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REMEMBERING ROUBAIX

Can't wait for Sunday.

Por Gruber Images

11 de April de 2015

the only place to start: arenberg.

I think I could sit in this spot for hours. I’d pay pretty much any price to shoot from the railroad trestle on race day. If I could shoot one spot and one spot only - this is where I’d stake my claim. Unfortunately, it’s not an option...unless I’m cool with getting arrested, which I’m not.

a shoot with Johan Vansummeren

We are flying down the Carrefour de l‘Arbre. It‘s just over freezing, and it‘s almost dark. We‘ve been shooting and interviewing Johan Vansummeren for most of the day on the cobbles of Roubaix. On this gloomy day, it has been about a year and eight months since his win at Roubaix, but he hasn‘t given away much in terms of emotion when asked about what it feels like to retrace his steps - he did say that he didn‘t feel the cobbles of the Carrefour that day. He said it felt like they weren‘t even there. They disappeared for him. We pried and prodded, but the emotional pouring forth we hoped for wasn’t happening.

Whatever feelings he was guarding were brought to the fore though when we hit the Carrefour de l‘Arbre - the pivotal sector of cobbles where he left his breakaway companions and went on to victory. He goes faster and faster on that long, terrible straight section to the restaurant at the quiet crossroads. 30 out of the turn, then 40, then 50kph - it‘s incredible. I feel like I‘m watching the race again, except I‘m a bike length away. He is in his drops, his shoulders take on that characteristic lean, his grimace appears, and he doesn‘t have to say a word - I know where he is. It‘s not December. It‘s a warm, dusty, April Sunday, and the road is packed with fans. There is an endless tunnel of noise and chaos, but it‘s a blur to him as he rages by on a road with no cobbles.

Johan's first visit to the Roubaix showers. His name wasn't in there yet.

the terrible carrefour de l'arbre.

On my first ever day riding the Roubaix cobbles, back in April of 2009, I took this shot. It’s still one of my favorite images from Roubaix.

recon.

I’m not a huge fan of recon days, but it has become part of what we do - and a part of what a lot of people do. It’s a circus without the delicious treats. Don’t get me wrong - it’s a fun day of work, but I’d rather be riding my own bike on the cobbles. :-)

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race day: on the bus.

Last year, Ashley had the chance to ride with IAM to the start in Compiegne. She got some beautiful shots.

way back machine

There is supposed to be some order to this mess. In my head, it goes like this: out of the race (Vansummeren, recon, some other shots), pre-race (bus shots), now, we’re finally to the race. First up, we’ll do some oldies, then 2013, 2014, the Tour de France, then the finish, the infield, and finally…the showers. It’s a blurry narrative line, but I’m trying my best. haha.

I shot Roubaix for the first time in 2011. I attended the race for the first time in 2009, but looking at what we do now, I’m going to say that 2011 was our first year. This is a little look back at 2011 and 2012. We don’t have much from those years, as we lost most everything when our car was broken into in the first week of the 2012 Giro d’Italia. Oh well. It’s easier to keep from posting too many images now.

ted king in the dust.

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more dust.

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svein tuft looks into the void.

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I've always liked this shot. Not sure why. It just works for me.

2013.

The main thing I remember about 2013? The first picture in the below series - that’s Aleksis Saramotins riding the Roubaix cobbles with a broken wrist. Unbelievable.

Apart from that, my main memory is of trying to follow Yoeri’s car all day. It was by far the most stressful race chase of my life. There is one vital key to chasing with Yoeri - it’s being WITH Yoeri IN his car. It is not wise to be behind him, especially when it’s Roubaix, and especially when an effective Roubaix chase consists of dashing down dusty dirt roads. There were times when I couldn’t see his taillights in front of me. I held my breath, wondered why I was doing this, and hoped for the best. It was dumb.

I don’t ever want to do that again. I want to get nice pictures, but I want to be safe. It’s not worth getting hurt over.

With all of that said, it was thrilling. It felt like I was bungee jumping - all day long.

schär.

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cancellara applies pressure.

I do love it when that man throws down. It’s beautiful.

2014.

Much better experience. Ashley was on a motorbike, and I was IN Yoeri’s car. It was infinitely nicer, and unlike 2013, I had fun. Stressful and hard - for sure - but fun. I hope tomorrow can be like that.

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The tour de france.

Question you didn’t ask, but I will answer: What are the two best days of racing you’ve ever witnessed?
Answer: This year’s Gent-Wevelgem and last year’s Tour de France stage in appalling conditions. It was like nothing else. It was a privilege to be a part of that day in some small way - it was incredible.

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Can there be too many?

No, I do not think there can be too many images from that day in July when the cobbles were soaked and the mud was thick.

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the velodrome.

We don’t make it to the velodrome too often, but when we do…it’s memorable. Boonen wins solo in 2012, Terpstra last year.

The grass.

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the showers.

“When I stand in the showers in Roubaix, I actually start the preparation for next year.” - Tom Boonen, 2004.

A lot of things are over-legendarized (I know that’s not a word) in cycling. It feels like fishing sometimes. We want epic and huge and amazing, but a lot of things don’t quite live up to the hype. Alpe d’Huez is my #1. Can’t stand it. That’s just me though.

When it comes to the cobbled classics, the following are truly special (to me - I can’t speak for you or anyone else): the Muur, the Koppenberg, the Arenberg Forest, the Roubaix Velodrome, and the Showers. They’re special. If you visit them, preferably alone and when it’s quiet, they’ll give you goosebumps. All of them.