Paris-Roubaix minus the Arenberg?

Sonny73

This would be a real shame: http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/10965/Forest-of-Arenberg-in-danger-of-being-left-out-of-Paris-Roubaix.aspx

The most famous stretch of cobbles in Paris-Roubaix is in danger of being dropped from the 2012 edition of the race, with poor conditions making it a greater risk than usual to the riders.

greasedscotsman

That article is quite plainly wrong. Van Summeren won in 2011, not 2010...

Garmin’s-Barracuda’s Johan Vansummeren triumphed in 2010, pulling off a surprise victory from a early break. Pre-race favourites Fabian Cancellara and Thor Hushovd missed the move, but will both target the race in April.

rick_chasey

This rumour comes up every year.

I remember starting a similar thread a year ago.

Tom Butcher

Hopefully it is just a rumour - some of the sections are extreme but that is what makes it Paris-Roubaix - make the race safer or easier and it loses some of the magic.

greasedscotsman

Tom Butcher wrote:

Hopefully it is just a rumour - some of the sections are extreme but that is what makes it Paris-Roubaix - make the race safer or easier and it loses some of the magic.

Hope it is included, but I don't think it's that essential. It's far too early in the race, the sections around the Carrefour de L'Arbre are far more important where there's something like 8km of pave in 13km and it's only 14km from the finish. And there are other sections that could be substituted in for Arenberg, plenty of pave around Wallers that they didn't use last year.

Arenberg isn't somewhere you can win the race, it's somewhere you can lose it. But to be fair, you can lose it with a crash, a puncture or being badly placed anywhere along the route.

blim

Hope it is included, but I don't think it's that essential. It's far too early in the race,

Totally agree. It's part of the spectacle, but other than shelling out weaker riders, its rare for a decisive move to result. Boonen's chances died there last year, but with the kind of day he was having he could've been towed by a motorbike to the velodrome and he'd still have fallen off before the end.

rick_chasey

blim wrote:

Hope it is included, but I don't think it's that essential. It's far too early in the race,

Totally agree. It's part of the spectacle, but other than shelling out weaker riders, its rare for a decisive move to result. Boonen's chances died there last year, but with the kind of day he was having he could've been towed by a motorbike to the velodrome and he'd still have fallen off before the end.

T'was his bike for a change then.

The Arenberg sets up the final 100km nicely.

Sorts out the teams that are strong and the teams that aren't. It's rare that the race properly comes back together after the Arenberg.

I say it'd be a shame. You need something to shake it up.

RichN95.

Rick Chasey wrote:

I say it'd be a shame. You need something to shake it up.

But remember that Arenberg has only been absent once in nearly 30 years - in 2005. And who won that year?

rick_chasey

RichN95 wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

I say it'd be a shame. You need something to shake it up.

But remember that Arenberg has only been absent once in nearly 30 years - in 2005. And who won that year?

Indeed.

He's won it twice with it in too .

If it was missing and it was raining, we'd be sad.

It gives the race shape for the spectators. You can more or less not watch anything and keep an eye on any early crashes, but when they run into Arenberg you know it's on.

It's also a good place for viewers to see how everyone is doing. More often than not those strong on the Arenberg are in the hunt at the sharp end.

It's not a disaster if it's missing, but I'd sure miss it.

blazing_saddles

Maybe Surrey has the answer? :P

shinyhelmut

Blazing Saddles wrote:

Maybe Surrey has the answer? :P

Well Surrey certainly has the road surfaces to rival the Arenberg.

avoidingmyphd

It looks like posturing from ASO to me, to get the local authorities to clean the pave. Maybe I'm being naively optimistic though.

jgsi

Is it because they keep lifting up cobbles for the winner trophy?

greasedscotsman

Just noticed this on the Roubaix website, haven't see it anywhere else?

After a period of uncertainty regarding the possibility to preserve the Arenberg Trench on the course of the 2012 edition of Paris-Roubaix, organisers confirmed that the last doubts had been cleared. Sufficient guarantees were given that the cobbled sector could be prepared in the best conditions of safety for the riders.

During checks a few weeks earlier, the deterioration of the Trench had raised questions over its withdrawal from the route because mud was covering the cobbles. After a meeting with officials from the Nord General Council, Jean-Francois Pescheux was reassured that the Trench could be open to the peloton on April 8.
"The cleaning work will be underway asap," race director Pescheux told AFP. As a result, the itinerary will be identical to the 2011 edition and the Arenberg Trench will play its usual part. It is often on that 2.4-km-long sector that the battle starts on Paris-Roubaix.

http://www.letour.fr/2011/PRX/COURSE/us ... zone185817

Time to start planning where to watch the race this year!

ddraver

jgsi wrote:

Is it because they keep lifting up cobbles for the winner trophy?

Apparently, it's a big problem with a lot of the sections, because Cycling super fans take them up as a souvenier!