A dry Paris-Roubaix batters everyone, but rain makes it much harder. The heavens opened in 1994 and created mayhem, but produced a killer winner.
They call it the Queen of Classics, its route passes through the Hell of the North. Evocative names created early in its history but both still work. Paris-Roubaix is rooted in history and should remain so forever, but it’s an incredible thrill to watch every year.
Every race through Hell is memorable, conjuring images of strength and suffering, but a wet Paris-Roubaix goes beyond that, it borders on the macabre.
Cobblestones; the celebrated sectors of farm and colliery roads called pavé, built two centuries ago for cart wheels and horses, make Paris-Roubaix what it is.
Those roads are difficult when dry, add any moisture and they are almost impossible. It poured with rain in 1994, and it was cold. One hundred and fifty one riders left the start in Compiègne to head north, but only 48 made it to the finish in Roubaix.
Damp start
The weather worsened as soon as the peloton rolled out, and by the time Czech rider Lubos Lom attacked on the outskirts of Compiègne snowflakes had joined with the rain. He ploughed on through the slush, building a 14-minute lead by the first stretch of pavé at Troisvilles.
By then things were warming up behind, and Lom was suffering. He stopped at the Solesmes feed station with cramp, had a quick rub and a warm drink, then got going again. It wasn’t long before the rest caught him, or at least what was left of the rest.
There was a lull then, but it wasn’t long before the race exploded. A flurry of attacks saw 17 riders drag themselves clear. Among them big hitters Andei Tchmil, Roubaix winner for the previous two years Gilbert Duclos-Lasalle, Johan Museeuw and Sean Yates. Yates was riding for the American Motorola team in 1994, and he’d been shaping to do something big in this race for a while.
Sean Yates weighs up the opposition in the break
Arenberg
Tchmil and Museeuw led with Olaf Ludwig over the terrible dead straight cobbled sector though the Forest of Arenberg, both going right down the middle of the road, the best when it’s wet.
Behind them others slipped and slid and fought for road position. Inevitably there were crashes, and when the 17 who went into the forest mostly intact emerged from the trees, they were spread over two minutes.
Fragmentation persisted for a while, everybody chasing everybody else until a big group formed at the front just before Orchies. But it was too big, hostilities were paused while the riders weighed up who was there and what to do about them. Then hostilities began again.
Franco Ballerini was the most aggressive, spreading panic every time he attacked because he was so strong. The group broke up under the Italian’s pressure - riders shelled in ones and twos, then bigger splits.
Last man standing
Ballerini kept attacking until one man, Andrei Tchmil was left. But Tchmil had been playing so far. He was super strong, having a day of grace in the heart of Hell, and had shadowed everything.
Just before the Ennetières cobbles, which were deep in mud, Tchmil attacked and Ballerini was blown away. Duclos-Lasalle quickly caught the Italian and they joined forces, but both punctured.
Sean Yates had a great year in 1994
That left Johan Museeuw chasing alone, but after not even scratch Tchmil’s lead he dropped back to a small group that included Sean Yates. They became the chasers, but it was hopeless. Tchmil had gone, it was over.
He thundered through what was left of the race while the rest managed a best they could. Tchmil made it onto the slick wet concrete of the Roubaix Velodrome without missing a beat, and a lap and a half later the Queen of Classics had its first East European winner – Andrei Tchmil of Moldova.
The iconic track finish of Paris-Roubaix with Tchmil winning
The man who fired the decisive attacks, Franco Ballerini was third and Sean Yates fifth, two places ahead of two-times winner Gilbert Duclos-Lasalle. It was a good year for Yates, he won the USPRO Championship in the US and made history in the Tour de France when on stage 6 he became the third British cyclist to wear the yellow jersey in the Tour de France. Nice one Sean!
1 comment
Just curious as to some details on the equipment used by the winner.