Paris-Roubaix Trouée d'Arenberg

Day 2 of the EF Coaching Paris-Roubaix camp started early, around 9am. Sadly, the weather was not ideal and the ride was cut short due to cold and rainy conditions. Karel said he was so cold from the wet conditions. The group rode ~27 miles to the Arenberg Forest and got shuttled back to the hotel in the team vans. 

According to Cycling News,

"The Trouée d'Arenberg is infamous for being the first five-star cobbled sector in Paris-Roubaix. The path is technically called the Drève des Boules d'Hérin, and the 2,300 metres (1.4 miles) of rough cobblestones are some of the worst in all of professional cycling.

The road was laid down in the late 18th century and subsided since then due to mine workings beneath the forest. Jean Stablinski is credited with suggesting the inclusion of the sector in Paris-Roubaix and the Trouée d'Arenberg was first used in the 1968 edition.

Since then, it has become a fixture of the race and prime viewing for spectators, with tall trees lining the sector to bring visual drama along with the race excitement. Coming with around 100km to go, it is typically where the first decisive splits of the season's biggest cobbled classic are formed."

Karel was one of the few members of the group that managed to ride the entire cobbled sector today. He said it was incredibly hard. Although there isn't a lot of elevation on this course, the cobbles are extremely slippery. Especially in the rain. Karel said he had to keep riding because even if he wanted to unclip and stop, he would slip and fall. There is a paved path on the side of the sector but that will be lined with spectators on race day. 

Cycling UK perfectly described Arenberg as.....

"‘You ride through there and you think, “This is just ridiculous”,’ says Hayman, now a sport director at Jayco-AlUla. ‘Your bike feels as though it’s about to fall apart at any moment. You don’t know how carbon fibre can even take that kind of shock. Anybody who’s gone over there – including those who’ve done the sportive – will understand. It’s by far the worst section of cobbles in the race, and if there’s any kind of moisture in the air, you know it’s going to be slippery.’

Karel riding through the famouse Arenberg Forest.

These aren't random goats on the side of the road. GCN reports that "for the second year in a row, a herd of animals are ensuring the cobblestones are in race-ready condition, in an environmentally and socially friendly way." "On a few days in the weeks leading up to Paris-Roubaix, around 40 goats are driven to the Arenberg forest and encouraged to fill their bellies. With an estimated 2,500 cobblestones on the 2.3km sector, there's plenty to go around."

After they returned back to the hotel, it was time to warm up their shivering bodies. They had lunch around 2pm and then Karel had a massage (free with the camp) around 5:30pm. 

Tomorrow is another ride and then one more sleep until Karel takes part in the amateur Paris Roubaix 170km challenge on Saturday.