From the archives…
The famed Spring Classics have begun! One of the most famous of these one-day bicycle races in Europe is the rugged and often muddy Paris-Roubaix. This year the race is April 12th.
You are going to LOVE this profile! We looked to someone who is a fanatic about the Spring Classics bicycle races and is also an exceptional indoor cycling instructor, Matt Scheffer, to create this amazing profile. Put the two together and you have an emotional, challenging, fun ride to offer your students, even those who might never have heard of the Paris-Roubaix, a race that’s known as the Hell of the North. This will be a profile that piques their interest in bicycle races as you explain the unique history of this race as explained by Matt.
Matt is a rock and roll fan which is reflected in his music choices. It makes for a very passionate backdrop for this ride. I updated this profile in 2022 with new songs which you can find here. You can mix and match your favorite songs between the two rides.
This race is so full of history and drama, you can’t help but have a great time as you visualize the pavé, the rugged cobbled sections of the brutal 160-mile race. As Phil Liggett says about this race: You’re heading into Hell—and that’s with a capital H.
A great response from my class today when I worked with this profile! An amazing coincidence that the class happened on the same day as the ride itself. I stayed with basic structure, but added running with resistance intervals (position 2.5) to keep the paves interesting for all the riders. I also laced in the EDM music from my library alternating the mood for the paves and the smooth sections.
I had a couple of instructors tell me how much they loved this profile…so I’m going to throw it at my riders next week, after this year’s race!
This was one of the best classes I taught last year!!!! The information was fantastic and made the class interesting. The profile was beyond challenging and perfect for a race day class.