In To Hell- L’Enfer du Nord
L'Enfer du Nord, Paris-Roubaix April 11th, 2008I’m not sure I’ve seen any single picture that better portrays the pure diabolic pain Paris-Roubaix dishes out to those hungry enough to dine at her table.
This is unmitigated suffering encapsulated in one click of a shutter.
And it is beautiful.
April 12th, 2008 at 3:31 am
Personally, I prefer this one of Lemond after Roubaix….
http://www.cyfronet.pl/rowery/images/rozne/roubaix2.jpg
Ciao from Switzerland.
t
April 12th, 2008 at 5:12 am
last year I rode the Forest of Arenburg stretch of pavé twice while on vacation, my kidneys hurt for a week!
I can’t imagine how these guys do it at race pace and cover the 80+ K’s of pavé alone with the rest of the race.
April 12th, 2008 at 11:55 am
i had a bee sting me on my man-potatoes in merced. i pulled the same face… different kind of suffering. i never want to go through that again.
i also saw my friend carla go for the assos cream on what must have been a sensitive day….
there are so many easier ways to get there…. than belgium.
….
seriously though…
there’s so much grace in it…. that it starts to look like a kind of religious ecstasy. the willingness to provoke one’s own suffering and push through it or collapse at its feet. there is something gorgeous about it. i’m humbled by those guys.
April 12th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
“man-potatoes”
!
nice Swoop nice
Flux and I are laughing,
girlie
April 13th, 2008 at 8:28 pm
A great race report I thought you’d enjoy reading. I hope you’re feeling better Lizzer.
http://www.brookecycling.com/Brooke_Millers_Official_Cycling_Site/Blog/Entries/2008/4/13_A_good_training_ride….html
April 15th, 2008 at 8:48 am
WOW.
That is an incredible picture…
Thank you.
April 16th, 2008 at 1:14 am
So Paris-Roubaix (sportif) is my main goal for the first half of the year…
Thanks for the picture…
I have decided, now, to crawl back under my duvet and cry for mummy for the next 3 months…
April 16th, 2008 at 7:50 pm
Beautiful? Get real.
There are a lot of great things about bicycle racing. Crashing is neither great nor beautiful…your recent experience has surely proven that to you.
April 16th, 2008 at 11:17 pm
“No object is so beautiful that, under certain conditions, it will not look ugly.” – Oscar Wilde
My own familiarity with crashing and injuries do not sway my belief that cycling is the most beautiful of all sports, whether experiencing triumph or tragedy. One cannot exist without the other.
However, Wayne, this is actually not a picture of Flecha after crashing. In fact, it’s a picture of him laying on the ground directly after finishing Roubaix.
And when you say “Get real”, I couldn’t feel more so.
To each his own.
April 17th, 2008 at 2:41 am
“The pleasure that we get from the sublime Kant refers to as “negative pleasure.” It is an indirect pleasure that comes not from the sublime itself, but from the relief we feel when we realize that this external disorder does not really threaten our internal order; when we recognize an alternative purposiveness, identified by reason, that is independent of all worldly threats,”
- some Kant website
April 17th, 2008 at 8:25 am
He looks like a futbal player.
April 18th, 2008 at 10:53 pm
Hello. This post is likeable, and your blog is very interesting, congratulations
. I will add in my blogroll =). If possible gives a last there on my blog, it is about the Livros e Revistas, I hope you enjoy. The address is http://livros-e-revistas.blogspot.com. A hug.
April 19th, 2008 at 8:54 pm
My mistake Liz. Let’s agree on this; the poor bastard looks miserbale. Probably wishing he’d chosen to be a professional golfer at that very moment.
Wayne
April 27th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
That looks like Juan Antonio Flecha.
July 26th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
He is Juan Antonio Flecha after finishing Paris-Roubaix 2007 in second position, yet another spanish rider