Cyclists practice on the Paris-Roubaix course in April 2010
A Rough Road
Of the seven secteurs of cobblestoned roads the riders will face on Stage 3, four are used in the legendary Paris-Roubaix. The organizer uses length and the quality of the surface to rank secteurs from one to five stars in terms of difficulty, five being the hardest. Here’s a look at the four crucial sections in this year’s Tour:
1: Sars-et-Rosieres
Length: 2.4km
Difficulty: 3 stars
Distance from end of secteur to finish: 27.5
Notes: The first of the Roubaix secteurs, Sars-et-Rosieres is not difficult by the standards of that race, but will be a rough introduction for Tour riders who’ve never ridden cobbles before. The most nerve-wracking aspect, however, will likely be the roughly 10km of racing leading up to the cobbles, as riders fight for position. It’s especially crucial here because the Sars-et-Rosieres secteur and the one after it are separated by just 500 meters of pavement. But for that brief respite, the riders are looking at almost five kilometers, or 3.1 miles, of cobbles.
2: Tilloy-lez-Marchiennes
Length: 2.5km
Difficulty: 3 stars
Distance from end of secteur to finish: 24.5km
Notes: This secteur is fairly well-maintained, but has three 90-degree corners to it. The braking and acceleration at the front of the pack in corners is amplified at the back (known as the accordion effect) and if a rider is not well-positioned in the front of the pack, could find himself far behind even if he stays upright.
3: Wandignies-Hamage
Length: 3.7km
Difficulty: 3 Stars
Distance from end of secteur to finish: 18km
Notes: Generally considered one of the better-maintained sections of cobbles, the primary difficulty here is simply its length – it’s longer than almost any other single secteur used in Paris-Roubaix and, for any rider who is tired or makes a mistake, the unrelenting length of it will make it very difficult to catch back up.
4: Haveluy
Length: 2.3km
Difficulty: 4 stars
Distance from end of secteur to finish: 10km
Notes: The most difficult secteur in the Tour stage, it’s also the last and could see lots of action. There’s a slight rise to its opening stretches, but the primary difficulty will be the variability of surface. The cobbles switch from fairly tight-packed and uniform to uneven spacing and height. That will break up riders’ rhythm and could produce gaps or crashes.
From last page of Bicycling Magazine: Stage 3 Cobbles Promise Chaos - An unorthodox stage could alter the fortunes of some overall contenders.