The first time I rode the iconic cobbles of Paris-Roubaix, the legendary pro race in northern France, was in 2016. It was a biennial event organised by Vélo Club de Roubaix Cyclotourisme and was 210km that mimicked, in a slightly shorter distance, the route that the men’s peloton tackled at the pro race each April. I’d turned up to France with an aluminium Specialized Allez and managed to squeeze on 27mm tyres. A few days before the event, I rode
