Belkin on the cobbles(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Garmin Sharp reconning the pave(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Garmin-Sharp rides off into the distance(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Johan Vansummeren (Garmin-Sharp)(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
570m of cobbles in the Pave du Moulin de Vertain(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Katusha out on the pave getting ready for Sunday(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
The Moulin de Vertain and its famous windmill behind Fabian Cancellara(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing) floats along the cobbles(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing) floats along the cobbles on the Orchies sector(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Belkin on the Orchies cobbles(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Lotto Belisol on the Orchies sector(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
The cobbles of Orchies are quite different from those of Arenberg(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Lotto Belisol heads into the curve in the Orchies sector of Paris-Roubaix(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Lotto Belisol rides through the Arenberg forest (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
UnitedHealthcare gets its first look at the Arenberg forest(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
The Trek team previews the Arenberg forest(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Fabian Cancellara on the Moulin de Vertain sector(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
UnitedHealthcare tackles the Orchies sector(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
A sign directs the way to Orchies(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
UnitedHealthcare tackles the Orchies sector(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Katusha's Luca Paolini rides on the crest of the Arenberg cobbles(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Katusha recons the Arenberg forest(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
UnitedHealthcare on the Arenberg cobbles(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
The smooth part on the right will be fenced off come Sunday in Arenberg(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
A sign directs the way to the Arenberg cobbles(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Towns along the route celebrate the arrival of Paris-Roubaix(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Garmin-Sharp riders get a feel for the Arenberg forest sector(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Johan Vansummeren leads Garmin down the cobbles(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Topsport Vlaandren gets ready for Sunday(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Trek gets a feel for the Arenberg forest(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
When you see this bridge, things are about to get serious.(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Fabian Cancellara on the cobbles of Arenberg(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
A mountain biker is passed by the Trek team in the Arenberg forest(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
These aren't your every day cobbles. These are Paris-Roubaix cobbles.(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Johan Vansummeren sticks with the team car on the Orchies sector(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Garmin-Sharp(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Team Belkin rides past the windmill of the Moulin de Vertain sector(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Garmin-Sharp previews the course(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
The cobbles of the Arenberg forest were recently "cleaned"(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Topsport Vlaanderen speeds through the Arenberg forest(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Lotto Belisol riders pick their lines on the Arenberg forest cobbles(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
UnitedHealthcare gets ready for Paris-Roubaix(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
The horrible cobbles of the Arenberg forest(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Belkin's Sep Vanmarcke is a prime contender for Sunday(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Vladimir Gusev (Katusha) previews the course for Paris-Roubaix(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Trek gets ready for battle(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Grass grows in between the cobbles of the Arenberg forest(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Lotto Belisol on the Orchies cobbles(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
The cobbles of Moulin de Vertain are smoother, but no picnic.(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
The pavé of Paris-Roubaix are the most challenging stretches of "road" the professional peloton will race over at any point in the season, and each of the 28 sectors has its own character. The steepness of the slope from crown to ditch, the unevenness of the stones, and the amount of grass growing in between each cobble all combine with the weather to create and ever changing canvas of agony for the riders.
Most of the teams of this year's Paris-Roubaix headed out on Thursday for their reconnaissance of the course, as showers are predicted for Friday. The last truly wet edition of the race was way back in 2002, when Johan Museeuw crossed the line caked in mud but victorious. For more than a decade it has been dust rather than mud, wind instead of rain, which has wrecked havoc on the riders. It looks to be more of the same this year, with 19C and mostly sunny skies predicted for race day.
The preview of the cobbled sectors is therefore extremely important for Paris-Roubaix. The Arenberg forest, the first five star sector, comes at kilometer 161.5km, and at 2,400m in length, it is always crucial.
The rapid-fire trio of sectors near Orchies, the five star Mons-en-Pévèle and the Le Carrefour de l'Arbre are also important places to see, and sites of winning moves over the years. Enjoy this gallery of the riders previewing the course.
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