Getting close to the big day... What can you say about a race that once nearly cost Johan Museeuw a leg? Latest weather report for the weekend shows Roubaix enjoying warm sunshine, so of the Sean Kellys of the world think "Paris-Roubaix without rain is not a true Paris-Roubaix," they're bound for disappointment. Wikipedia has some other amusing quotes to share... And Kelly gave CN an interview where he states, among other things, that life on a farm makes you "tougher than a city boy." I guess he never saw West Side Story.
Anyway, this year the race will see two new sections of cobbles added to the already crotch-numbing array. The official race site lists the sections, but fails to include the star-rating system employed last year to indicate the worst sections. Maybe it's coming, but if not, the five-star sections were Trouee d'Arenberg, Mons-en-Pevele (Hincapie's demise), and Carrefour de l'Arbe.
Here's your start list. DailyPeloton has an indispensable rundown of injuries and illnesses, particularly in light of today's demolition derby in Belgium. Tyler Farrar broke a kneecap.
Thanks to the existence of a benevolent god (apparently), Cycling.TV will be coming on line around 5am Pacific on Sunday. If I'm reading this correctly, that's 1pm France time, somewhere around the Buat section of pave... and almost a full hour before the Forest of Arenberg.
And while you're waiting around for Sunday morning, take a history tour over at Cycling Revealed, where the 1952 P-R is rated the greatest classic race of all time. Fausto Coppi vs. Rik Van Steenbergen... I won't spoil the ending. 1990 also featured a fantastic finish, and 1994 was a classic mudder.