Paris Roubaix 2026 complete course

Paris - Roubaix 2026: Course

SOURCE: Touretappe

Sunday, April 12 - The course of Paris-Roubaix has been almost the same for years. Why would the builders change anything? Spectacle is assured on the brutal route, which is 258.3 kilometers long this time, with 54.8 kilometers over cobblestones.

The riders clip into their pedals in Compiègne and pedal for nearly 100 kilometers through the fields of northern France. Then begins the cobblestone section with the first of thirty stretches. It is Troisvilles to Inchy, 2,200 meters long and worth 3 stars.

It hits hard right away with four sections within 15 kilometers. This is the same recipe as four years ago and since the organization hopes to ignite the action extra early, there is immediately another stretch after that. It runs 800 meters from Briastre to Solesmes and rises steeply as well. This sector was last used in 2017.

The juggling with the first stretches is not new, as the organization does this every year. It usually doesn't have an impact, as Paris-Roubaix only really starts to heat up in the lead-up to the Forest of Wallers - or, Trouée d’Arenberg. The 2,400-meter long and straight stretch downhill is infamous for crashes and flat tires. If you're just behind there, you'll have to go on a chase. Positioning is therefore essential when entering the Forest.

Upon leaving the Forest, there are still a rough 95 kilometers to go. Over that distance, the riders will handle eighteen stretches, so approximately every 6 kilometers, something happens. It's a relentless succession of obstacles, where mechanical failure can mean that you have to shelve your cobblestone dreams for another year.

As they approach Mons-en-Pévèle, the tension gauge hits deep red. Roughly 50 kilometers from the finish, the riders hit the beloved and simultaneously feared stretch. It is the combination of its length of 3,000 meters and the terrible condition of the cobblestones that guarantees spectacle.

Eleven stretches remain for the wheels after Mons-en-Pévèle. In the next 30 kilometers, the riders bounce over Mérignies to Avelin (700 meters), Pont-Thibault to Ennevelin (1,400 meters), Templeuve – L’Epinette (200 meters), Templeuve-Moulin-de-Vertain (500 meters), Cysoing to Bourghelles (1,300 meters), Bourghelles to Wannehain (1,100 meters), and Camphin-en-Pévèle (1,800 meters).

Just 1 kilometer after Camphin-en-Pévèle, the assault on the riders' bodies continues with the Carrefour de l’Arbre. The stretch of 2,085 meters is dreaded for its sloping turns and the frightfully poor surface. For the cobblestone specialists, it's the last chance to make a difference on their beloved terrain. As the riders turn off onto the asphalt at café Auberge de l’Arbre, there are only three stretches left: Gruson, Willems to Hem, and the show stretch in Roubaix; none of which are particularly impressive.

In the last four editions, it has been orange on the cycling track of Roubaix. Dylan van Baarle crowned a solo from Camphin-en-Pévèle in 2022, and the following year, Mathieu van der Poel set off from Carrefour de l’Arbre, one cobblestone stretch later. In 2024, he did not want to wait that long, dressed in the rainbow jersey, and already said goodbye to the rest of the field 60 kilometers from the finish, soloing to his second victory in a row.

Last year, Van der Poel could become the first rider to win the Hell of the North three years in a row, joining Octave Lapize (1909, 1910, 1911) and Francesco Moser (1978, 1979, 1980). He was out with Tadej Pogacar when the Slovenian missed a turn on the stretch from Pont-Thibaut to Ennevelin, with 38 kilometers to go. Van der Poel pressed on and left the cobblestones 20 seconds ahead of Pogacar, who still managed to close the gap by 5 seconds, but then saw it grow to over a minute.

In short, Van der Poel is currently the only active rider who has won Paris-Nice three times in a row. One more victory to go and he ties record holders Roger De Vlaeminck and Tom Boonen. He is indeed the only one who has won the Hell classic four years in a row.