LAST ONES PEDALLING

Ever wondered what it's like to come last at Paris-Roubaix?

- Tom Davidson 

There’s a certain pride that comes with finishing Paris-Roubaix. For the riders, it’s a badge of honour, unlike any other, that can only be earned on the harsh cobbles of northern France.

Bernard Hinault, a five-time Tour de France champion, famously described the race as “une connerie” – bullshit. But while he managed to win it in 1981, others have not been so fortunate.

Be it due to crashes, punctures or just bad luck, many find themselves in a different race; a battle against the clock, ticking down towards the time cut.

It’s these riders, those at the back, who often force themselves to suffer the most. Reach the velodrome before the gates swing closed, and you gain a special feather in your cap. Here are the stories of those who made it.

Martial Gayant 
1983, 32ND

Martial Gayant was just 20 years old when he rode his first elite Paris-Roubaix. He remembers waiting wide-eyed before the race, when a journalist approached him and explained he was working on a piece about the rider who finishes last.

“I said to him, ‘Don’t worry, you won’t need to speak to me, I’m in great shape and my mindset is good. There’s not a chance I’ll finish last,’” the Frenchman tells CW.

“Then, with 30km to go, I saw the journalist come alongside me, and I thought he was just there to say hello. I asked him, ‘Is the last placed rider far back?’ and he responded, ‘Umm, no. No, he’s not far, because it’s you.’ It was as if he’d smacked me around the head.”