by Fans of celebrities have the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and sports fans are usually able to visit a museum dedicated to their favourite team, but for cycling fans, an unassuming shower block in northern France acts as something of a combination of the two.
Constructed in the 1940’s the block sits a little way behind the final turn into the Roubaix Velodrome. If you didn’t know it was there you’d be unlikely to stumble across it, but even after battling over the toughest terrain road cycling can offer for hundreds of kilometres, riders trickle in, eschewing the more modern facilities on offer in their team buses. Why? It’s part of cycling folklore.
Before the days of team buses these stark, roughly polished concrete cubicles played host to all the riders post-race. Such was their importance over the years that the room once given over to simply washing has been transformed into a well-used museum, one that in modern times is perhaps more of a photo opportunity for sponsors than a site of homage.
As well as a commemorative cobblestone trophy, winners of Paris-Roubaix also get a brass plaque within the shower block. While the podium ceremonies went on, my curiosity got the better of me, and thanks to my press pass, I spent some time in the showers after the race.
The shower block itself is unassuming, humble, but the small brass plaques on each booth commemorate victors as far back as 1900.
Despite being a site of media excitement nowadays, the showers are first and foremost a place for riders to wash and decompress after perhaps the most brutal race of the year.
Some riders stayed under the stream for a long time, others seemed to dip in and out more to pay their respects than to wash.
The showers aren’t the usual push button you’d find in your local gym, but activated by a chain pull.
The water doesn’t stay on long between pulls either, so the riders only get a few seconds to truly relax, a little like in the race they’ve all endured.
Most, for some time at least, stood there like this. Eyes not really focussed on anything, perhaps replaying the events of the day, perhaps just not really thinking at anything at all for a second or two.
In my admittedly short experience, the users of the shower block fell into four categories. First, you had the young riders, perhaps on their Roubaix debut. They’ll have been well aware of the mythology surrounding the ancient plumbing and it seemed they felt it the right thing to do.
Second, you had a handful of veterans, Tim Declercq and Jon Degenkolb among them, who seemed to see the use of the showers as as much a part of the rave as the cobbles themselves. To use a bus shower after Roubaix would be an anathema to them.
Degenkolb especially, as a former winner and unashamed lover of the cobbles, seemed totally at ease here, joyously swapping stories before getting changed in a booth bearing his name on the plaque. A booth, it should be added, that he had to remove his younger teammate from upon entering.
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Some riders clearly loved the showers. Tim Declercq especially held court in there like few others, unabashed by the cameras, happily swapping stories with his teammates.
Because I’m British and gave up learning both French and German, and having never even attempted to learn Flemish, I was unable to understand what was being discussed, but the decompression was clear to see even through the language barrier.
Clearly just happy to be here.
The teams seemed to come through in waves, with small groups coming and going like the tide. For periods the showers would stand empty, save for the amassed photographers, while at other times it was busy.
I think it’s safe to say no current rider truly loves this race quite like John Degenkolb. He has his own booth, as he won the race in 2015, and clearly the showers are just as much a part of the race as any of the cobbles sectors are. Amusingly, he did have to eject one of his teammates from his booth, though absolutely no resistance to that was offered.
A man as much in his element here as he is powering through the Forest of Arenberg.
The third category of shower-goers was primarily confined to the riders who occupied the top and second step of the podium. Being sponsored by a shampoo brand, it was a no-brainer from a media point of view to have Mathieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen have a wash, but it must be said that neither of them seemed particularly happy at the prospect. Van der Poel was in and out in under ten minutes in a carefully orchestrated lauvage.
Finally, you have the photographers, both professional and the team media kind. I have no experience in the number of photographers over the years but in the world of constantly shared media, I suspect it’s more crowded with lenses these days than it has been in days of yore. I don’t speak Flemish, but I didn’t need to translate Philipsen remarking that “it’s like an OnlyFans shoot in here”.
Of all the riders that came through that Sunday afternoon, Jasper Philipsen was perhaps the most reluctant.
Most riders wasted very little time before getting changed, but Philipsen toured the room, chatting to teammates, and it felt like he needed to work up to actually showering.
I can’t say I blame the man. For the big names, privacy is a rare commodity, snatched briefly while hidden behind the concrete walls.
One last message home perhaps, before getting on with it.
Given his team’s title sponsor is a shampoo brand, not using the showers was out of the question. Deliberately placed bottles are sometimes hard to crop out as a neutral photographer.
Despite his initial reticence, he leant into his ‘keeping the sponsors happy’ duties after a few minutes before making a swift exit.
After some time, race winner Mathieu Van der Poel entered. He actually rode in and leant his bike up against the wall. The shower block is divided into two rooms, and Van der Poel was the only rider to use the second room. He spent the least time out of anyone, and I’m slightly saddened to say it was purely a sponsorship photo op.
With such storied history physically bolted to the walls of each booth, I hoped he’d spend some time and respect the institution, but that’s easy to say as an observer. The demands on the time of a superstar rider are myriad and numerous, and his time is often managed rather than under his own control.
Regardless of how he used the shower block, being able to get this close to the biggest star in our sport is a privilege afforded to very few people.
Photo opportunities aside, I suspect there wouldn’t be a rider in the peloton who wouldn’t have felt some relief from stepping under that stream of water. Even more so perhaps if they’ve had to go through all of the post-race press duties too.
Media circus aside, the showers are far less frequented than they used to be. While reporting on the biggest races as a journalist and photographer is my job I am, first and foremost, a cycling fan.
While photographing the World Champion in the Roubaix showers after he’s done the Flanders-Roubaix double is something only a handful of people will ever be able to say they’ve done, seeing John Degenkolb in there just because he loves it is the moment that’s going to stay with me for a long time.
