ARNOLD DEVLIN'S TOUR OF BELGIUM

Paris-Roubais

Our trip to Belgium was winding down. Friday and Saturday we were tourists visiting Bob's relatives and taking in the sights. We also went to the Groeninge Museum and viewed the Jan van Eyck and Flemish Primitives Exhibition. We took our last run through the polder countryside visiting Oudenberg, Jabbeke, Snellegem and Zedelgem. We went by a small farm in Snellegem and dreamed about setting up house here where we could live part of the year after we retired.

Saturday we went to the Brugge Market and took our last tour through the forest close to Brugge. It was windy and cool. Back home we packed the bikes in the bicycle boxes and loaded them in the vehicle.

During this trip I have been picking up Belgium local and national newspapers struggling to comprehend the many stories on professional and amateur cycling. Het Laatsts Nieuws, Het Nieuwsblad, Het Volk and De Standard all covered cycling with lead articles and photos on the front page and in-depth stories on the sports page. Even though European futbol season was winding down, cycling news still was prominent.

The prognosticators suggested that this was going to be a struggle between Hincapie, Tafi, Museeuw and Van Petegem. The weather report predicted intermittent rain showers.

Sunday morning we left Brugge at 9am and drove in the rain 1-˝ hours south to Roubaix, France. We picked up a few of the local French newspapers that had specials on this the 100th edition of the Paris-Roubaix. We asked for directions from a local policeman and he stated to follow rue de Lannoy to the velodrome. He gave directions as if we should already know the where rue de Lannoy was.

We found the Roubaix Velodrome and walked across its outdoor wooden surface. The corners are banked and the media people were already there setting up the TV cameras. A large screen was showing footage of previous editions of Paris-Roubaix. There was a small café near the track and we had a strong coffee. The café had memorabilia from previous Paris-Roubaix races such as wooden wheels and cycling jerseys. The names of all the winners were painted on the wall. Outside by the track there was a large pave sculpture emblematic of "La Course Cycliste Paris Roubaix" unveiled on the occasion of the 100th edition of the event, 14 Avril 2002. Cool! The French Poste service was issuing today a special stamp commemorating the 100th edition of Paris-Roubaix; I hoped to get several stamps.

The Paris-Roubaix race is a long 261kms with 47kms of cobbles or pave. This race is known as the "Queen of the Classics" by some and called the "Hell of the North" by others. The centuries old cobblestones are different in Northern France than in Belgium; they are uneven and poorly maintained. The cobbled sections travel through farmer's fields and forests and become muddy, slimy and slippery when it rains.

This is a bike race very different from the other professional races. The usual team tactics only work to a minimum primarily only at the beginning of the race before the cobble sections. In Paris-Roubaix after 97km the first sections of pave occur then it becomes an individual's race with the focus on the elements, the road surface and personal suffering.

From Roubaix, Bob and I drove south to the village of Cysoing. Here in the middle of farmland was a café and several sections of pave. At this time of the morning cars were parked on both sides of the road and a mountain biking event was taking place. Although the professional cyclists would not be here for five hours, there was already a crowd building and many fans were waving the Belgian Flanders flag, a black lion on a yellow background. The mountain bikers were cold, wet and covered with mud. They looked exhausted and my thoughts were with them as they continued on to Roubaix 25kms away.

Back in the vehicle we continued our journey south. We had decided that we would see the race in the Foret d'Arenberg. This is a 2400 metres section of cobbles that is renown for its brutal conditions. Paris-Roubaix historians have noted that many a race has been won here. The narrow, cobblestone pathway is like a trench and it is near impossible to overtake someone during this stretch. Many crashes have occurred here and tyre flats are common. The support vehicles stay close to the riders as a flat could put a rider out of contention very quickly.

We parked our vehicle at the northern end of the Arenberg Forest run and joined the busloads of people who were walking down the cobbled path. The French National Police were out in force perhaps anticipating crowd control problems. As well, barriers lined only one side of the path, as the police were not allowing fans on the other side. We walked nearly two kilometres and stopped near a crane operated TV camera mounted on a platform.

The crowd was boisterous with singing and cheering. We met people that were at the Cysoing crossing nearly two hours ago. Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwin toting press passes walked by (Those of you who watch the Tour de France on OLN/ABC have appreciated the informed commentary of Phil and Paul).

We finally settled on a place to watch and got the cameras ready. We listened to the French radio broadcast of the race as they leaders came closer.

There are 26 sections of cobbles in Paris-Roubaix. The Foret d'Arenberg is the 15th section. The rain stopped and the sun tried to come out. The wind was a headwind for the cyclist and strong, 15-30km/hr. The temperature was a cold 5degC. We waited, had a beer, sausage & baguette.

