The Thursday before Paris-Roubaix is officially day one of the pavé reconnaissance, with numerous teams out riding on the cobbles to test their equipment, make decisions on tyre choice and pressure, and mentally prepare for Sunday’s big race.
Some teams did winter rides on the cobbles, and the likes of Team Sky and Orica-GreenEdge were in northern France on Tuesday and Wednesday, but on Thursday the side roads at the end of the Carrefour de l’Arbre sector (number 4 on the countdown list of 27) were backed with team buses and cycling fans all waiting for the riders to emerge from the pavé. The Hell of the North is just 36 hours away.
Cyclingnews saw BMC, Cofidis, Katusha, Wanty-Groupe Gobert, Cannondale, Astana, Trek-Segafredo, LottoNL-Jumbo and Dimension Data out on the pavé. World champion Peter Sagan and his Tinkoff teammates are due to make their final reconnaissance on Friday morning, with Etixx-QuickStep covering the same roads just an hour or so later.
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Most of the teams study the final 100km of the Paris-Roubaix route, started their rides in a supermarket car park outside of Denain, to ensure they see the conditions on the long and often important Trouée d'Arenberg, which often shakes up the races and causes the first selections in the peloton.
Cutting left and right across the barren countryside of Northern France, the riders covered the remaining 17 sectors from the saddle, learning to select the best line –either on the central crown of the cobbles or along the narrow slip of dirt between the pavé and the grass on either side. They also studied the wind direction, which can dramatically help or hinder any attacks, all as they tested their bikes and tyres.
The Katusha team and leader Alexander Kristoff stopped several times during his ride to adjust his tyre pressure. As a result his Russian teammate Viacheslav Kuznetsov was first to the team’s big red bus, perhaps indicating he could again be a contender after going on the attack early and securing third place at Gent-Wevelgem. Kristoff was next in, looking in pain as he reached the bus but happy with how he was feeling as the big day approached.
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