Micro-post #34: "The Hell of the North" (the Paris-Roubaix race)

Cycling is one of those sports up there with cricket and F1 that the rest of the world goes crazy for but is generally ignored by us Americans. Which is a shame, because it also has some of the wildest events I can think of - case in point: the Paris-Roubaix road race, where most of it is done over old-ass cobblestones.

Every ridden a bike over cobblestones? It fucking sucks. Now imagine that over 34 miles with the intention of winning first during the April rains in France.

"Thousands line the road in this annual rite of spring cheering their larger than life heroes. Urging, at times, even helping them victory. They ride in the tracks of bygone legends dreaming of distant fame and glory. But glory is not without a price. These bloodied and battered warriors struggle through the rain, the cold, the mud, on roads better suited to oxen cart than bicycles. But for the victor there is glory, immortality and a place in history amongst the giants of the road. Since 1896, the greatest bike racers on earth have come to test their very souls in this brutal and beautiful spectacle."

CBS Sports (1987)