The women’s race from Paris-Roubaix will again not lead through the dreaded sector in the forest of Arenberg on Saturday. The organizer ASO described it as too dangerous because the section, which is over two kilometers and has a maximum difficulty of five stars, is not far enough from the start.
“If a closed field arrives there, it’s too dangerous,” said Franck Perque from the ASO. “If we want to go that way in the future, we have to put some other cobblestone sectors in front of it to divide the field.”
The third edition of Paris-Roubaix Femmes will take place on Saturday. The start takes place in Denain, which is only ten kilometers from the forest of Arenberg.
In the men’s race on Sunday, it is well over 100 kilometers from the start in Compiègne to the section. The Arenberg sector is so dangerous because it is downhill for the first 500 meters, has very poor pavement and the men there initially reach speeds of 60 km/h.
The women’s race has been extended from 125 to 145 kilometers this year. 29.2 kilometers of cobblestones have to be mastered over a total of 17 sectors, including the five-star Mons-en-Pévèle and Carrefour de l’Arbre. For men, there are 29 sectors with 54.5 kilometers of cobblestones over 257 kilometers.