Paris-Roubaix (World Tour)

Les Woodland's book Paris-Roubaix: The Inside Story - All the bumps of cycling's cobbled classic is available as an audiobook here. For the print and Kindle eBook versions, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

The race:

Paris-Roubaix is one of the most prestigious races (and one of the oldest) on the cycling calender. The course's 28+ cobblestone sectors makes a race of staggering difficulty. Winning Paris-Roubaix makes the career of any racer.

It is often called the "Hell of the North" (l'enfer du nord), a nickname given by journalists following the 1919 edition. They were struck by the devastation the First World War had wrought upon the countryside of northern France and southern Belgium and the name has stuck.

Until 1967 the race began in Paris, but since then the start has been in Compiègne, northeast of Paris.

With 4 victories each, Roger De Vlaeminck (1972, 1974, 1975, 1977) and Tom Boonen (2005, 2008, 2009, 2012) have won Paris-Roubaix most often.

We have complete results for every edition of Paris-Roubaix. Just click on any year.

Book Excerpt: Les Woodland's Paris Roubaix: The Inside Story. Chapter 11, Eddy Merckx and Roger de Vlaeminck arrive.

Video: historian Les Woodland discusses Paris Roubaix | Les Woodland's Paris-Roubaix photos

Video: One of the finest cycling movies ever made, A Sunday in Hell, can be seen on YouTube. You should watch it, really. Just click on this link.