Categories: Racing

How To Watch Paris-Roubaix

In order of preference:

  1. Hang out with William and Alex of Pavé Cycling Classics. You will see the race at three different locations, all the while portaging coolers of Malteni beer and baguette sandwiches. The final location will be Carrefour de L’Arbre where the shit will hit the fan and the final can be watched on a giant screen. Life cannot get better.
  2. A bar in Northern France hopefully along the route so you will have reason to briefly stand outside and watch the race go by before going back in to drink even more beer. I’ve never done this but it sounds like a lot of fun. I’ve heard bars will provide ample amounts of beer and wine and every bar has a fryer for the frites and an endless supply of mayonnaise. Picking the favorite French rider will be the only problem.
  3. Live in Europe so you can watch all six hours from the comfort of your eco-home and make a Sunday of it. Your cycling friends can come over in the afternoon for the cobbles and drinking. Making frites at home, probably a bad idea: house fires, second degree burns, smoke alarms and too much distraction from race watching.
  4. Live in Britain where you can go to some ancient dark pub where you can watch the race on TV and no one will question your need to start lifting pints well before lunch because it’s Sunday and you are in Britain.
  5. If you live ≥ 6 hours from Europe all bets are off, at least in the USA. It won’t be live. The coverage might just be the last hour or it might be pre-empted by golf, always golf. One can’t open up a computer, phone or talk to another human or even a dog. A dog could sense Tommeke not making the final break and communicate that by puking up dog’s morning feed partly on a rug and partly on the hardwood floor. It’s a minefield, FFS.
  6. If you live across the dateline, it’s already Monday or Tuesday, the race is over and you are at work. You are on your own, mate.

For unknowable reasons, three hours of Paris-Roubaix TV coverage in Hawaii starts at 9:00 AM on Sunday on NBC-SN channel. This is highly unusual and highly great. I’m unsure how to proceed. It’s too early for Chimay or frites, everyone else is out for the Sunday ride or surfing. It might just be Gianni, dog and espresso machine and that’s not bad, unless there is puking.

Gianni

Gianni has left the building.

View Comments

  • As @barracuda mentioned, SBS has really come to the party here in Oz. Streamed online from 6pm, live on telly from 8pm...safe to say the kidlets were encouraged to have an early bedtime this evening!

    There's a cobble shaped lump of pate & a bottle of this to come later this evening.

  • Chromecast on the big screen from the Eurosport feed. Steephill is a great site, but never click the ads.

  • @Teocalli

    For next year?

    Those things are stupid fun. Local shop and brewery have a beer and bike Olympics every year, last event is always racing one of those. Time trial on a course through some back roads.

  • Sagan's bike handling is second to none. Jump over Fabo's bike was the first highlight of this race. What a pity the Sagan's group seems to be too weak to catch Vanmarcke. :(

    Let's see...

  • Monster effort from Vanmarcke - awesome if he stays away.

    Boonen played the Martin card very well but he looks over geared.

    A couple of times he's lost contact coming out of tight corners and seemed to be grinding to pick up speed.

  • VanMarcke makes a bid! The slow mo of him jumping his moshine through the corner made me choke on my brunch wine. Yes, brunch during Roubaix is a wonderful thing.

  • I did not see that coming. Heyman doesn't know where he is. Completely shelled. What a finish.

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