CONFIRMED: Paris-Roubaix add chicane to route before Trouée d'Arenberg amidst safety concerns

Paris-Roubaix is one of the most treacherous and dangerous races in professional cycling, and the most dangerous sector is ironically a completely straightforward one: Trouée d'Arenberg. However, riders usually hit it at high speeds, and race organizers have made a change to the route so as to prevent this.

"For safety reasons and following a request from CPA Cycling, the Paris-Roubaix organisation is modifying the approach to the Trouée d'Arenberg," organizers have shared on social media. "The route will take a chicane just before the entrance to the sector in order to slow the speed at which the riders enter the sector and limit the risk of crashes on the cobbles."

Whilst this will most likely make the kilometer before the Arenberg slightly more dangerous, it will prevent the riders from entering the decisive five-star sector at speeds that regularly reach 60Km/h. Relatively early in the race, it is normal for sizeable groups to reach the sector and the fight for positioning makes the speeds very high.

Taking that into consideration and also the factor that the opening meters of it are rather downhill, combined with cobblestones that are quite far apart from each other, it creates a very dangerous area where riders in the past have suffered serious injuries. Race organizers have made the change at request of the Professional Cyclists Association.