With the Forest of Arenberg and the new chicane entrance considered a point of danger, at this year’s Paris-Roubaix the preceding sector 20 at Haveluy à Wallers is expected to spark major attacks and the first selection.
Wout Van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) attacked during the 2,500 metre long cobbled sector last year and Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) could decide to make a similar move on Sunday.
“Last year Jumbo-Visma attacked on Haveluy à Wallers and that’s why we reached the Forest of Arenberg with less stress. I’m not convinced by the chicane before the Forest and so it’s probable the race will explode before then,” Van der Poel said when discussing his race strategy.
We have been warned.
For years the Forest of Arenberg marked the start of the battle for final victory. It comes after 164 km of the 259.7km of racing and after ten of the 29 cobbled sectors. The 2.3km sector through the thick forest near the former Arenberg coal mine symbolises the area and Paris-Roubaix. The straight descending run-in had meant riders hit the cobbles at 60km/h with crashes and punctures frequent on the high speed, and high risk, section.
Only the strongest and best-placed riders emerged from the other end of the Forest, often with a lead on the chasers and control of the race. Often everything else happened as a consequence of the Forest of Arenberg. But with the chicane blunting the speed of the riders as they near the entrance of the Forest, the opening metres of the cobbles will be an acceleration race.
“If you go into Arenberg in front, you're still in the race but if you enter the chicane in 20th position, you’ll be standing still and you’ll lose half a minute,” Van der Poel predicted.
That is why the Haveluy à Wallers sector before it becomes a better place to attack and force a selection, therefore limiting the impact of the subsequent Forest of Arenberg.
The Haveluy à Wallers sector comes after 156km of racing, with 103.5km to go. It is the ninth of the 29 sectors, is 2.5km long and has a four-star difficulty rating. Only the Forest of Arenberg, Mons-en-Pévèle and Carrefour de l'Arbre have five stars.
When Jumbo-Visma attacked in 2023, they blew open the race, with Van Aert and Christophe Laporte setting a new Strava record of 3:07 for the Haveluy à Wallers sector, an average speed of 48.5km/h. That move during the 2023 Paris-Roubaix means Haveluy à Wallers is no longer a forgotten point of the race.
“Sector 20 is the new gateway to the final of Paris-Roubaix,” Visma-Lease a Bike coach Maarten Wynants told Het Nieuwsblad, with the Flemish website describing the Haveluy à Wallers sector as ‘the most important of Paris-Roubiax.”
“Last year there was also a cross-wind at Haveluy à Wallers. We caused a surprise but this time other teams might be aggressive too and might attack even earlier."
Johan Vansummeren won Paris-Roubaix in 2011 with a long-range attack, and he thinks its a strategy that should be repeated.
“If I were riding on Sunday, I’d again force a selection at Haveluy, that seems the best tactic to me,” he told Het Nieuwsblad.
“With a decimated peloton you can tackle the chicane and the Forest of Arenberg without too much stress. That seems an ideal solution.”
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