9 April 2006 is the date for this year's classic one-day Paris-Roubaix cycle race. Although it is a slight misnomer as it actually starts in Compiegne (60 Oise, Picardie), some 50 miles north of Paris - it does finish in Roubaix (59 Nord, Nord-Pas-de-Calais) which is part of the Lille conurbation, close to the Belgian border.
Somehow you can forgive the 50 mile cheat in starting in Compiegne, as the race is 260km or so in length and includes several notorious "secteurs paves", cobblestone sections north of St Quentin (02 Aisne, Picardie), The problem is that this is essentially a fast road race, so the bikes they use are lightweight racing bikes, not the tough mountain bikes you would usually choose for such unforgivingly bumpy surfaces.
Compiegne is perhaps best known as the location of the Wagon-Lits carriage where both Germany and France humiliated each other at the end of the First World War and 20 odd years later when Hitler accepted the French capitulation. A replica of the famous railway carriage can be seen in a museum (Musee de l'Armistice) in the middle of a clearing in the impressive Foret de Compiegne near Rethondes, about 6km east of the town. For fans of art deco there are two important landmarks to visit near the route - In Lille there is a famous (and expensive but exquisite) Fish restaurant (L'Huitrière), and in nearby Roubaix there is an art deco swimming pool which has been converted into a Museum of Arts and Industry
For cheap cross-channel ferry crossings see Cheap4Ferries.com
Keywords: France, Cycle,Compiegne,Paris,Roubaix,Lille,St Quentin,Nord, Picardie
