24 remarkable photos that show the incredible history of Paris-Roubaix
24 remarkable photos that show the incredible history of Paris-Roubaix
Paris-Roubaix has a history spanning three centuries
Le cycliste français Bernard Hinault, champion du monde en 1980, mène sur les pavés du Nord, la fameuse course Paris-Roubaix le 12 avril 1981. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)
Paris-Roubaix has a history spanning three centuries, with the first race taking place in 1896. Closing the cobbled Classics season, and testing riders over the harsh cobblestones of northern France, the Hell of the North has established itself, for many fans, as cycling's greatest one-day race.
The Queen of the Classics never fails to produce drama and, along with the Tour of Flanders, is part of cycling's 'Holy Week'.
We've trawled the archives to find 24 historic images that tell the story of this remarkable race.
Paris-Roubaix – one of cycling's oldest races – was first run in 1896 and won by Josef Fischer. Maurice Garin went on to win the 1897 and, pictured here, 1898 editions. The Italian also won the first Tour de France in 1903. Getty ImagesFrom 1896 to 1967, the race started in Paris. This is the 1900 race, competed over 268km. In 1966, the start moved to Chantilly, and and since 1977 it has started in Compiègne, about 85km north-east of Paris. Getty ImagesRiders were required to fend for themselves. Here, Belgian rider Jules Masselis is pictured with a spare tyre wrapped around his shoulders ahead of the 1913 race. Getty ImagesRiders have sought to escape the cobbles since the start of Paris-Roubaix's long history; however, organisers didn't actively seek cobbles until after the Second World War. Before, it's simply how the roads were made. This image is from the 1934 race. Getty ImagesTwo riders go wheel-to-wheel at the finish of the 1936 race, when Paris-Roubaix finished on a horse racing track, as had been the case a year earlier. Getty ImagesThe race criss-crosses the rural roads of northern France. Paris-Roubaix was created by two Roubaix-based textile entrepreneurs, Théodore Vienne and Maurice Perez. Getty ImagesThe race has finished on the current Roubaix velodrome since 1943 (apart from 1986-88). Here's Rik Van Steenbergen winning the 1948 race, at an average speed of 43.99km/h over 246km. Getty ImagesFausto Coppi (right) poses with his brother, Serse Coppi (centre), after Serse had just won the 1949 Paris-Roubaix, in a victory shared as a tie with André Mahé. Fausto – a two-time Tour de France winner, five-time Giro d'Italia champion and one of cycling's greats – would win Paris-Roubaix a year later. Getty ImagesEddy Merckx and Roger De Vlaeminck battle it out in the 71st Paris-Roubaix in 1973. Merckx would claim his third and final victory that year. De Vlaeminck had won the year before and went on to win Roubaix another three times (1974, 1975, 1977). With Tom Boonen, he shares the record for the most Paris-Roubaix wins (four). Getty ImagesFrancesco Moser at the front of the race in 1980, his third of three wins. Getty ImagesBernard Hinault, wearing the world champion's jersey, navigates the treacherous cobbles on his way to winning the 1981 race. Getty ImagesClassics hardman Sean Kelly, winner in 1984 and 1986, battles through the mud in 1985. Rain-hit editions of Roubaix have been few and far between. Getty ImagesFrenchman Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle won the 1992 and 1993 races using a RockShox suspension fork. Here he is in the 1995 edition, also using a suspension-equipped bike. Getty ImagesIn 1996, Johan Museeuw won his first of three Hell of the Norths as part of an all-Maipei podium with Gianluca Bortolami and 1999 winner Andrea Tafi. Getty ImagesThe bone-jarring Trouée d'Arenberg (or Arenberg Trench) is the most iconic sector. It was first introduced in 1970, and has 2,400m of cobbles. Here, Johan Museeuw leads the 1996 race through Arenberg. Getty ImagesGeorge Hincapie uses the iconic Roubaix showers after the 1999 race. Hincapie started Paris-Roubaix 17 times between 1994 and 2012. Getty ImagesBelgian star Tom Boonen finished third on his Paris-Roubaix debut and won the race for the first time in 2005 (pictured). That completed a Flanders-Roubaix double for Boonen, and later that year he would win the UCI Road World Championships, too. Getty ImagesFabian Cancellara and Boonen's rivalry lit up the 2000s. Cancellara is pictured here kissing the cobblestone trophy after winning the race for the first time in 2006, with Boonen finishing second. Getty ImagesBoonen finished second after the three riders ahead of him were disqualified for riding through a closed level crossing. A second-place finish denied Boonen the honour of being the first rider to do the Flanders-Roubaix double two years in a row – a feat still not achieved. Getty ImagesCancellara won three editions of Paris-Roubaix: 2006, 2010 and, pictured here, 2013. Getty ImagesPeter Sagan doing Peter Sagan things, after winning the 2018 race. Getty ImagesEver wondered how much it means to win Paris-Roubaix? Wonder no more. Here's Sonny Colbrelli after winning the 2021 race, after a one-year hiatus due to Covid-19, and moved to October for that year. Mud and slick cobbles made for a dramatic, unpredictable race. Getty Images2021 also marked the first Paris-Roubaix Femmes, with Lizzie Deignan soloing to victory. Deignan attacked early – on the first cobbled sector – to win by more than a minute ahead of Marianne Vos. Getty ImagesLotte Kopecky triumphed in the 2024 women's edition, winning a five-way sprint in the velodrome, wearing the rainbow jersey. Getty Images
George Scott is BikeRadar's head of content, overseeing web, video and podcast content. He has been writing about bikes for more than a decade and riding them for much longer. George is a road cyclist at heart but caught the gravel bug in 2020 after buying his Mason Bokeh and now rides little else. As a cyclist, he’s happiest exploring new gravel trails around Bristol or riding in the mountains, even if he can't climb them quickly. George studied journalism and cut his teeth at Eurosport before joining RoadCyclingUK in 2010. He became editor of RCUK in 2014 and, after a spell as a freelance journalist writing for Cycling Plus, Rouleur, Cyclist and T3, joined BikeRadar in 2019.
