The best traffic-free bike rides around Roubaix

Where the riders enter the velodrome.

This is where the Paris Roubaix racers enters into the Velodrome.

Fun to see names of so many winners

Free entrance, and you can ride, run on it. Don't come too late in the evening/night though as the area may not be always safe. It is OK during the day.

The velodrome is officially called "Vélodrome André Pétrieux". The velodrome is named after a sports official working for the city of Roubaix. His father ran a café on the corner of Jules-Guesde Street and Lannoy Street, Chez Pétrieux. He was one of the founders in 1966 of the Vélo-Club Roubaisien, later the Vélo-Club de Roubaix Lille Métropole, an association with a development program for young cyclists, and since 2007 also a professional cycling team, Roubaix Lille Métropole. The velodrome has honored both cycling enthusiasts with his name since the spring of 2000 and before the start of Paris-Roubaix 2000. Source: Wikipedia

This velodrome isn't the first in Roubaix. In 1895, a Roubaix velodrome was built in the municipality of Croix. The track was built at the initiative of Théo Vienne and Maurice Pérez. This velodrome already served as the finish line for Paris-Roubaix, specifically for the first 19 editions until 1914, as Vienne was one of the race's initiators and organizers. The track's wood didn't survive the raids for firewood during the First World War. The entire circuit was demolished in 1924. ...so, in 1936, the current track was built in the Parc des Sports in the eastern part of Roubaix. It's a concrete velodrome with a length of 499.75 meters. Starting with the 1943 edition, the tradition that had prevailed until 1914 was revived, and Paris-Roubaix once again finished at a velodrome. Only from 1986 to 1988 were there any editions where the classic didn't reach its finale here. The velodrome also hosted the French National Track Cycling Championships in 1966 and 1971. Between 2006 and 2012, it also hosted an annual cyclocross race, the Grand Prix Lille Métropole, which was a stage of the Cyclocross World Cup in the 2008-2009, 2009-2010, and 2012-2013 seasons. In addition to the outdoor track, the indoor track, Vélodrome Jean Stablinski, opened in 2012. Source: Wikipedia

This original, enormous artwork consists of a table and 10 robinia wood chairs. These pieces of furniture enhance the illusion of oversized space and transport the viewer back to childhood. It's one of the artistic works you can discover along the Arty trail, which runs between Roubaix (FR) and Tournai (BE) along the Roubaix and Scheldt Canal (www.parcoursarty.com).

The original 14th-century church was destroyed by the Germans in 1918, at the end of World War I. They blew up the bell tower, which then collapsed, almost completely destroying the church. Miraculously, part of the original Gothic facade, including the 15th-century portal, remained standing. In 1923, barely five years after the destruction, the new church was built thanks to the villagers' determination and donations. This reconstruction was the work of architect Paul Clerbaux, who designed the church according to the same plan as the previous one, in the neo-Gothic style. The vaults were raised with ribbed arches, and the tower was built higher, above the transepts. The portal, dating from the 15th century, has a basket-handle arch beneath a pointed arch, flanked by two buttresses added in 1923. On either side of the doorposts are two statues in a covered niche, decorated with cabbage leaves. The first statue depicts Saint Amand (damaged by iconoclasts in 1566), and the other Saint Vincent (a saint not generally venerated in the Tournai region). Source: cipar.be