Paris-Roubaix

Tom Boonen won Paris-Roubaix today for the third time. I was in Roubaix, too! Here he is as he leaves the velodrome:


I couldn't believe my luck. He came out right in front of me.

It was raining in Paris this morning:

but a little rain doesn't bother these guys, who spent the day going over cobblestones such as this one at the entrance to the velodrome:

Or, actually, like this:

a photo that I took at the start line in Compiègne the day before the race. Even at the start line, the cobbles are incredibly uneven and big, and they get worse after this. (Compiègne from Paris, btw, is a gorgeous route through the countryside and forest. Route).

Before the racers come through, the parade of vans and floats throwing free stuff out comes by:


Then comes 259 km of race, including 53 km of cobblestones.
The race ended at the velodrome in Roubaix:


Entrance of the fancy Roubaix velodrome:
Truckloads of beat-up bikes coming back, lots of which seemed to belong to the Garmin-Chipotle team:


Also some equally beat-up riders:




Here's an actual race report. Here's a video of the last few kilometers: