HELL OR HIGH WATER

The Paris-Roubaix Challenge pits amateurs against an abridged version of the iconic 'Hell of the North' race

- Charlie Allenby

Try to ride with a loose grip - your hands resting on the top of the handlebars or on the hoods." Sportive Breaks' guide Christophe Smekens is sharing his advice for tackling the notorious cobbled roads of Paris-Roubaix, but it's already too little too late.

My hands are in bits after my first taste of pavé: the four-and five-star-difficulty sectors Camphin-enPévèle and Carrefour de l'Arbre. Blisters are bubbling on my bare palms, while the skin has broken in places, causing a shooting pain whatever grip I try on the 'bars. And this was just a 40km warm-up ride.

The anxiety that had been building in my stomach all week about riding the cobbles has somewhat dissipated though: they're hard going but when they're dry, if you enter with speed, they can be ground out in a big gear without too much trouble. Instead, I'm now worrying about how my hands are going to withstand the following day's Paris-Roubaix Challenge: a sportive that follows the final 170km of the professional men's route to Roubaix's iconic velodrome, including all 30 of the race's gruelling secteurs (cobbled sections).

Returning to my hotel room, I slather on some Sudocrem and rummage in my kit bag for anything that can provide padding to my palms. The only gloves I've brought from home are a pair of waterproof winter ones in case of bad weather. With a clear day and highs of 20°C forecast, they're not ideal, but I'm left with no alternative.

Written in stone