The cyclists were getting closer as the police motorcycles, and official lead vehicles started to roar by. The crowd was excited with anticipation and leaned over the barriers trying to see the riders. The first rider was coming; Nico Mattan (Bel) (Cofidis) came by with the Director General car directly behind him. Mattan rode almost upright down the centre of the cobbles. The radio announcers signalled that there was an attack. Two Domo-Farm Frites riders, Enrico Cassini and Max Van Heeswijk had attacked. The cyclist roared by us with support vehicles close behind. Their faces and clothes were covered with mud and it was hard to recognize them or what team they were from. The attack group went quickly to the front. Three minutes behind the leaders was the favourites Johan Museeuw (Bel) (Domo-Farm Frites) and George Hincapie (Usa) (US Postal Service). Bob noticed that Museeuw had been pushing big gears as he flew by us.

Riders continued to go by and we clapped and cheered their heroics. The look on their faces was pain. Some were bloodied from crashes; all wore the mud-splattered mantle on their faces, clothes and bikes. The tail end of the peloton started to go by, riders' upright and going at 25km/hr pace, careful not to crash.

We started to walk back to our vehicle and continued to cheer the riders as they went by. Then one of the most heart wrenching sights occurred. What came by next was a large van, the "voiture Balai" or broom wagon. This is a vehicle that trails the race to pick up riders who have abandoned the race or failed to reach the checkpoints by a certain time. Behind the van was a trailer filled with the riders' bicycles. On the back of the trailer was a sign "Fin de Course". The bikes banged back and forth as the trailer bounced over the cobbles. I couldn't look at the faces of the riders in the van, tears filled my eyes as I sensed their lost hope.

Back on the road we got on to the A23 autoroute and drove north towards Roubaix. Our plan was to go east on a secondary road to avoid possible road closures and detour because of the race and then head back to Cysoing. We got off at Orchies and quickly got stuck in a traffic jam. Bob pulled on to the median and we got out to see the race.

Orchies is at the 200km mark with only 60km left. The pace was a lot quicker on a main road. There were two groups at the front. The Domo-Farm Fries riders Cassini and Van Heeswijk controlled the first. The second included Museeuw, Hincapie and several other riders. We watched from the roadway and then the embankment as the riders went by. Then, back in the van and a change of plans. We were off to Roubaix.

We got back on the A23 autoroute and drove towards Lille/Roubaix. It started to rain and we could imagine the "hell" that they riders were experiencing. We got off the autoroute and headed toward Roubaix. Coming up to a rotary we found that the police had blocked the road. We were in trouble. We drove into Roubaix using side roads and began the search for rue de Lannoy. Amazingly, luck was with us and we found the racecourse close to the finish. We stopped in a nearby café and joined a large group of Belgian fans that were crowded around a TV set.

Johan Museeuw (Bel) Domo-Farm Frites had attacked with 40km to go and was now in the lead. The Belgian fans kept singing "Johan Museeuw, Johan Museeuw". The bartender and waitress were surprised at this enthusiasm. I could feel the goose bumps on my skin. Museeuw had the look of determination on his face as he attacked and powered his huge gear over the last eight sections of cobbles. Museeuw had 25 seconds on his nearest competitors George Hincapie (Usa) and Tom Boonen (Bel) both of US Postal Service.

With 19km to go George Hincapie lost control of his bike crashed and disappeared into a ditch his dream of victory gone. But Museeuw was too far ahead and on a mission. He was second in the Ronde van Vlaanderen a week ago and he was crushed by the loss. Today he was making no mistakes.

We could hear the crowd outside as the race approached our vantage point. We ran into the street and found a spot to see the racers go by. Then came the motor entourage of speeding motorcycles, race vehicles and the helicopter overhead. Museeuw was screaming going 50-60km/hr. He was a blur as he went by. Three minutes behind him was Steffan Wesemann (Ger) (Team Telekom) and Tom Boonen.

Johan Museeuw 35 years old, won the 100th edition of the Paris-Roubaix, a race that started in 1896. He won in 6.39.08 with an average speed of 39.35 km/hr. In the end, of the 190 cyclists who started the race only 57 cyclists finished.

Johan Museeuw joins a select temple of cycling greats who have won three Paris-Roubaix races:
1. Octave Lapize (Fra) 1090, 1910, 1911
2. Gaston Rebry (Bel) 1931, 1934, 1935
3. Rik Van Looy (Bel) 1961, 1962, 1965
4. Eddy Merckx (Bel) 1968, 1970, 1973
5. Roger Vlaeminck (Bel) 1974, 1975, 1977
6. Francesco Moser (Ita) 1978, 1979, 1980
7. Johan Museeuw (Bel) 1996, 2000, 2002

We left Roubaix quickly and headed towards Paris, and the Charles de Gaulle Airport. Tomorrow Bob was heading to Morocco on business for a week and I was travelling back to Montreal and Northwestern Ontario.