Watching In Loco – Paris Roubaix – 2018

About Paris Roubaix:

Paris-Roubaix is a road cycling event that takes place in just one day in northern France, near the border with Belgium. From its beginning in 1896 until 1967 it had its start in Paris and its arrival in Roubaix, from there the origin of its name. From 1968 the starting city was changed to Compiègne, approximately 60 km from the center of Paris, being kept the city of arrival. Famous for the difficult terrain and its parallelepiped sections, it is part of the so-called classic European calendar races and distributes points for the UCI world ranking. She is known as Northern Hell, A Sunday in Hell, Queen of the Classics or La Pascale.

The event would have the participation of 25 Teams with 7 athletes each team, a total of 175 professionals in a single goal, consecrate their captain the greatest winner of the most difficult event in the world. With absolute certainty the elite of the world-wide cycling was there and to obtain the highest place of the podium.

The total distance of the test would be of 257km, being of that total 54,5km are divided in 29 sectors of pavés or in Portuguese parallelepipeds. It is undoubtedly the most brutal event in the world of cycling. Whoever has won Roubaix is always remembering forever, I say eternally because for the Europeans, especially for the Belgians where cycling is a very traditional sport like, even more than Football.

Starting time was set at 11:00 AM local time. It was expected to finish the test at approximately 17:30 hrs, or more than 6 hours of testing.

We, after the amateurs event the day before, woke up at the hotel, after a beautiful night of beers and celebration, we packed our bags, checked out and went to the road watching the race in loco.

It was 11 in the morning when we left the hotel. We had a coffee in the traditional French bakeries and we went towards the sector N4 Carrefour d’Labre.

I was in doubt as to where the best place to watch would be, since the main and decisive attacks usually happen in the Carrefour sector, but there is the counterpart that it is always the fullest, just as the Arenberg Forest is.

There is a way to follow the race in 3 different points on the same day, I already read something about it, but it is very fast, in short, I will not enter this merit because I do not know how to do it.

The fact is, our decision was, to go to the Carrefour sector, see how it was in relation to the number of people and thus decide where we would expect the passage of the athletes. The second option of ours and what I would basically prefer was to go to Sector 5 at Camphin en Pavéle, a sector before Carrefour, I imagined that it would be emptier. My main objective was to see the professionals in person, what I had never followed except for the TV, attacks or characteristics of the test itself, would be in the background, but watching the peloton passing in front of you is priceless. So the more empty the better.

When we arrived at the Carrefour sector, we already felt the adrenaline and the movement of the people arriving to accompany, families, elderly, children, in great quantity with their hats, banks, newspapers, radios, flags of various nationalities, mainly of Flanders (Belgian region near Roubaix), among others.

It is also noticeable the number of tents mounted by the spectators since the morning of the day of the race, with the same ones doing European “churrasco”, with their smoked sausages and etc, TVs connected in the channel Eurosport and of course, beers, several beers to enjoy the day everything.

It is also important to note that there were countless Home Motors already stationed there several days before the race, they say that weeks have already begun to move to get a place to park their Home engine there. And of course, all at no cost at all. As the race happens on open roads, nothing is charged to follow the race.

As I had already predicted, the Carrefour sector was full, and it was still 14hrs, meaning it was going to get really fuller. We decided to go to the Sector de Camphin en Pavéle and see how it was.

After 10 minutes by car, we were already in the other sector, we arranged a place to park the car 500m from the beginning of the pavés, the ever increasing movement and the people coming.

Location chosen, and already in place to wait for the cyclists to pass, but still we would have a wait of approximately 2 hours there, good that already was well fed and of course, water can not miss! There you do not sell anything, that is, each one takes the items that it needs for itself.

Here I was able to sit on the road some plantations, there was shade there, since the day was sunny, and although it was spring, it was warm.

It’s great to be there waiting, and seeing the people, families and etc, arriving to watch the race.

