出处 : CyclingNews 作者 : Will Jones
Fans of the stars have the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and fans can usually visit pavilions dedicated to their favourite teams, and for cyclists, a nondescript shower area in the north of France is like a combination of both.
The neighbourhood was founded in 1940 and is located a little further from the last turn of the Roubaix Autodrome. If you didn't know it was there, you'd be less likely to stumble upon it, but even after hundreds of kilometres of battle on extremely difficult terrain, riders will avoid the more modern utilities offered by the fleet buses in favor of flocking to it. Why? It's part of the folklore of bicycles.
Before the advent of the team buses, these rudimentary, rough concrete cubicles hosted all the riders after the race. Over the years, they have been so important that what was once an area for simple cleaning has become a highly utilized pavilion that is now more likely to be a photo scene for sponsors than a place to pay tribute.
In addition to the commemorative pebble trophy, the winner of Paris-Roubaix receives a brass plaque in the shower. While the podium ceremony continued, my curiosity overcame my own, and thanks to my media pass, I took some time to take a shower after the race.
▲ The simple shower itself is not ostentatious, but the small brass plaque on each shower is dedicated to the 1900 champion
Despite being the focus of media attention these days, the shower is probably the go-to place for riders to shower and decompress after the most brutal race of the year.
Some riders stayed under the water for a long time, others seemed to be more of a tribute than a shower.
The shower isn't the kind of button activation you'd expect at your local gym, but rather via a zipper.
The flow of water between pulls doesn't last long, so riders only have a few seconds to really relax, a bit like what they experience during a race.
At least for a while, most people stood there like this. The eyes weren't really focused on anything, maybe they were replaying what had happened that day, maybe they were just emptying themselves for a second or two.
Admittedly, in my short experience, there are four categories of users in the shower area. First of all, the young drivers are probably making their debut in Roubaix. They are well aware of the myths about the classical circuit, and they seem to feel that it is the right thing to do.
Second, there are veterans like Tim Declercq and Jon Degenkolb, who seem to see the use of the shower as much as the pebbles themselves. It was an absolute dislike to let them use the bus shower after the race in Roubaix.
Degenkolb, in particular, a former champion and an avid fan of Cobblestones, seems to be completely relaxed here, happily chatting about what he has seen and heard, and then changing clothes in the compartment engraved with his name plaque. Another thing is that he will definitely kick his young teammates out of the cubicle before entering it.
Some riders are clearly enjoying the shower. Tim De Cler's performance is particularly fond here, unabashedly speaking freely with his teammates in front of the camera.
Because I'm British, I gave up learning French and German, and I've never even tried to learn Flemish (a Dutch language with a Belgian accent), so I couldn't understand what they were talking about, but even with the language barrier, I could feel it was a way to decompress.
▲ I am obviously very happy to be here
The procession seemed to come and go like a tidal wave, and a small group of people came and went like a tidal wave. For a while, the shower was empty except for the photographers who gathered together, and at other times it was very busy.
I think I can safely say that there is no driver at the moment who truly loves this race as much as John Degenkolb. Because he won the race in 2015, he has his own compartment and obviously the shower is just as much a part of the race as any cobblestone stage. Interestingly, he did have to kick a teammate out of his compartment, though no one disputed that at all.
▲ A person here is as energetic as he is in the Alenberg Forest
The third category of showers is dominated by riders who occupy the podium first and second place. As a sponsor of a shampoo brand, it was a no-brainer to have Mathieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen wash their hair from a media perspective. But it must be said that neither of them seems to like such a scene very much. Vanderpool's orchestrated purge came out in less than ten minutes.
Finally, there are professional photographers and team media photographers. I didn't feel anything about the number of photographers in years, but in a world where media is constantly being shared, I have reason to suspect that the lens feels more crowded now than it used to be. I don't speak Flemish, but I don't need a translator to hear Phillipson say "it's like OnlyFans filming here".
▲Of all the riders who came that Sunday afternoon, Jasper Phillipson was perhaps the most reluctant one
Most riders waste little time before changing clothes, but Phillipson chatted with his teammates in the shower and went around feeling like he needed to be ready to actually start showering.
I can't blame him. For celebrities, privacy is a rare thing, briefly taken away by a camera hidden behind a concrete wall.
▲ Before continuing, there may be one last message to send home
Given that his team's title sponsor is a shampoo brand, it's impossible not to shower. As an independent photographer, it's sometimes difficult to highlight deliberately placed bottles.
Although he was initially silent, after a few minutes he began his duty to "keep the sponsor happy" and quickly left the scene.
After a while, the race winner, Mathieu Van der Poel, came in. He actually rode in and leaned his bike against the wall. The shower area is divided into two zones, with Van der Poel being the only rider to use the second zone. I'm a little sad to say that it was purely a sponsored photo shoot and he spent the least amount of time of all. With such a storied history hanging on the walls of each compartment, I wish he had taken a moment to stop by to respect the place, although as a bystander, it was easy to tell. But superstar drivers don't have time requirements, their time is often managed and not under their own control.
Regardless of how he uses the shower, being able to get so close to the biggest stars of our sport is a privilege that very few people can enjoy.
Photo opportunities aside, I think every rider on the team who passes under that stream of water will be decompressed. Perhaps even more so if they also have to fulfill all their post-match press duties.
Media circus aside, showers are nowhere near as frequent as they used to be. While it's my job to cover the biggest races as a journalist and photographer, the premise is that I'm a cycling fan.
By the time the world champion was photographed in the shower in Roubaix, he had already completed the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. Only a handful of people can say they've done it, and seeing John Degenkolb here is because he loves the moment. This moment will be able to stay with me for a long time.