Theo de Rooy quote

frenchfighter

American reporter John Tesh caught up with Panasonic’s Theo de Rooy after the race and asked him about his day in the saddle. “It’s a bollocks, this race!” said de Rooy. “You’re working like an animal, you don’t have time to piss, you wet your pants. You’re riding in mud like this, you’re slipping … it’s a pile of shit.” By the way, after laughing and regaining his composure, Tesh had the good sense to ask a follow-up. “Will you ever ride it again?” he asked the mud-covered Dutchman. “Sure, it’s the most beautiful race in the world!” said de Rooy without a second’s hesitation.

KLOSTERGAARD LARSEN:
http://www.velo-art.org/2010/04/heading-home.html

RichN95.

You should have added that he was talking about Paris-Roubiax. It certainly sums it up.

I also like Boardman's quote about why he never did it: "It's a circus, and I don't want to be one of the clowns"

csp

There is an excellent article on Wikipedia about Paris-Roubaix

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris%E2%80%93Roubaix

In 1981 Bernard Hinault said after winning the race:

“ Paris-Roubaix est une connerie[50] - "Paris–Roubaix is bullshit" or "Paris–Roubaix is plain stupid".[60] ”

The only other time he rode it was the following year as the defending champion. When he was criticised, he said: "I don't go into offices and tell people to work harder, yet people ask me to be the strongest on the cobbles."[41] Hinault fell seven times in that race, including 13 km from the finish when a small black dog called Gruson ran out in a bend and ran under his wheel. Hinault had been clear with Roger De Vlaeminck, Hennie Kuiper and Dirk de Meyer. The incident made Hinault angry and he raced back to the others and won in Roubaix.

He was not the first star to refuse. Jacques Anquetil called it a lottery after puncturing 13 km from the end in 1958 and never took it seriously again.[50]

In 2002 only two of the top 20 riders in the UCI table - Jens Voigt and Erik Zabel - were on the line. The following year only Zabel was there. In 2004 he had stayed at home as well. Philippe Brunel wrote in L'Équipe:

We won't go as far as say that the five-time winner of the Tour [Hinault] - who every year gives the winner his celebration cobble stone on behalf of the organisers - has contributed to the dilution [paupérisation] of the queen of classics, which would offend him, but his words have contributed to the snub, or the indifference, of those who stay away. The fact isn't new but the phenomenon is getting worse and is concerning. The peloton of stayaways has grown to the point where Paris–Roubaix is now only for a tight group of specialists... especially the Belgians, capable of maintaining high speed on the cobbles.[50]

Rodrego Hernandez

HInault rode it in 78, '79, '80, won in '81 and rode again in '82

Details thanks to Harmon from a facebook comment.