It takes two to tangle: Gaston Rebry vs André Leducq (I/VI)

March 27 ^th 2023 - 16:08

Gaston Rebry vs André Leducq (I/VI)

The legends of sport are forged in the fire of long-running rivalries between two champions. Paris–Roubaix, a prime target for the cobble-gobblers, often sets the stage for no-holds-barred contests between acrobats on wheels. A mechanical at the wrong time, poor positioning or a moment of hesitation when the decisive move comes can seal the outcome of the race. The site paris-roubaix.fr looks back on the history of these epic duels ahead of the latest showdown between the best of enemies, Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel, in their hunt for a maiden win in the Queen of Classics.

The Belgians were nigh-unbeatable in Paris–Roubaix in the late 1920s and early 1930s, with Gaston Rebry standing on top of the podium three times, but the Frenchman André Leducq managed to find a chink in their armour. The feat of the young Parisian, the first of the "Musketeers on wheels", was a shot in the arm for France, still reeling from several beatings at the hands of its neighbours in the Tour and classics.

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