Paris-Roubaix, 40 sheep and goats clear the grass from the cobblestones in the Forest of Arenberg

Grass grows on the stones of myth. And then they think about it… sheep and goats “above all purebred goats, who eat more”. The story that comes from Northern France is magnificent, from the pavé of the queen of the Classiche: Paris-Roubaix, which this year will be staged at Easter, Sunday 9 April, for the 120th edition. Its symbol is one of the three five-star difficulty sections, the Forest of Arenberg, and it is precisely there that the grass was wedged between those so irregular stones. “With the risk of becoming… Wimbledon”. So about forty animals were used, in the name of ecology.

The objective of this operation is to prevent the 2,300-metre cobbled section from being impassable on race day. Thierry Gouvenou, racing director, told AFP: “During the Covid period, when the stretch hadn’t been used for more than two years, we realized that nature had quickly taken over. It had become almost a lawn”. After the race was canceled in 2020 and postponed to October 2021 (when Colbrelli won amid rain and mud), the grass has grown enormously among the sector’s 276,000 cobblestones. After a thorough mechanical cleaning before this year’s edition, the organizers have thought of more ecological solutions, such as eco-pasture, which consists in regularly bringing the sheep to Arenberg to eat the grass. They’ll do it up to about ten days before the race.” It’s still a bit green, but the sheep are clearing away all the tall grass. Then, at the last moment, we will use a sweeper,” explains Gouvenou, who hopes to continue this operation in the years to come. Another exceptionality of a unique classic.