Last Sunday was, of course, Paris-Roubaix, the Hell of the North. Like every edition before it, the 2013 race was full of drama, brutality, and the unexpected. The Arenberg forest is probably the most recognizable stretch of cobbles of the course. While it appears early in the race and won't usually determine the winner, it will still do some serious damage to the peloton. It's an old road. Its famous cobbles were laid when Napoleon I was tromping around the area. It was laid to service the mines lying below the surface of the forest. The 1962 world champion, Jean Stablinski, who used to work in those mines, suggested the 2.4km stretch when the race organizers were looking for more challenging roads to spruce up the race course. It's been a feature of Paris-Roubaix ever since it was added in 1968. Over time it became the iconic image of the race. A memorial to Stablinski stands at the southern end.
It's an interesting place, like no other road. Anywhere. I'm still at a loss on how to describe it in words.
So, instead I'll leave you with this, the only way I could really wrap my brain around it.
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