Day 3: Paris-Roubaix

The first section of pavé at the Carrefour de l'Arbre

The Queen of the Classics. The Hell of the North. First held in 1896, Paris-Roubaix is the second oldest race course that the Stoepid riders will encounter. Despite its romanticized lure, there is nothing fun or glamorous about this parcours. Along dirt farming lanes, baby-head cobbles are seemingly placed randomly at opposing angles, with inches of space between. There are twenty-seven sections of these cobbles, ranging from 700 to 3700 meters in length, for a total of over 50km of bone-jarring insanity. This is the only professional road race won by a rider with a suspension fork. Twice.