Matt v. Hansen: VdP says the CPA chicane is even more dangerous

The word on everyone’s lips the past few days in cycling? Chicane. That’s because Amaury Sports Organization (ASO) announced that chicanes will be installed prior to the Arenberg forest section. This segment spans 2.3 km of unforgiving cobblestone, renowned for its brutality. . Approaching this stretch, riders often hit speeds of up to 60 km/h, with teams orchestrating leadout trains to propel their leaders to the front lines. This intense showdown carries high stakes and is frequently marred by numerous crashes.

The new measure is not really just a chicane, either. There are a few bends, but then riders will basically make a U-turn, and come to a grinding halt before then going onto the cobbles just a few hundred metres later.

“Not the right method”

When videos of the new curves were posted online, world champion Mathieu van der Poel minced no words. “Is this a joke?” was his comment on X. Naturally, in the press conference on Thursday, that’s all journalists wanted to ask him about, the damn chicane.

“It’s good that people are trying something, but I don’t think it’s the right method,” van der Poel said. “Introducing this the week before the race is also not a good thing. I don’t feel very comfortable in the peloton towards the forest, but change for the sake of change is not always the best thing to do. “

The added measures were the brain child of former pro cyclist, Adam Hansen, head of the CPA (Cyclistes Professionnels Associés), the union for riders.

CPA requested the chicane

ASO’s Thierry Gouvenou said Hansen requested it. “For safety reasons and following a request from the CPA, The Paris-Roubaix organization is modifying the approach to the Trouée d’Arenberg,” the organizers posted. “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.”
Hansen was put on the defensive after van der Poel’s post on X. “It’s been a topic since last year and there are a whole bunch of riders who say the Arenberg is way too dangerous and should not be part of the race. I’ve had team directors say to me that the section should be taken out and we have been talking about possible ways of slowing down dangerous sections because high-speed crashes aren’t good,” Hansen said in an interview with GCN.

“A couple of weeks ago, as the race came up and was back in riders’ minds, they came back saying that it was crazy and were asking if we could create some type of diversion. So first I reached out to ASO and they jumped on it straight away. I gave them three options,” the Australian said. “They couldn’t go with A because there was a massive hole in the road, and option B was too narrow, but there was option C, which is a slightly shorter version of what ASO have gone with. They said it was possible but that I needed to make sure the riders were on board.

Hansen says he consulted riders before

Hansen said he reached out to either one rider or a team director from each team. Although some riders needed a few days to deliberate, ultimately, all teams found satisfaction among the three options presented. Two teams garnered strong backing from six out of seven riders, while the remainder received unanimous support.

The Alpecin-Deceuninck rider  said the chicane will “make the race even more dangerous. If you start 20th at the entrance to the sector, it’s always good. With the chicane, that’s not the case. Around the 5th or 10th position, you’ll stand still and lose half a minute.” The world champion has since been in close communication with Adam Hansen, the president of the CPA. Hansen mentioned that alternative options are under consideration for next year.

“There will never be total security and that’s a shame. Sometimes you also have to be lucky. For example, last year at the Tour de France, there was a finish on a circuit. For me, it was one of the most dangerous finishes,” van der Poel concluded.

The women’s Paris-Roubaix is on Saturday, and the men’s is on Sunday. You can watch it on FloBikes.com