First contact with the french pavés
The Grand Prix de Denain - Porte du Hainaut was first held in 1959, initially as a criterium on the streets of Denain. Since then, the race has gradually risen in category, becoming 1.1 in 2005, HC in 2016, until reaching the year 2020, when it was announced that it would become part of the UCI ProSeries.
Undoubtedly, a positive turning point in the evolution of the event was in 2018, when it was moved on the calendar from April to March and 12 cobbled sectors were introduced in the final part of the route, making it the first race of the year in which the riders take on the famous french pavés.
Route
The route totals 196 kilometers, with 1171 meters of positive slope. A flat race where the main difficulty are the 12 cobbled sectors, all of them concentrated in the second half of the route. This sectors are not as tough as those we will see in a month in Paris-Roubaix, but even so they tend to be decisive for the outcome of the race.
Favorites
Although the race has resulted in sprints in the last two editions, the favorites must necessarily be found among riders who perform well on the cobbled sectors. The winner in 2022 Maximilian Walscheid (400), Olav Kooij (600), Hugo Hofstetter (600), Dries De Bondt (400), Taco Van Der Horn (200), Bram Welten (200), Tosh Van Der Sande (200) and Clément Venturini (200) are some of the most prominent specialists present on the start list, while Juan Sebastián Molano (600) is one of the best sprinters in the world but has never had good results on cobbled races.
Photo: Grand Prix de Denain - Porte du Hainaut