Paris-Roubaix Officially Changes Name

Paris-Roubaix is undergoing a name change? Well, sort of.

ASO let it slip Thursday that Paris-Roubaix — one of cycling’s most sacred and venerable races — will now be called “Paris-Roubaix Hauts-de-France.”

That’s how the “Hell of the North” was mentioned in Thursday’s press release material outlining the wild cards and course changes for 2026.

In fact, that’s not exactly new, but it is significant.

The regional government of “Hauts-de-France” — the region around Lille and northern France where the route traces — has backed the race as a sponsor since before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The name “Hauts-de-France” has been visible on start and finish lines, race fencing, and podium backdrops for several years.

The race is officially registered as “Paris-Roubaix Hauts-de-France” with the UCI and other promotional materials.

What’s significant is that sources said the deal looks to have moved from being a race sponsor to include naming rights.

So it is now more like the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.

That follows other recent name changes for other races. The Critérium du Dauphiné — also owned by ASO — will now be called Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, also due to sponsorship deals with regional governments.

Gent-Wevelgem will be called “In Flanders Fields” for 2026. And Omloop Het Nieuwsblad is now simply Omloop Nieuwsblad.

Is nothing sacred in cycling? Perhaps not.

“Paris-Roubaix Hauts-de-France” just doesn’t have the same ring to it, does it?

For fans, it remains simply Paris-Roubaix.

A climb in Roubaix? Yep

The name-change hubbub came on Thursday overshadowed a few critical course details about both the men’s and women’s editions of the race, set for April 12.

The 123rd edition of the “Queen of the Classics” will start in Compiègne and end in the velodrome (no changes there), to cover a total distance of 258.3km, down slightly from 259.2 km in 2025. The route includes 30 sectors of Europe’s nastiest cobbles totaling 54.8 kilometers.

Organizers signaled Thursday that key modifications “could accelerate the racing.”

Race director Thierry Gouvenou said that the opening gravel sectors have been modified to return to a layout already tested in 2024.

“All the ingredients will therefore be in place for an early pre-selection likely to trap outsiders, and above all to harden the race ahead of the decisive moments to come,” Gouvenou said Thursday.

“By veering slightly east towards the village of Briastre, we arrive at a situation where the first four sectors follow one another in quick succession, with almost no asphalt in between, creating an unmatched density of cobbles. Two years ago, Alpecin-Deceuninck had already begun to scatter the peloton at this stage. And at the end of this sequence, we are adding sector 26, even more rarely used and featuring an 800-metre climb.”

You read that right, a climb in Roubaix.

The five-star sectors remain untouched at the core of the Hell of the North.

The Trouée d’Arenberg arrives at 163km with its 2,300 meters of Roubaix’s most notorious pavé. The underrated but decisive Mons-en-Pévèle at 209.7km and the race-breaking Carrefour de l’Arbre at 241.2km again anchor the finale.

Women’s Paris-Roubaix shorter but harder

Paris-Roubaix Femmes is shorter, but more difficult for 2026.

On paper, it’s 5km shorter than last year, but it features three new sectors for a total of 33.7 kilometers of cobbles, an increase of 4.5 km.

Among them is the four-star Haveluy sector at km 52.4, stretching 2,500 meters.

“We have removed the loops around Denain to take the peloton a little further south and add more cobbles, and Haveluy is one of the sectors that could prove decisive,” Gouvenou said.

The women’s course will trace the final 17 sectors of the men’s route.

As already confirmed, the race will be contested on Sunday instead of the stand-alone spot Saturday.

Officials said the move will “benefit from a prime television slot, with the finish at the velodrome expected at around 6.20 pm.” Other issues were additional costs and logistics on closing down roads for two days, compared to one.