We Ride the Arenberg

We approached the Arenberg Forest from Lens and what had been once a predominantly flat landscape was now complete with age old slag heaps, now memorials to the coal industry. Once more we ventured forth with Ben, Patrick and Karl from Pinnacle Bikes.

The Arenberg packed by fans and riders

Click to see more Arenberg Pictures

Most of the coal mines you see are relics of the former glory of 'King Coal', and the mine at the small town of Arenberg is now a museum. The industry infrastructure in the surrounding countryside is left peeling and rusting.

One of the main reasons we love road racing is that our theatres of sport have not been designed by architects, but have developed from human interaction and endeavour. For many of the coal mining communities cycle racing was an escape and an avenue for adventure.

We race on roads and tracks that grew out from communities, and the famous cobbles of the Arenberg are bridged with a redundant rail line and the cobbles themselves sit above a tunnel that runs its full length. Both past memories of human activity. Race routes have direct links with the local people and the paths that they travel - come race day and the Arenberg will be packed.

The Arenberg Forest is 2.4 kilometres of cobbled 'hell', the section marks a significant point in the 'Queen of Classics, Paris Roubaix, not where the race is won, but where it can be lost. The race travels 259.5 from Compiegne to the Roubaix Velodrome and after 80k they meet the first of 50k of 'Pave' at Troisvilles.

The French have declared the 'pave' as National 'monuments' protected by law and cannot be tarmaced over.

Where? - Google Map
- The Arenberg Forest is off the A23, West of Raismes.
- The largest towns are Lens to the West and Valenciennes due South East.
- Roubaix is to the North
- We got lost and looked up the spot on a local bus map!

Pinnacle Bikes - www.pinnacle-bikes.co.uk

Patrick	Ben	John

Patrick - "It is unlike anything I have ridden before"
I thought I had ridden cobbles before, but after riding the Arenberg Forest section I realised I hadn’t! It is unlike anything I have ridden before. At 2.4km in length you wonder what the fuss is about when the race is 260km. You can’t get out of the saddle because the back wheel slips and you can’t sit in the saddle as you get a hammering. You have to ride in the big ring to stop the chain from jumping of the small ring or skipping on the back.

There is no easy line apart from the gravel at the side but on race day this is not an option as the barriers or crowd pen you in. The surface is like broken teeth and there are troughs across the track where the cobbles have subsided, it is a mining area! It is unrelenting, the constant jarring knackers your wrists, your ass and your back. Being straight means you think you can see from beginning to end but there is a tiny rise near the end where you think you are finishing but there is another couple of hundred metres after it which is heart-braking. When you come back on to the tarmac at the end the relief is instant and you’re just thankful it’s over. I loved every minute of it. Everyone should ride this section once in their life to understand what it’s really like to ride on cobbles and just a brief insight to what the pros go through.

All this just reinforces why Paris Roubaix is my favourite race and why it is the Queen of the Classics. The atmosphere here on race day must be absolutely incredible as rider’s battle to maintain position in the line (and stay upright) the crowd strain for the best view and race vehicles all struggle to keep in touch with riders. Fitness and skill are a must but lady luck definitely needs to be on your side here as a puncture or mechanical in this section and you are going to have real trouble getting back on. The race isn’t won here but it can certainly be lost. With so many deciding factors in one race you can see why Paris Roubaix remains such a mythical event and why everyone wants to win it.

Ben Spurrier - "sheer brutality of riding it on a road bike"
The forest of Arenberg doesn’t look too foreboding as you approach it as you can’t really see it until you pass through the gates. Once through, you see the ‘road’ ahead of you in a straight line for 2k. In the race programme, this is split into several different sections of Pave.

Great, you think, we should get a break between sections. As it turns out, the splits are no more than crossroads, with what you hoped would be your break coming in the form of no more than the width of a road.

I had raced along this stretch on a mountain bike before now, back when they used to run a stage race called Paris-Roubaix VTT. It was fearsomely hard then but it goes no way toward preparing you for the sheer brutality of riding it on a road bike.

Once you recover yourself from the shock of the pounding that your arms are getting, you try and experiment with hand positions on the bars.

Under no circumstances should you try and ride on the hoods – my bars instantly rotated in the stem.

Everyone says that the secret is to power a larger gear and go as fast as you can as this smoothes out the cobbles. This is much easier said, than done.

John
In 2006 I rode the cyclo sportif version of the race and my World had already been 'turned upside down' the moment I hit the cobbles at Troisvilles. Nonetheless it was a magical moment as I spotted the Arenberg mine to my left and then swung right into the forest.

I rode down the centre as 2004 winner Magnus Backstedt had advised me, but I soon was on the rough stuff to the left of the cobbles, it may have been bad there on the mud, but it was not as crazy as being on those cobbles. The option of riding on the smooth shale path to the right was not on as dry weather had made it almost impossible to keep in a straight line.

I did feel bad about not riding on the cobbles, but I still had 14 sections of 'pave' to cover and like the pro riders I was keen to take any opportunity to lessen the pain. Therefore it was great to be able to ride the length of the cobbles this time and really take a close look at them.

The Pinnacle Aoes I rode handled it very well, the tyres at 25c were too small and I could feel the rims touching the stones, otherwise a set of 28c tyres, another roll of tape on the bars and better gloves would have made things so much easier. It is the impact through the hands that gets to you the most. If you can adapt to that, then the cobbles are merely scary and not evil!