Paris-Roubaix

Paris-Roubaix features roughly 50 kilometers of rough cobblestone sectors across the route, organized into numbered sections rated from one to five stars by difficulty. The most notorious sectors include the Trouée d'Arenberg (Arenberg Forest) and the Carrefour de l'Arbre, both rated five stars.

The nickname "L'Enfer du Nord" originally referred to the devastation of the route through northern France after World War I, when the race resumed in 1919. The term has since come to also describe the brutal difficulty of the cobbles, dust, and unpredictable spring weather.

Roger De Vlaeminck of Belgium and Tom Boonen of Belgium each share the record of four Paris-Roubaix victories. De Vlaeminck won his four between 1972 and 1977, while Boonen's victories came between 2005 and 2012.

Since the late 1960s, the race has actually started from Compiègne, approximately 80 kilometers northeast of Paris, rather than from the city itself. The event finishes in the outdoor velodrome in Roubaix, where riders complete one and a half laps of the track.