Nothing is set in stone in Paris-Roubaix, except the road beneath the riders. Since it was first held in 1896, the Hell of the North has become known as chaotic and unpredictable. There are no knowns - to paraphrase Donald Rumsfeld - in this beast of a race, apart from perhaps one; the early breakaway will not make it. But, one day, it did.
On April 10, 1988, 13 plucky escapees pushed on down the road in the expectation that their time in the limelight would end well before the final cobblestone sector. Little did they know that one of them would have the famed winner’s cobblestone trophy in their hands at the end of the day. To this day, the 222km-long attack remains the longest successful break at Paris-Roubaix.
Dirk Demol was that lucky guy, who made his own luck by going on the attack. The Belgian, who grew up in Kuurne only 40 kilometres away from Roubaix, had to fight for his place in the ADR team for the race but some good fortune and a plea to his team boss Jose De Cauwer got him to the start line.
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“It was maybe written down in the book of life,” Demol tells Cyclingnews as he recalls the story of the biggest day of his career sitting in the Trek-Segafredo hotel, just outside of Bruges, where the WorldTour team are staying for their cobbled Classics campaign.
Demol, then in his seventh season of a 14-year career, was one of around 18 riders fighting for a place in the Belgian team’s Classics squad. With Eddy Planckaert, Alfons De Wolf, Frank Hoste and Rene Martins certain for places, it left just four available for the rest. The season had begun well for Demol, but a bout of bronchitis meant that he was replaced in the Milan-San Remo line-up. His replacement did so well at La Primavera that Demol found himself sidelined for the Tour of Flanders, which would be won by his team leader Planckaert, just a few weeks later. He was determined to make the cut for Paris-Roubaix.
While some, such as Bernard Hinault, loathed the race, for Demol “Roubaix was something magical”. He still remembers fondly the day that he received a letter from the federation to say that he had been chosen for the 1980 amateur Paris-Roubaix. He would finish second in that race, behind future Tour de France winner Stephen Roche, in a day that would play out in a remarkably similar fashion to the 1988 race.
A sunny morning in Compiegne
A visit from a champion
— Casquetteurs (@casquetteurs) December 2, 2017
Holding on for glory
— kris mahieu (@krismahieu) April 5, 2018
Hoping Trek-Segafredo can take on Quick-Step Floors on Sunday
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/1988-paris-roubaix-the-day-the-breakaway-won
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