Image 1 of 11 The Arenberg forest awaits... (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 2 of 11 The profile map of the 2015 Paris-Roubaix (Image credit: ASO) Image 3 of 11 The official map of the 2015 Paris-Roubaix (Image credit: ASO) Image 4 of 11 The peloton on the Paris-Roubaix cobbles (Image credit: AFP) Image 5 of 11 Fabian Cancellara attacked before the Mons-en-Pévèle sector and then soloed to the win. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti) Image 6 of 11 Iljo Keisse takes on the cobbles of the Arenberg Forest. (Image credit: Jered Gruber) Image 7 of 11 Grass grows in between the cobbles of the Arenberg forest (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti) Image 8 of 11 It begins. Troisvilles is a relatively gentle introduction though. (Image credit: Ben Atkins/Cyclingnews) Image 9 of 11 The cobbles of Orchies are quite different from those of Arenberg (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti) Image 10 of 11 Paris-Roubaix's Orchies sector (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti) Image 11 of 11 The moment the breakaway moved clear on the Orchies sector during Paris-Roubaix with Tom Boonen in the lead. About an hour later, he raised four fingers in the Roubaix velodrome to equal Roger De Vlaeminck's number of victories at the Hell of the North. (Image credit: Jered Gruber)

The organisers of Paris-Roubaix inspected the cobbled sectors of this year's route to assign the severity ratings, and have ranked three as five-star, meaning the most difficult this year. The ASO's Christian Prudhomme, Jean-François Pescheux and Thierry Gouvenou assessed the length, unevenness, general condition and location on the route to assign the five-star designation to the Arenberg Forest, Mons-en-Pévèle and Carrefour de l’Arbre, noting that the latter has become more difficult over time.

The first pave comes at kilometer 98.5, with the 2200m-long Troisvilles sector, and continues with 26 more along the rest of the length of the 253.5km route, with the cobbled roads taking up a total of 57.5km this year.

The infamous Arenberg Forest represents the crucial moment where the contenders may not make the winning move, but can surely lose the race through crash or puncture. Coming at kilometer 158, the 2400m long stretch of ancient road has typically been the worst of the race, but the winning moves have more recently formed later, with the Mons-en-Pévèle sector at 47.5km to go providing the first selection and the Carrefour de l’Arbre with 17km to go providing the final launching pad.

Govenou says the Carrefour de l'Arbre is even worse than last year. "With time, the Carrefour de l’Arbre has got harder and harder. In terms of difficulty, it’ll be right up there with the Arenberg Forest this year. Over the whole sector, I don’t think there’s a single level cobblestone."

Photo: Jered Gruber

Pavé sectors of the 2015 Paris-Roubaix