"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - spectating the Paris-Roubaix

hi all,
it looks like i'll be in Europe during the Paris-Roubaix this year. does anyone have any advice on spectating this event?

will hotels in Paris be insanely packed? any towns that are along the route that are worth staying for a night or two? any particular part of the route the most exciting? has anyone ridden the route themselves?

thanks in advance!

P-R starts in Compiegne, not Paris. I did the Spring Classics week with http://www.sportingtours.co.uk/. Graham is pretty cool. I personally like Tour of Flanders better. You can do the cyclo tourist on Saturday with 20000 crazy Belgians. Awesome. Graham also does just the weekends. You get to see the races 5-6 times. If you do it yourself get a good map. See the start, jam to Triosville then work your way up to the velodrome.

hi all,
it looks like i'll be in Europe during the Paris-Roubaix this year. does anyone have any advice on spectating this event?

will hotels in Paris be insanely packed? any towns that are along the route that are worth staying for a night or two? any particular part of the route the most exciting? has anyone ridden the route themselves?

thanks in advance!

I'd say go for the cobbles, or hills or turns. A nice straight section means you are apt to just see a bunch of bikes going by fast.

You might be able to find a way to catch two or even more parts, remember the route is not the shortest way from the beginning to the end. But if trying that I'd suggest making sure that your first view point is a good one, plans like that can fail.

thanks for the notes! much appreciated.

it looks like the Graham Baxter tours might not work out for us - looks like they all start in the UK? we'll already be in France.

If you can get to Flanders, that's a better race for spectateurs.

P-R is zig-zagging, double backing on either B-roads or goat tracks. Hard to follow without a BMW GS 1200 and someone who knows the area.