Thursday, April 4, 2024 at 10:51 AM
It has been a hot item in recent days: the organization of Paris-Roubaix has adjusted the run-up to the Forest of Wallers. A chicane is added to reduce the speed of the riders towards the dreaded cobblestone section. Opinions are divided in the cycling peloton. Niki Terpstra, winner of the ‘Hell of the North’ in 2014, thinks it is a good idea.
And the podcast Speed On Wheels Terpstra, who has now retired, explains why. “If you start at the Forest of Waller with a whole peloton, it’s just a bunch sprint. Then you drive onto the lane at 60 km per hour. You then go from beautiful asphalt to pathetically bad stones. Which are also mirror-smooth, as there is always moss on them. It’s just really dangerous.”
“If someone falls ten positions in front of you, you really can’t do anything,” Terpstra describes the danger of the two-kilometre-long cobblestone section. “Then you just slide down. You actually have to swerve a little and touch your brakes a little. And then hope that you can steer in the right direction, but there are still fences. It is always a dangerous point. Falling on asphalt will cause many abrasions. But if you fall on cobblestones, you will really be in ruins.”
Alternative approach
Terpstra already sounded the alarm during his career. “I’m really in favor of a chicane. I’ve suggested the idea before, but it wasn’t taken seriously at the time. Fortunately now. You simply have enough options for it. There you have the mining museum and a huge parking lot.”
According to the former winner of Paris-Roubaix, it is not difficult to plan a good and, above all, safer run-up to the Forest of Wallers. “You turn left and then right 500 meters before you enter the Forest. Then you drive into the parking lot and you come out just before the Forest. Then you don’t start at the Bos with those enormous speeds.”
