A year ago, our good friend Joe emailed us about the Paris Roubaix EF Pro Race Camp from April 4-7th, 2024. Immediately, as soon as I read the words Paris Roubaix, I knew this was something that Karel had to do.
Since a very young age, Karel has loved the sport of professional cycling. He got this love from his dad. Karel watches all the grand tours and classics and knows a lot about the sport and the riders. He also loves anything bike related so he regularly stays up on bike tech by reading various websites. Having grown up as a cyclist, he also knows a lot about the 'early days' of cycling.
Check out these pics of teenager Karel.
Behind the Tour de France, Paris-Roubaix is one of the most recognizable events in cycling. Known as the Queen of the Classics and the Hell of the North, this event dates back to 1896 and has taken place 120 times since then. Paris-Roubaix is arguably the hardest one-day cycling race in the world. At almost 260km (161 miles), the unpredictable weather and wind conditions add an extra layer of difficulty to the 29+ cobble sectors which make up around 55km (34 miles) of the race. Although the course is flat, the vibrations from the cobbles require a tremendous amount of power which means a great amount of energy is expended within each sector. And all of this is done on a road bike. There are three five-star sectors on the course (the start show the difficulty of the cobbled sectors), which are the Trouée d'Arenberg, Mons-en-Pévèle and the Carrefour de l'Arbre.
In other words, Paris-Roubaix is a legendary bucket list event for any cycling enthusiast.
Karel traveled to Europe on Monday from Charlotte. He flew to Newark on United and met Joe there. They flew on United to Brussels. They arrived to Brussels airport around 7:30am on Tuesday and were greeted by someone with the EF coaching staff. They were shuttled ~90 minutes to their hotel in Lille Grand Stade. When they arrived, they received their Cannondale bikes that they rented for camp and checked into their rooms. Karel was exhausted from very little sleep on Monday night but they venture out for a shake out ride on Tuesday to experience the cobbles (and wind). After a good night of sleep on Tuesday, the camp officially started around noon on Wednesday. They received some really cool swag at the hotel, had lunch and then listened to a presentation about riding on the cobbles (Karel really enjoyed it). Then they were off for day 1 of camp - a 55km ride, finishing in the famous velodrome. When they arrived back to the hotel, they had snacks and then a late evening dinner.
The camp package includes:
The race finishes in the iconic Roubaix Velodrome.
In other words, Paris-Roubaix is a legendary bucket list event for any cycling enthusiast.
Karel traveled to Europe on Monday from Charlotte. He flew to Newark on United and met Joe there. They flew on United to Brussels. They arrived to Brussels airport around 7:30am on Tuesday and were greeted by someone with the EF coaching staff. They were shuttled ~90 minutes to their hotel in Lille Grand Stade. When they arrived, they received their Cannondale bikes that they rented for camp and checked into their rooms. Karel was exhausted from very little sleep on Monday night but they venture out for a shake out ride on Tuesday to experience the cobbles (and wind). After a good night of sleep on Tuesday, the camp officially started around noon on Wednesday. They received some really cool swag at the hotel, had lunch and then listened to a presentation about riding on the cobbles (Karel really enjoyed it). Then they were off for day 1 of camp - a 55km ride, finishing in the famous velodrome. When they arrived back to the hotel, they had snacks and then a late evening dinner.
The camp package includes:
- Four star accommodation at Park Inn by Radisson, Lille Grand Stade, near Roubaix velodrome - the start and finish of the sportive and finish of the pro race
- All meals and ride nutrition
- Daily training rides and sportive preparation with Team EF Coaching trainers
- Team car supported training rides with mechanic, nutrition and spare kit
- VIP pro race package including exclusive team access at the World Tour race
- Daily bike maintenance and cleaning by team mechanic
- Paris-Roubaix Challenge race entry and insurance
- Massages by team soigneurs
- Daily laundry service for cycling kit
- Pre-camp access to our training library
- Personal race-day nutrition consultation with nutritionist Spencer Miller
- Secure bike storage and ride preparation room
- Transfer from Brussels airport or Roubaix train station
After 3 days of riding parts of the course, Karel will participate in the Paris-Roubaix Challenge. On Saturday morning, thousands of cyclists get to ride the same course as the pros. Although ~90km shorter than the pro race, Karel and Joe will be racing 170km (~105 miles) and will cover all of the cobbled sectors, just like the pros. When Karel finishes the race, he will get to watch the professional women finish the race in the velodrome. Then on Sunday, he will get VIP access to watch the male professional race.
I'm so happy for Karel to have this experience. It's going to be a challenging 4 days as riding the cobbles (on a road bike) is no easy task. Karel said that it was so much harder than he expected. But like we experienced at the Haute Route Alps 7 day stage race, this experience will give him a greater appreciation for what the professional cyclists experience when they race (just at much slower speeds and with much less pressure to perform).