April 11, 2010 (Compiègne, France) – The legendary classic Paris-Roubaix, 259km, one of the monuments of cycling also known as the Hell of the North is now underway. One of cycling’s oldest one-day races it dates back to 1896 and since the late 1960s starts in Compiègne just north of Paris. Tom Boonen (Belgium) Quickstep is the defending champ with three Roubaix wins under his belt (2005, 2008, 2009) and will be challenged by recent Tour of Flanders winner Fabian Cancellara (Sui) Saxo Bank along with a strong field of contenders. Canada’s Michael Barry (Team Sky) and Dominique Rollin (Cervelo TestTeam) are on the start line – complete start list here here.

Check out this Paris-Roubaix Pre-Ride Video by Michael Barry (Team Sky) below and on this web site: Three days prior to the start of Paris Roubaix the team drove to the Arenberg forest to ride the course. From Arenberg it is roughly 100 km to the finish. Each of the 17 remaining cobbled sectors is separated by less than 10 km of tarmac. In Arenberg the race becomes relentlessly difficult—the 100 km that follow the forest are perhaps the hardest 100 km in professional cycling. The vibrations beat the cyclist’s body, his muscles are torn from the effort and his eyes burn from the dust… read more here.

Paris-Roubaix Reconnaissance. Cobbles. Team Sky 2010