watch the start in Compeigne, then to the Arenberg where the atmosphere is crazy and it is lunch time so take some chairs and a picnic! Then onto Carrefoure to see the baby head size cobbles. There is also now a large flat screen to watch the finish. We’ve always not gone to Velodrome as we were told it is a nightmare to park up there, and too hard!

Amazing atmosphere and well worth doing.jealous we aren’t going this year due to annual leave issues 🙁

Both times I’ve been we watched it in Arenberg. They put a big screen up beside that troublesome level crossing and sell you lots of Leffe. Terrible.

Figured getting from Arenberg to Carrefoure is touch and go. Plus reduces Belgium beer time.

You can’t just pitch up and get into the velodrome, ticketed.

It isn’t too hard to get to CArrefour just got to be prepared to power wLk a out 3 miles!

We did the start, Arenberg and velodrome finish. Helped that we had a slightly dodgy team car pass so we could drive on the course after it was closed to normal traffic, and park right by the velodrome.

Last year we drove further out and caught it at 3 of the earlier sectors. Less traffic, less problems parking and the local cycle club had a massive pig roast half way along one sector. Unlimited work roaming from herself’s phone meant we found out what head happened at the end.

It looks like there is a bridge over Trouee d’Arenberg, any ideas if it’s possible to view the race from here?

I’ve handily booked a holiday in Lille around the time this is on! The plan is to try and get to some cobbles, watch them rattle past then head into Roubaix/Lille and find a french pub/bar/drinking establishment to watch the end of the race.

Any recs/hints/tips?

It looks like there is a bridge over Trouee d’Arenberg, any ideas if it’s possible to view the race from here?

the disused one that features in the photos, I think not.

As MC (my other half) and Beej (not my other half) said, chasing it and catching different sections isn’t that hard, we’ve done it twice (once just spectating, last year we did the Challenge/Sportif the day before, then chased the race). We got to all the sections comfortably before the leaders, and had no problems getting right up to the barriers to spectate*. As you go you’ll see cars pulled over on the hard shoulder watching intervening sections, with the odd bike cop half-heartedly moving a few people on.

Ref the Challenge itself, last year we had the awful weather that you expect, whereas race day was (as most recent ones have been) warm and dry. We’d basically towed 30+ other riders for the preceding tarmac miles so we pulled over and let them all go ahead, so we got a clear run into the wet cobbles. Hitting the Arenberg in rain and mist was my riding highlight of the year, every bit as bleakly beautiful, haunted and atmospheric as all the best photos and films suggest. Hairs on the back of the neck stuff.

*currently at work, when I’m home I’ll post a couple of pics I took to give you a feel and show just how close we got to the racing.

I frikkin’ love Belgium.

Sounds awesome! A few of us did it last year too…

palmer77 – Member
I ended up finishing on my own from the group I was with. I had problems with mud clearance throughout, but particularly on Camphin-en-Pévèle. I was running Clement Strada LGG 28mm’s, and they were fine in the dry, but the mud there clogged front and rear causing the rear mech hanger to snap. I had to walk to the end of the pave and some guys on a camper van helped me by shortening the chain. Unfortunately they reused the link pin rather than the quick link I had with me. I carried onto Carrefour de l’Arbre and halfway through the chain snapped at the repair, the roller on the link had also dropped out so I was struggling to think of how to resolve it when I got picked up by the event support who dropped me off at the mechanic at the end of the sectour. He shortened the chain again and then used the quick link to join it. It was now so short though the gearing was around 34:18 so I limped back to the velodrome at a max speed of around 15.5mph! All in all the most painful experience I could have imagined. My setup was mostly ok except for the tyre size and mud clearance. That said I had no punctures throughout so they are quality kit. My forearms suffered the most, it felt like someone was trying to tear the muscles from my limbs. I found that peddling reduced the vibrations trough the front, but it was all so energy sapping that I wasn’t always able to. I am pleased that I made it to the end though, and especially with falling off anywhere, even the Trouée d’Arenberg which was carnage!!! I am not too sore, but extremely tired as in addition to the 03:30 rise on the Saturday we had to travel back to the UK the same day and I didn’t end up getting home until 01:30 Sunday AM.
POSTED 9 MONTHS AGO #

you need a long stem for all those sections

Kristoff’s custom paint job

Sagz on Arenberg

Degz

G

Rowey on Carrefour

Degz

Sagz

The convoy come through as we leg it to the big screen

slang nicknames in homage to NYVelocity on twitter.

Great photos fella, did you see the ones here: http://stories.strava.com/roubaix

If they’ve got a big screen by a cobbled section (and beers on tap) then I’d probably stay there. We did the challenge last year and had planned to head out of town on Sunday to watch by the road but in the end it was all a bit rushed and complicated and we were perfectly happy watching the screen in the velodrome. It was a great weekend. We’re doing LBL this year.

Was lucky enough to get on a VIP package with a teams owner a few years back which involved a minibus with a mad local at the wheel. Bus screeches to a halt, jump out, scramble over a bank and sprint across a ploughed field, race comes through, turn heel and leg it back to the bus the minute it’s gone, hoon it through the back lanes to the next pave section, whilst watching the race on TV’s, rinse, repeat.

Ace fun, saw the race 7 times and the owner’s team had a guy in the break so the atmosphere in the bus was immense.

I think there a few companys that offer a similar service, well worth it but a very full-on day.

saw the race 7 times

😯 8)

That’s hectic! Our 3 (start, Arenberg, Carrefoure) were pretty relaxed by comparison!

It was proper mental, we were using the same routes as quite a few of the soigneurs cars and as soon as the peloton had gone past is was basically a race to get back in vehicles and rolling first, cars and bodies everywhere horns blaring, Flemish insults flying, you jumped in and you barely had the door closed before you were off again, full, gas.

Not for the faint of heart but on hell of a day. Slept like the dead that night.

I am heading over for the challenge followed by spectating also, bring on the beer!

I am moderately concerned that my pacenti sl23 rims with 20 spokes front and 24 rear may not survive the cobbles, but I can’t really justify a new set of wheels for one ride. Still at least its motivation to keep up with the weight loss, less chance of bending them…..hopefully.

It looks like there is a bridge over Trouee d’Arenberg, any ideas if it’s possible to view the race from here?

No the bridge is out of bounds and the police are nearby.

If you have a motorhome the local village open up a large field from the friday until the day after the race. It’s always busy.

Tomvet, we hooked up with some misguided/Looney/heroic Brit doing it on his lonesome on a Merida Reacto carbon aero bike on OE racey wheels and 23mm slicks. He was a bit rattled but bike was fine, in fact I don’t think he’d even punctured.

We ran fatter tyres – 28mm, at suitably lower pressures and that was it. No bike mods, double bar tape, double chamois or any of the other tips we’d heard. No mechanicals, no punctures, no broken riders.

Bump

Some good suggestions on viewing spots up there but any others?

Anywhere that’s a dead cert to have a big screen?