Throughout the build-up to Paris-Roubaix 2026, we’ll be answering common, quirky and unexpected questions about the Queen of the Classics – not the headline debates such as who’ll conquer the cobbles this year, but the juicy nuggets and details that make this incredible race unlike any other.
Our final question asks, simply, why is Paris-Roubaix so hard?
Paris-Roubaix is considered to be the toughest and least predictable race in the WorldTour calendar.
Fancied riders may crash and fall out of contention, as Tadej Pogačar did in the 2025 edition, leave the race or have a puncture at a crucial moment, as was the case with Wout van Aert in 2023. There are several factors that make Paris-Roubaix so hard to win, or even to finish.
The distance
At around 260km, Paris-Roubaix isn’t the longest one-day race in the cycling calendar; Milan-San Remo is 298km. But Mathieu van der Poel’s winning time in 2025 was still 5:31:27, which is a long time in the saddle, particularly with…
The cobbles
Those 260km are punctuated by 30 cobbled sections in the men’s race, totalling 54.8km, with the longest two each 3.7km.
The race starts in Compiègne, north of Paris, and is on tarmacked roads for around 100km, before the first cobbled section. The cobbles are numbered down from 30 to 1 as the race approaches Roubaix and are graded from one to five stars, according to their difficulty.
There are three five-star cobbled sections, with the most famous the first that’s encountered, sector 19, the 2.3km Trouée d’Arenberg, which is straight, narrow and has particularly uneven cobbles.
Keeping momentum, picking your line and riding fast over the cobbles is crucial, because the bike will then to some extent ‘float’ over the surface. Nevertheless, despite wider tyres, double-wrapped bar tape and other modifications, there’s a huge amount of vibration and it’s not uncommon to see riders’ hands bleeding at the finish line.
Not losing your balance on the uneven surface is also vital. Where possible, riders will ride on the smoother dirt edges of the cobbled sections. Crashes are frequent, particularly if conditions are wet, as are punctures and mechanical problems.
The terrain
Paris-Roubaix is predominantly a flat race through the Northern French plain. There are a few ups and downs, but no real hills. That makes it very fast, with van der Poel’s winning times in the three most recent races approaching an average of 47km/h.
Being flat and open, there’s little protection from wind and rain if the weather is poor.
The route is also criss-crossed by railway level crossings. Riders can be stopped by trains passing, which can halt a promising breakaway or a chasing group and break their rhythm. Riders bypassing the closed barriers are disqualified.
The cobbled sections are actively used roads, so they get churned up by agricultural vehicles, which increases dirt and unevenness.
The mud and/or dust
If it has rained, Paris-Roubaix can become incredibly muddy, with riders arriving at the finish line caked head to foot, with only their eyes unsmothered. There have been some epically muddy editions of the race in the past.
Apart from the 2021 race, which was run in October rather than April due to Covid, most recent years have seen dry conditions.
Here, dust from leading vehicles, motorcycles and other riders replaces mud, but can still cake riders.
The need to make your own race
In most races, the protected rider has the team with them for much of the race to help pace and protect them. Paris-Roubaix is much more likely to be won solo or in a small group, with crashes, mechanicals and punctures splitting the field.
That can make the race much more difficult and result in wildcard winners – or it can favour the most powerful and competent cobbled classic race specialists, and there's a mix of both in the winners' list through the years.
