Cycling 22 April, 1908

Tour stars line up at the 13th Paris-Roubaix, while Herne Hill hosts the Good Friday meet

- Herne Hill

Back in 1908, the pages of Cycling were to a large degree filled with non-racing stories and trivia. But the 22 April issue did find room for a report on what it described as “the first important road race of the year”, Paris-Roubaix. Ninety riders lined up for what was the 13th edition of the race, including names like Louis Trousselier, François Faber and Gustave Garrigou, all of whom would win the Tour de France during their careers.

In the event though, it was the Belgian Cyrille Van Houwaert (the magazine incorrectly lists him as Dutch) who arrived at the Roubaix velodrome with three minutes to spare.