"The chicane they put in looks very dangerous, the way it is" - Sean Kelly welcomes change at Paris-Roubaix but shares concern of Arenberg chicane

In his 80s pomp, Sean Kelly twice triumphed on historic cobbles of Paris-Roubaix. Since then though, the race and the peloton as a whole, has changed drastically and as such, the Irishman welcomes changes to the race's route.

“It is definitely more dangerous,” 'King Kelly' told Velo. “The speed definitely makes it more dangerous. I was looking up Paris-Roubaix stats for the weekend. When I won in 1986 it was just under 40kph, 39 point something. And now they are doing 45, almost 46 [kph]. So you’re looking at a five kilometres an hour difference. That is huge. And the top speeds too are higher, on those faster sections of road. With aero bikes, aero kit and all of that, it’s just got that much faster. That makes it more dangerous.”

Whether or not the much-discussed addition of a chicane prior to the infamous Arenberg forest section of cobbles though, Kelly isn't so sure. “I think anything they can do is a good idea,” he said. “That said, the chicane they put in looks very dangerous, the way it is. You turn right and then you have to turn totally back again before you go on to Arenberg."

“Still, it’s definitely a bit better [than without that measure – ed.]. Because going over the level crossing and straight into the Arenberg forest, you arrive there at 60K, 70K an hour," Kelly continues. “I remember in my day, some of the years there was quite a big group together there at that time. It was one of the few times I ever said, ‘oh my Lord, keep me safe and get me through here.’”

“It is just full on, it is crazy. You arrive at a speed of 60 kilometres per hour, just when you enter that sector. If something goes wrong there’s nothing you can do. You just crash into the back of everybody else and go flying along the cobblestones," he adds. “If the cobblestones are wet there, it is just not going to happen that everyone is going to stay upright. There will be somebody going to go down somewhere. Even if you’re there at the top 10 or top 15, you’re hoping that the guys in front of you are going to stay upright. That’s all you can hope for.”

“There is going to be an unmerciful fight to get into that chicane they have put in. There’s a big possibility there will be a crash there, but it won’t be like crashing on the cobblestones at 55, 60K per hour. So that will be safer,” Kelly concludes. “Okay, it could be better. They could try to change the run-in to it some way. But that would take quite a bit of organization and is something they will need time to do. Whatever they can do to help will be good. It’s a very dangerous part of the race.”