Originally Posted by
63rickert
Paris- Roubaix has been run 123 times. This entire thread has been based on cherry picking. If you don't know about the feats of Peter Post or Marcel Kint you really don't know much. Peter Post averaged 45.2kph in 1964 and Kint 41.49 in 1943.
Most of the posts here are based on the same small group of factoids presented in a handful of videos. And those vids are basically commercial speech. Advertisements. They want you to buy a new bike. That's fine. I think you should buy a new bike too. On a regular basis. Support the industry. But maybe learn something about the sport instead of parroting adverts.
One thing Post and Kint have in common is they were both absolutely beautiful on a bike. I will say van Der Poel and Pogacar do look pretty good in a pack of potatoes.
How can this be considered “Cherry Picking Data” when I have provided charts and data not only for the past 50 years for the Paris Roubaix showing a clear and undeniable trend. I also provided a chart for the average speed of the top 10 classics races combined for the past 50 years showing the same trend and acceleration of the average speeds the past few years with the abandonment of tubulars adoption of disc brakes and carbon.
The two examples you noted are the ultimate “Cherry Pick” and can not be compared to the current race in a major important way. The cobble sectors were substantially reduced and much smoother than current sectors approx 30 km to today’s 55 km. The 1943 example is laughable because of the wartime route was very asphalt focused and the remaining cobbles were filled with crushed stone to make them smoother for wartime mobility. The 1964 route also have substantially reduced cobbles when compared the modern versions of the race. Both examples you listed were outliers and known to have very strong tail winds and speeds dropped dramatically again the following years.
You also mention parroting comments how would you determine the riders you mentioned are beautiful on the bicycle? I highly doubt there’s very much footage to analyze from either racers but especially the 1943 edition, if any beliefs can be considered parroted it would be this kind of bike shop small talk imprinted in the 70’s. Calling current riders potatoes on the bicycle is absolutely laughable.