Paris Roubaix Challenge
Edito
The feat of your life
It's possible that you underestimated the challenge that you faced, but you did it. You rode close to 150km, 21% on cobblestone sectors that impress even the most experienced professionals. It takes courage and temerity. Congratulations for daring the race and finishing it!We imagine your souvenirs from this day are wonderful and are still swirling around in your head. Some of them will remain the best of your biking life; such as the tumultuous arrival at the "Tranchée d’Arenberg" and the "Carrefour de l’Arbre" detour. More than 31km passed under your wheels!
Maybe you gave in a little, but you did not give up. The sky was certainly a friend, no rain, no drizzle. Yet it was very cold during the first few hours, and the head wind sometimes drained energy during the moments of impetus.
At the end of your journey, the stadium was waiting for you (seen so many times on the television, imagined so many times in your dreams); the bike stadium where you did your half lap and received a medal as a finisher, the stadium with its legendary showers. Which cabin did you choose? Which race winner had his name engraved there?
Remember that you can find your video of your race on ASO Challenge.
Other races, other adventures are waiting for you. It's important to move forward, to not stay in place, and to fix new goals. As you probably already know, we offer you a chance to take some altitude in July with our two mountain laps that are on the program of the 2012 Tour de France. Act 1 takes place in the Alps on July 8, between Albertville and La Toussuire (for more information, click here), Act 2 takes place in the Pyrenees on July 14, between Pau and Bagnères-de-Luchon (for more information, click here).
Climbing around 10 of the most famous mountain passes of two French mountain chains during the same week, it's the Madone Challenge, a huge summer challenge that only 318 cyclists were able to achieve in 2011.
For those who attacked Paris-Roubaix and already have ants in their pants, we suggest signing up quickly for the 2012 Etapes du Tour 2012 and reserving your accommodation by contacting the different Tourist Offices.
Your season is already rich in memories, but it has only just begun. Springtime is here, you are not going to stay put!
Please take time to carefully read the information that we are sending you today, which is important for your arrival in Saint-Quentin.
For months now, you have been training with enthusiasm. For weeks, you have been organizing the logistics and fine-tuning each detail.
The big day is approaching. Today, maybe you are thinking about the child you used to be, hardly knowing how to pedal, but already in admiration before the courage of the bikers attempting the “Enfer du Nord” (Hell of the North)…
Now, it’s you, the brave one, and not someone else. Be proud of the courage it has taken to make it happen. Paris-Roubaix is not just any ride. Nineteen cobblestone sectors are waiting for you, for a total of 31.6km! Without a doubt, you are ready!
Today, we are sending you the latest practical details which will allow you to spend the last hours before the start without stress. Stay concentrated on your upcoming effort. Have you thought about protecting your palms? Have you worked out the best position to take on your bike during difficult passages?
148km is the distance separating you from the Vélodrome de Roubaix and the most legendary lap in the history of biking. Sunday, you will enter in the legend, and the child you used to be will give an ovation for the accomplished effort. Be zen, and be strong. The legend is now!
Courage, you will need it, but not to the point of carelessness. No! Paris-Roubaix is a journey, one of the most beautiful. Paris-Roubaix is not the hell that it is sometimes said to be, not for bikers who approach the race kilometer by kilometer, with the goal of reaching the stadium, and of living the greatest biking legend to its finish completely.
Complete Paris-Roubaix, and you will certainly achieve limitless camaraderie and create countless souvenirs. To drink a beer at the finish line of the “Reine des Classiques” (queen of the classics) is to toast the image of oneself and one’s sport, to toast your capacity to reach your limit on a path that is sometimes muddy, sometimes freezing. Attack the cobblestones with respect, without fear.
Courage and bravery, not carelessness
Dare. One must dare the Paris-Roubaix Challenge. For the first time, this year the course will take place on completely secure closed roads. The total distance (148km) isn’t particularly intimidating, but the number of cobblestone sections (19) should incite humility. 31.6km of the roads are unpaved. Welcome to the heart of the legend!
Respect! At the 89th kilometer (sector 10), you will cross the Tranchée d’Arenburg, 2.4km of a battered rectangular path with forest on both sides, which will tire your arms and legs. Handlebar movement should be anticipated and controlled. There is no room for error (or hardly any). One must prepare for these passages where the unexpected is expected, for these moments where abandon must be accompanied by total gestural control.
Not even scared! Paris-Roubaix is here, for bikers with guts. We are working hard to simplify your day in the heart of the legend. But in the end, it’s your legs and your desire to make it to the end of this reinvented classic which will make the difference. Will you dare?
