Paris-Roubaix Femmes Omits Trouée d'Arenberg For a Third Year. Here's What That Means.
The Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), organizers of the Paris-Roubaix Femmes will not include the infamous five-star Trouée d'Arenberg in the highly anticipated third edition of the tour this weekend, citing safety concerns and increased risks for accidents. The 2.3 km long cobbled path, also called Drève des Boules d'Hérin, features some of the roughest cobblestones on any professional cycling route.
How does this affect the race?
With the Paris-Roubaix Femmes starting in Denain on April 8, ASO organizer Franck Perque stated that, “although Denain, the start town, is close to the Trouée d'Arenberg, it wouldn't have been feasible to start the race by going straight into this cobbled section. The distance between the start and a potential passage through the forest is too small. If you come here with a full peloton, it is too dangerous.”
Eliminating the Arenberg Forest to promote safety will increase the course from 124.7 km to 145.4 km, of which 29.2 km will be cobbles from hell.
What's the deal with the cobbles anyway?
Each cobble sector is rated on a scale from one to five stars. Rating difficulty is based on the length, unevenness of the cobbles, overall condition of the sectors and location. As racers embark on the exceptional terrain, they'll put their gears through the paces early on.
The women will encounter the four-star 3,700-meter Hornaing to Wandignies pavé sector 63 km into the course. Throughout the race, they will encounter three additional four-star sectors and the five-star sectors of Carrefour de l'Arbre and Mons-en-Pévèle. In total, the course features 17 cobble sectors, with the last, the Roubaix, aptly placed 1.4 km before the finish.
This year's course is a repeat of 2021 and 2022 when the Hell of the North excluded Trouée d'Arenberg from the women's race but not men's.
Will the Paris-Roubaix Femmes ever get the Trouée d'Arenberg?
In 2021, Perque explained that “in the men's race, for instance, by the time they reach Arenberg, they will have done 10 sections and little groups will have formed, so that allows the race to be stretched out a little.”
The ASO course director Thierry Gouvenou admitted that including Trouée d'Arenberg in the women's course presents a challenge. “It is the most difficult strip you can have. If you put it at the very beginning of the race, you run the risk that things will be completely destroyed early on. The tension will then be gone too quickly,” said Gouvenou to Sporza earlier this week.
However, he does not rule out including the dreaded sector in the future. “But I do not rule out that we will pass through the Arenberg Forest in the future. It is only the 3rd edition for the women, while we are already at 120 editions for the men. Women's cycling is undergoing an evolution, but we must not rush and skip steps.”
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