Stolen cobblestones and leftover trash - The negative side of Paris-Roubaix revealed

Paris-Roubaix is every year one of the most spectacular races in pro cycling, amongst the most popular and difficult too. It has earned it's mythical status due to it's many cobbled sectors, but some fans have actually stolen cobblestones following the race.

This has been revealed by Les Amis de Paris-Roubaix, the association which every year maintains the cobbled sectors that the races go through. In charge of cleaning and fixing issues in the sectors before the race, but also of making sure the roads are in a good state following the weekend's events. What they found was not exactly ideal conditions.

The Carrefour de l'Arbre is the final five-star sector in the race and is the location where in 2023 Wout van Aert punctured which allowed Mathieu van der Poel to solo to victory. This year the World Champion rode through it by himself with a comfortable lead. Thousands of fans lined up on that very road to see the exhausted riders tackle the sector, but a lot of trash was leftover in the scene.

However in an unusual situation, the association shared a picture of a large hole in the sector, which is due to someone having stolen cobblestones. Whilst it is something that is not too hard to resolve, it has gathered criticism all over social media with good reason.