At that moment, we heard an unusual movement, the proof was already happening since 11 o’clock in the morning, and the staff watching on TV and also with cell phones. This move was a kind of celebration and an uproar, because it was the moment when Peter Sagan attacked solo in relation to the platoon that were the main favorites to win the event. It was a solo attack in search of the Swiss who was leading the race.

From the uprising of the Sagan attack, the tension increased in the sector where we were, we were already listening and we could see on the horizon the helicopters of the organization and of filming.

It was there that the first cars of the caravan began to pass, it is called a caravan because initially cars of sponsors pass, playing on the road souvenirs among other gifts.

I even picked up a newspaper, which was in French which did not help, because I did not understand a word! haha

After the caravan began, the first team cars began to pass, usually they launch cars ahead, so that if any athlete needs some support the car is already well located.

One could notice how complex it is to walk on the pavements, since the cars at all times touched the ground below, on the stones of the road due to the unevenness that the road has.

Soon after the countless cars between caravan and teams passed, came the bikes of the organization and finally, amid the chaos between noises of helicopters and the crowd shouting in all possible languages ​​came the leaders of the race.

At that moment the Sagan had searched for the Swiss and they were backing up almost 30 seconds ahead of the second peloton.

I have no words to describe how this moment is, some of his idols passing in front of him in the world’s largest and most famous classic is Surreal.

I did not have a reaction, I did not film, I did not even try to take pictures, I only saw in less than 2 seconds the 2 of them pass in front of me at more than 40km / h. Sagan with whom I and most of those who like cycling have the greatest admiration, was in the wheel of the Swiss.

I could only see how much the 2 of them were dirty from dirt, due to the dust accumulated along the sweat along the almost 250km of proof, and that he is slimmer than it looks on TV!

And of course, this all to the screams and palms of: “Go Sagan, Go Sagan !!!”

The coolest thing of all is that I was still awarded, and I ended up appearing on TV, live on the Eurosport.

After about 30 seconds, they passed the chasing group, with which were present great names, like Gilbert, Degenkolb and Avermaet, all champions of that test.

At that moment I even managed to take a picture!

Due to the difficulty of the race, several groups are forming, it is not by chance that this is the most difficult event in the world, the% of abandonment is very high.

With this between the groups, there are support cars among the athletes, all using the same road.

We stayed there about 30 minutes, yes, 30 minutes only for a wait of about 2 and a half hours on the premises, imagine those who were waiting for it for weeks!

We began to notice that the spectators began to leave too, and on the walk to the car, there were always some athletes who were minutes behind the leaders, with the sole intention of completing the most difficult and feared test of the world-wide cycling.

I would stay longer, but I had to leave because it was 17hrs and I still had to move 300km, to follow the itinerary of my trip.

Of course before I took the car, I needed to know who the champion would be. And the crowd of all who were there, I needed to know and feel all this.

It was there that on the way to the car, in one of the private tents I mentioned earlier, had a TV connected with the live broadcast.

The sector I was in was about 20km from the end, when I got to the tent, it was only 3km to the end of the race. There was a gathering of people around this tent, all raising their heads and standing on tiptoe to try to watch the TV.

It was there that they entered the decision at Roubaix’s Old Velodrome, Sagan and Swiss arrived there alone, to dispute in a final sprint who would be the great champion of the Paris Roubaix 2018.

The crowd went into delirium, when in a fulminant sprint Sagan was consecrated the great champion, everyone in my back celebrated as if it were a world cup title, beers and the like being played to all sides.

Sagan is a very popular and charismatic athlete, besides being one of the best in the world, it is impossible to turn against. Even the French and Belgians who are there from the region surrender to the charisma and talent of the same.

And so it was, just after the little party, we took the car and went on our trip.

If they ask me if it was worth it, or if it pays to stay all afternoon in the sun, or if I would do it again, my answer is Yes! Thanks for every physical and financial effort we made and would do it all again! These are moments that only cycling can provide and I had the pleasure of participating in this moment in history.