Ross Litherland explains his love for the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix, road cycling’s most brutal surface
GUEST COLUMN
The first time I rode the iconic cobbles of Paris-Roubaix, the legendary pro race in northern France, was in 2016. It was a biennial event organised by Vélo Club de Roubaix Cyclotourisme and was 210km that mimicked, in a slightly shorter distance, the route that the men’s peloton tackled at the pro race each April. I’d turned up to France with an aluminium Specialized Allez and managed to squeeze on 27mm tyres. A few days before the event, I rode the famous Forest of Arenberg sector: the roughest part of the course with the most jagged, rutted and slippery cobbles, to familiarise myself with them. It was a baptism of fire and I still can’t quite believe how I didn’t crash.
Over time, however, I developed confidence for cobbles and it’s become an addiction to keep going back. I rode them in 2017, 2018 and 2019 as part of a different event, the Paris Roubaix Challenge (6 April in 2024), and returned once more after the pandemic in 2023. I realised last year how much I’d missed the infectious atmosphere of it; it’s so different to any other event. Each edition is slightly different, with some tinkering of the route to include different sectors, but the premise remains the same: flat, narrow roads mixing smooth tarmac with bone-rattling cobbles.
In my first year, I tried to ride the whole thing at a consistent pace, but that meant that I was trying to hit the sectors of cobbles with the same power as I was putting out on the road. I completely cracked on the Carrefour de l’Arbre, the final of the three toughest sectors. You turn the last corner, there’s usually a headwind and you’re on a straight, long, narrow road that can feel like it lasts forever.
After that, I learned the key was to save energy for the cobbles. Unless you want to go out and chase a fast time, I recommend knocking off your effort on the road and accelerating into sectors, holding that power for as long as the cobbles last. The faster you travel, the easier they are – it’s about you bossing the cobbles, rather than them bossing you. You can see the tired riders, they start hanging over the bars and aren’t putting any power down before hitting them. You’re in for a miserable time then. Rather than floating over the cobbles, you just smash hard into them and it’s going to hurt. I’m also a big believer in riding the crown of the road, down the centre, as much as possible. Tired riders will ta
