Paris-Roubaix

Paris-Roubaix is a famous single-day professional bicycle road race held in northern France starting in Compiègne and finishing in Roubaix, near the Belgian frontier.  It was one of the ten UCI Road World Cup races and became part of the UCI ProTour. It is one of the 'Classic cycle races' has the nickname The Hell of the North .

 History 
Paris-Roubaix is one of the oldest professional bicycle races. Théo Vienne and Maurice Perez got the idea to run the race and in 1896, the sports newspaper Le Vélo worked out original route between Paris and Roubaix. The race has been contested every year since 1896, stopped only by the two World wars.

The first edition of the race was held at Easter, April 19 1896, so it got the nickname of La Pascale(English: The Easter).

188 competitors left the Bois de Boulogne park in Paris and raced almost 300 kilometres to Roubaix. Josef Fischer, the winner of this first edition, received 1000 francs.

The race is now organised by the media group Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) who also run the Tour de France.

Riders are often covered from head to toe in mud and grit, and race over the cobblestoned roads and hard rutted tracks of northern France.  However, the race got the nickname l'enfer du Nord, or the Hell of the North from journalists who watched the race after world war I, and saw it  pass through many of the ruins, craters, and destruction along the way.

Originally, the race was from Paris to Roubaix, but in 1966 the starting location was moved to Chantilly, 50 kilometres to the north of Paris, to be moved in 1977 to Compiègne, approximately 80 kilometres to the north of Paris. Famous for rough terrain, the route of Paris-Roubaix is adjusted slightly from year to year as the older roads are resurfaced and the race organisers seek to replace them with other challenging cobbles, to maintain the character of the race - in 2005, for example, the race included 54.7 kilometres of cobbled sections. The race finishes  with 750 meters on the smooth concrete expanses of the large outdoor velodrome in Roubaix.

 The bicycles of Paris-Roubaix 

Due to its challenging course, and poor weather conditions, Paris-Roubaix presents a challenge to riders, team support personnel, and equipment alike.  Special frames and wheels are often used specifically for Paris-Roubaix, in various configurations depending on the weather conditions.

 References 

 Further reading 
 Philippe Bouvet (with Pierre Callewaert, Jean-Luc Gatellier, Laget Serge): Paris-Roubaix: A Journey Through Hell  VeloPress, . The inside story of the race, its great riders, its traditions, and its secrets

 Winners 
CountryYearNameTeamTeam Country1896Josef Fischer1897Maurice Garin1898Maurice Garin1899Albert Champion1900Emile Bouhours1901Lucien Lesna1902Lucien Lesna1903Hippolyte Aucouturier1904Hippolyte Aucouturier1905Louis Trousselier1906Henri Cornet1907Georges Passerieu1908Cyrille Van Hauwaert1909Octave Lapize1910Octave Lapize1911Octave Lapize1912Charles Crupelandt1913François Faber1914Charles CrupelandtNot held1915World War I1916191719181919Henri Pélissier1920Paul Deman1921Henri Pélissier1922Berten Dejonghe1923Heiri Suter1924Jules Van Hevel1925Felix Sellier1926Julien Delbecque1927Georges Ronsse 1928Andre Leducq1929Charles Meunier1930Julien Vervaecke1931Gaston Rebry1932Romain Gijssels1933Sylvère Maes1934Gaston Rebry1935Gaston Rebry1936Georges Speicher1937Jules Rossi1938Lucien Storme1939Emile Masson jrNot held1940World War II194119421943Marcel Kint1944Maurice Desimpelaere1945Paul Maye1946Georges Claes1947Georges Claes1948Rik Van Steenbergen and1949tiedAndré Mahé andSerse Coppi1950Fausto Coppi1951Antonio Bevilacqua1952Rik Van Steenbergen1953Germain Derijcke1954Raymond Impanis1955Jean Forestier1956Louison Bobet1957Fred De Bruyne1958Leon Van Daele1959Noel Fore1960Pino Cerami1961Rik Van Looy1962Rik Van Looy1963Emile Daems1964Peter Post1965Rik Van Looy1966Felice Gimondi1967Jan Janssen1968Eddy Merckx1969Walter Godefroot1970Eddy Merckx1971Roger Rosiers1972Roger De Vlaeminck1973Eddy Merckx1974Roger De Vlaeminck1975Roger De Vlaeminck1976Marc Demeyer1977Roger De Vlaeminck1978Francesco Moser1979Francesco Moser1980Francesco Moser1981Bernard Hinault1982Jan Raas1983Hennie Kuiper1984Seán Kelly1985Marc Madiot1986Seán Kelly1987Eric Vanderaerden1988Dirk Demol1989Jean-Marie Wampers1990Eddy Planckaert1991Marc Madiot1992Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle1993Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle1994Andrei Tchmil1995Franco Ballerini1996Johan Museeuw1997Frédéric Guesdon1998Franco BalleriniMapei-Bricobi1999Andrea TafiMapei-Quick Step2000Johan MuseeuwMapei2001Servais KnavenDomo-Farm Frites2002Johan MuseeuwLotto-Domo2003Peter Van PetegemLotto-Domo2004Magnus BäckstedtAlessio-Bianchi2005Tom BoonenQuick Step2006Fabian CancellaraTeam CSC2007Stuart O'GradyTeam CSC2008Tom BoonenQuick Step2009Tom BoonenQuick Step2010Fabian CancellaraSaxo Bank10 April2011  

References

Category:Cycle racing in France
Category:History of Paris
Category:Roubaix